Researchers from University of the Virgin Islands Provide Details of New Studies and Findings in the Area of Psychology and Psychiatry (ma and Traditional Japanese Aesthetics In Spatial Music and Sonic Art).

This article focuses on research examining the influence of the traditional Japanese concept of ma—meaning space, interval, or pause—on spatial music and sonic art within the cultural contexts of Shintoism and Zen Buddhism. The study analyzes works by composers such as Jōji Yuasa, Midori Takada, Michael Fowler, Akiko Hatakeyama, Kaija Saariaho, and Jim Franklin, proposing a framework of six interlinked dimensions of ma: temporal, physical, musical, semantic, therapeutic, and spiritual. It also relates these dimensions to Zen art characteristics identified by Hisamatsu Shin'ichi and explores future directions for spatial music through inspiration, transmediation, and expansion. The research was conducted with contributions from the University of the Virgin Islands and has undergone peer review.