Interpersonal communication on the Japanese concept ‘‘Ma’’ Chia-huei Tseng 1; Ã , Ya-Ting Wang 2 and Satoshi Shioiri 1 1 Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University, 2–1–1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980–8577 Japan 2 Department of Future Studies and LOHAS Industry, Fo-Guang University, No. 160, Linwei Rd., Jiaosi, Yilan County 26247, Taiwan (R.O.C.) Abstract: ‘‘Ma’’ is a Japanese word that contains very rich meanings. It is used commonly to refer space, time, and things in between by Japanese. The mutual understanding and agreement of such concept by group individuals is a key to sustain social harmonics. In the past, this concept is primarily discussed in literature/humanity fields, and little in scientific and engineering communities. In this presentation, I will try to offer a few examples (e.g. music appreciation of silence, Japanese comic story-telling, Rakugo) to demonstrate that it is possible to use an interdisciplinary approach to investigate the concept of ‘‘Ma’’ scientifically. Furthermore, this may provide a starting point for designers and engineers to device into the interpersonal communication on other abstract concepts. Keywords: Interpersonal communication, Ma, Silence in music, Japanese comic story-telling PACS number: 43.66.Àx, 43.66.Lj, 43.71.Àk, 43.75.Àz, 43.75.Cf [doi:10.1250/ast.41.2] 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Interpersonal Communication on Abstract Con- cepts Social communication represents a core difference between machine and human interaction, and a grasp of its behavioral and neuro-scientific characteristics is a critical step for industrial application and scientific development. Numerous studies have been conducted to examine how we utilize natural languages and non-verbal cues in daily communications, but there is relatively little knowledge about how we communicate on abstract concepts although we make important decisions based mutual agreement on them a lot (e.g. fairness, aesthetics, and safety). In literature, the most well-examined dimension is probably emotion recognition embedded in artistical performance [1] because many believe that emotional effects are the reason why people engage in these activities. The accumulated results so far however are still far from a converged conclusion agreed across studies. This confusing and sometimes inconsistent results come pri- marily because of lack of consistent adoption of emotional models, stimuli, and research approaches. In other words, while most research suggests a connection between emotion induction and contagion between emotion and artistic performance, it is not well established how to characterize these connections. 1.2. Interdisciplinary Dialogues on Ma How about other abstract concepts communicated interpersonally? We approached this broad yet important research endeavor by examining a Japanese concept called Ma ( ). Usually referring as space, gap, or void, Ma ( ) is a very important concept in Japanese culture well presented in arts (e.g. music, dance, Rakugo), in architecture (e.g. Japanese garden design, Noh theater), in martial arts (e.g. Aikido), in commercial use (e.g. advertisement, word use), and in social connotation (e.g. personal distance) [2]. Almost without exception, every Japanese seems to have an internal criterion to judge whether the placement of Ma appears appropriate or proper. However, it is unknown whether the seemingly consistent appreciation and under- standing of Ma in these diverse situations among Japanese is really agreeable and whether it is carried out with identical brain representations under the same neurophy- siological mechanisms. In a series of talks and workshops between Feb 8–12, 2018, we first attempt to tackle this research endeavor by bringing in artists, scholars and scientists for a dialogue on Ma ( ) in their respective practices at Tohoku University. ‘‘An Interdisciplinary Dialogue around Ma ( )’’ was sponsored and held at Research Institute of Electrical Communication. Contributions include twelve seminar talks, four workshops, and one public Rakugo (classic Japanese story-telling) performance. The scope of these contributions demonstrated how widely ‘‘Ma’’ is applied in our daily life. Ã e-mail: tseng@riec.tohoku.ac.jp 2 Acoust. Sci. & Tech. 41, 1 (2020) #2020 The Acoustical Society of Japan INVITED TUTORIAL