Hearing "Japanese", hearing Takemitsu

Abstract

In his book Nihonjin no n l [The Japanese Brain], the audiologist Tadanobu Tsunoda builds a case for a physiologically distinct Japanese way of processing sound and, by extension, a case for who can speak with authority for and about the Japanese. While Tsunoda's arguments have struck many scientists (Japanese and not) as being more than a little specious, substantial interest in and/or agreement with Tsunoda's basic claims surfaced in many of my conversations with no less a figure that T l ru Takemitsu. Indeed, Takemitsu spoke often, in casual conversations and in his writings, in terms that could have been written by Tsunoda himself. This paper explores the considerable political implications of the Japanese walls of authenticity constructed/advocated by Tsunoda and Takemitsu and shows that they are made of very unstable stuff. Using analytical models derived from aspects of the materials and organizational processes of classical Japanese poetry and music, I outline ways in which a person denied insider status by these neatly circumscribed Japanese walls may further destabilize them or even topple them altogether and thus be granted the opportunity for free and authoritative participation on the formerly exclusive cultural ground they were designed to protect.