Japanese Sensitivity to Traditional Sounds Like Wind Chimes and Insects Might Be Unnoticed by Westerners

Insect Sounds: Japanese People Hear with the “Left Brain” of Language, While Foreigners Hear with the “Right Brain” of Music

In summer, hearing the sound of wind chimes feels refreshing, and hearing insect sounds evokes a sense of autumn. However, it seems that only Japanese and Polynesians can distinguish between insect sounds and wind chime sounds.

This is explained by the theory of Tadanobu Tsunoda, Professor Emeritus at Tokyo Medical and Dental University.

The human brain is divided into the “right brain” and the “left brain,” with the right brain being called the music brain and the left brain being called the language brain. The right brain processes music, machine sounds, and noise, while the left brain handles logical and intellectual processing, such as understanding spoken words.

So, which part of the brain processes insect sounds and wind chime sounds? According to the theory, Japanese people process these sounds with the “left brain,” while foreigners process them with the “right brain.” In other words, Japanese people perceive insect sounds as “voices,” but foreigners treat them as “noise,” which may be why they don’t hear them.

Professor Tsunoda states that this way of using the brain is not genetic but depends on whether Japanese was learned as the mother tongue initially.

“I believe that Japanese culture has a significant impact as well.”

This is stated by Associate Professor Satoshi Hozumi of Ibaraki Christian University.

“As mentioned in the Manyoshu, Japanese people have traditionally experienced and enjoyed the changing seasons through the sounds of insects.

The culture of interacting with and becoming familiar with insects is unique to the Japanese, and it is this culture, history, and experience that allows Japanese people to ‘hear’ the sounds of insects. The same likely applies to the sound of wind chimes as well.”

The left brain also produces alpha waves when hearing the sound of insects.

But do we Japanese people really find the sound of insects pleasant? This is what was investigated by Associate Professor Hozumi and his research team.

The research team examined the sounds of three insects with distinctive calls: the cricket, the grasshopper, and the bush-cricket. They analyzed these sounds to determine whether they have the “1/f fluctuation” that is said to bring a soothing effect and measured whether alpha waves, an indicator of a relaxed state, were produced.

“As a result, all three species showed a tendency for alpha waves to be more strongly induced in the left brain. It seems that most subjects experienced stimulation of the left brain and listened to the insect sounds in a relaxed state.”

It appears that Japanese people indeed hear insect sounds with the left brain.

By the way, here is how these insects make their sounds: the crickets produce a sound like “rin, rin, rin, rin” four times, then pause for a while, and begin again with “rin, rin, rin, rin.” The field crickets emit a continuous “riri riri riri” sound, while the bush crickets start with “riri riri riri” and then shift to a “rurururu” sound, pause briefly, and start again in the same manner.

The highest level of alpha waves was observed with the field crickets, followed by the bush crickets, and then the crickets.

“However, when we conducted a survey asking subjects which insect sounds they found most pleasant, the bush crickets ranked first, while the field crickets were third. This result did not match the order of alpha wave levels.”

 

Listening to various insect sounds simultaneously makes it easier to produce alpha waves.

“We have the image that the sound of crickets is beautiful, but in reality, opportunities to hear this sound have decreased. On the other hand, the bush crickets are more familiar to the subjects because they have heard them more frequently. It is thought that this familiarity made the sound feel more pleasant.”

Associate Professor Hozumi suggests that the environment in which the sounds are heard may also play a significant role.

“When we measured brain waves, we had the subjects listen to the sound of a single insect chirping.

However, in nature, you don’t hear just the sound of one insect; there may be many insects chirping, or various insects making sounds.

In fact, when we tested brain waves using processed cricket sounds that were continuous, the rate of alpha wave induction was higher than with the field crickets. I think the listening environment is also important.”

1/f fluctuation refers to a perfect harmony between regular and irregular sounds. We might unconsciously perceive this 1/f fluctuation in insect sounds.

The ability of the Japanese to distinguish insect sounds, a skill passed down through the ages, might be lost if opportunities to listen to these sounds decrease.

“Each insect sound is different, and interacting with various aspects of nature is also about understanding the diversity of life.

In today’s world, where experiencing nature has become more challenging, I hope children can get accustomed to nature from an early age and have experiences that allow them to sense the changing seasons. It’s also good to participate in local cultural and historical experiences to appreciate the charm of these elements.”

Satoshi Hozumi, Associate Professor at the Department of Child Education, Ibaraki Christian University. After researching topics such as “The Impact of Insect Sounds on Human Sensitivity” and “Nest Building Methods and Climate Adaptation of Paper Wasps,” he now focuses on leading outdoor activities for children and training educators and caregivers who can enjoy various aspects of nature with the children.