Listening Through the Hands: Learning from a Visually Impaired Researcher

Blog curated by Marco Ramelli, TU Dublin Conservatoire

How to try a guitar?

During a guitar exhibition at the Festival Corde d’Autunno 2024, I decided to create a poster to share a few tips on how to try a guitar. I was inspired by Professor Kojiro Hirose, a blind researcher and curator at the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, Japan. Prof. Hirose has worked extensively on tactile exhibitions, and his reflections offer inspiring insights for guitarists who explore and listen to the instrument through touch.

In his article, “Research on Methods of Touching the World,” he explores different modes of tactile perception, opening new ways of interacting with objects. I believe this is especially relevant for modern guitarists, who are often accustomed to repetitive gestures. His approach encourages a shift from doing to listening, inviting a deeper sensory connection with the instrument—and very importantly with the culture it expresses.

I quoted another of Hirose’s works in the article “A Lost Culture of Touch and Sound” because of his work on the Goze, blind itinerant women who played the shamisen. I will soon write on this blog about this tradition and about Hirose’s research.

DISCOVERY SPACE

Stop and touch:
Have a conversation with an artifact. Touch it, hold it, take your time, observe its form and texture. Handle it gently and think about the people who made it, their culture and society. This is where touching the world begins.

Look and touch:
As you read the explanations, fell free to use both hands and eyes to explore the overall form, structure of the details, the relationship of inside and outside. think about the materials used and how the object was made.

Don’t look, just touch:
What can you learn about form and details by touch? Try it. Investigate the difference between the senses of touch, sight, and hearing.

Three elements in visual sense and in tactual sense respectively

“Look at” is equivalent to “touch widely, conscious of the direction your hands reach out.”

“Watch” is equivalent to “‘touch closely with your fingertips concentrating at one point.”

“See” is equivalent to “keep your skin sensation sharp and feel with your whole body.“

Research on Methods of “Touching the World” by Kojiro Hirose (Associate Professor, National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, Japan)