I provide a simplified explanation about myself below. Sorry that I don’t have a decent CV in English yet (I hope I will make it someday).
Please also check my page provided by the university: https://er-web.ynu.ac.jp/html/NAKAGAWA_Katsushi/en.html.
You can also find academic materials in English on the ResearchGate account page (and the academia account page). Or my ORCiD ID: 0000-0002-8302-1039. Or Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wqSYxrMAAAAJ
If you need to take contact me, please send to "katsushinakagawa (at) ynu.ac.jp"
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I am a researcher and historian of sound art and sound studies, currently serving as an Associate Professor at Yokohama National University, Japan. My work investigates how sound functions within art, music, and broader cultural contexts.
My academic journey began with the history of Cagean experimental music and the genealogy and concept of "sound art." Following my Ph.D., I expanded my scope to the development of sound practices in Japan, which resulted in the book about the general history of sound media and the Japanese translation of Jonathan Sterne’s "The Audible Past."
Building upon my recent monograph, "What is Sound Art?" (2023), I am currently extending my research into a comparative analysis of sound art across Asian countries. My ongoing projects focus on the lineage of East Asian sound practices, the exploration of soundwalk studies, and the historical framework of visual music.
I welcome inquiries regarding international collaborations, joint research panels, and curatorial projects in sound studies.
July, 7th, 2026
NAKAGAWA Katsushi. 2026. “History of Sound in the Arts in Japan: The Case of ‘Onkyo-Chokoku’ (Meaning Sound Sculpture).” 常盤台人間文化論叢, Tokiwadai Journal of Human Sciences 12 (March): 65–92. -->repository
NAKAGAWA Katsushi. 2025. "What Happened to Environmental Music in 1980s Japan When It Was Reevaluated as Kankyō Ongaku in the 2010s?" In: Chung, Kyung-Young (Music Research Center, Hanyang University), ed. 2025. Proceedings of Audible Futures: Media, Ecology, and Art. Seoul, South Korea: SORIZIUM. https://mrc.hanyang.ac.kr/wp-content/uploads/audible-futures-proceedings.pdf.: pp.97-101.
NAKAGAWA, Katsushi. 2023a. “Case Study on the Process of the Popularization of Kankyō Ongaku: How Brian Eno’s ambient music has become known in 1980s Japan?.” Faculty of Urban Innovation (Yokohama National University) ed. Tokiwadai Journal of Human Sciences, 9: 75-91. （『常盤台人間文化論叢』9: 80-91） http://doi.org/10.18880/00015178
NAKAGAWA Katsushi. 2022b. "A Revised Theory of Christian Marclay. Interacting With the World." in Chritina Marclay Translating, exhibition catalogue; 329-335.
NAKAGAWA Katsushi. 2021b "History of Sound in the Arts in Japan Between the 1960s and 1990s" in: Charrieras, Damien, and François Mouillot. 2021. Fractured Scenes: Underground Music-Making in Hong Kong and East Asia. Springer Singapore: 225-239.
NAKAGAWA Katsushi. 2019a. "A Brief Consideration About the Relationship Between Sound Art and Tactile Sense." In: Computational Aesthetics. SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology. Springer, Tokyo: 53-65. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-4-431-56844-5_4
in: Suzuki, Yasuhiro, Katsushi Nakagawa, Takashi Sugiyama, Fuminori Akiba, Eric Maestri, Insil Choi, and Shinya Tsuchiya. Computational Aesthetics, Springer, 2019. https://www.amazon.co.jp/Computational-Aesthetics-SpringerBriefs-Sciences-Technology/dp/4431568425
NAKAGAWA Katsushi. 2019b. “Why did the composer begin to make visual art?: The ambient music and sound art of YOSHIMURA Hiroshi” in Proceedings (CD-ROM) of the 21st INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF AESTHETICS, Faculty of Architecture, Belgrade, Serbia, July 2019: 1244-1252.
NAKAGAWA Katsushi. 2018b. "The Possible Context of Sound Art in Japan in the late 1980s: The Case of Creative Music Making." 『横浜国立大学 教育学部 紀要 II.人文科学 （THE HUMANITIES (Journal of the College of Education Yokohama National University ) ）』20: 18-35。 →[PDF]（機関リポジトリへのリンク）
NAKAGAWA Katsushi and KANEKO Tomotaro. 2017. "A Documentation of Sound Art in Japan: Sound Garden (1987–1994) and the Sound Art Exhibitions of 1980s Japan.” Leonardo Music Journal 27: 82-86.
→http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/LMJ_a_01024
KANEKO Tomotaro and NAKAGAWA Katsushi. 2017. “Research on the Developments of Sound Art in Asian Countries: On Sound Effects Seoul series (Interviews with Ji-Yoon Yang and Chulki Hong).” Faculty of Urban Innovation (Yokohama National University) ed. Tokiwadai Journal of Human Sciences, 3: 161-173.
NAKAGAWA Katsushi. 2016. “The Possible Context of “Sound Art” in Japan in the late 1980s: Ethnomusicology.” in: Proceeding of ICA20 "Aesthetics and Mass Culture" published by 2016 ICA Secretariat, Department of Aesthetics, Seoul National University, Seoul Korea: pp.794-799.
→text
NAKAGAWA Katsushi and KANEKO Tomotaro. 2016. “Research on the Development of Sound Art in Asian Countries — Interview with Ms. Yeung, Yang (楊陽, founder and executive director of soundpocket in Hong Kong).” Faculty of Urban Innovation (Yokohama National University) ed. Tokiwadai Journal of Human Sciences, 2: 80-91.
NAKAGAWA Katsushi. 2010. “What is 'sounds which are just sounds'? : On the Acceptance of John Cage's Indeterminate Musical Works.” The Japanese society for aesthetics, ed. Aesthetics (Online Version). 14 (April, 2010): 42-54.
NAKAGAWA Katsushi. 2006. "Listening as a mean for the production of sound: a study of La Monte Young's word pieces." The Japanese society for aesthetics, ed. Aesthetics. 12 (March, 2006): 121-132.→link to ResearchGate
NAKAGAWA Katsushi. 2003. "On Kosugi Takehisa's 'Catch Wave'." SASAKI, Ken-ichi, and OTABE, Tanehisa: The Organizing Committee of the 15th International Congress of Aesthetics (c/o Institute of Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art, Faculty of Letters, the University of Tokyo), ed. The Great Book of Aesthetics. The 15th International Congress of Aesthetics, Japan 2001, Proceedings. (CD-ROM).
NAKAGAWA Katsushi. 2025. “What Happened to Environmental Music in 1980s Japan When it was Reevaluated as Kankyō Ongaku in 2010s Japan?” at. Audible Futures: Media, Ecology, and Art (International Conference on Politics of Sound and Technology 2025) (Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea), March, 29th, 2025. (English)
NAKAGAWA Katsushi. 2024. “The comparative study between environmental music in 1980s Japan and Kankyō Ongaku in 2010s Japan.” at IASPM-SEA & IAPMS Joint Conference 2024 (Bansomdejchaopraya Rajabhat University, Bangkok, Thailand), July, 27th, 2024. (English)
NAKAGAWA Katsushi. 2023. “History of Sound in the Arts in Japan: the case of "Onkyo-Chokoku" (meaning sound sculpture)” at the 22th International Congress of Aesthetics (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Hrizonte, Brazil), July, 25th, 2023. (English)
NAKAGAWA Katsushi. 2022. "Kankyō Ongaku: How Brian Eno's ambient music has become known in 1980s Japan?” at International Association for the Study of Popular Music (Daegu in Korea), 1330-1400, July, 6th, 2022 (online presentation) (English) http://iaspm2022.org/index.php?gt=pro/pro02
NAKAGAWA Katsushi. 2019. “Why did the composer begin to make visual art?: The ambient music and sound art of YOSHIMURA Hiroshi” at the 21th International Congress of Aesthetics (University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia), July, 24th, 2019.
NAKAGAWA Katsushi. 2018. “Environmental music in the field of popular music: The case of 1980s Japan” at The 6th Inter-Asia Popular Music Studies Conference (Communication University of China, Beijing, China), June 9th, 2018
NAKAGAWA Katsushi. 2017. “History of sound art in Japan and how to compare sound art in Asian countries (research in progress)” at "Panel 3: Scene Report on Sound Practices in Japan, Hanoi” of WSK AXIS 2017: Festival of the Recently Possible ( De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, Manila, Philippines), October, 27th, 2017.
NAKAGAWA Katsushi. 2016. “The possible direction of sound art in Japan in the 1980s: the Case of SEKINE Hideki.” at Crossroad2016 (University of Sydney, Australia), Dec, 17th, 2016.
NAKAGAWA Katsushi. 2016. “The Possible Context of “Sound Art” in Japan in the 1980s: Ethnomusicology.” at the 20th International Congress of Aesthetics (Seoul National University, Korea), July, 26th, 2016.
NAKAGAWA Katsushi. 2001. "On Kosugi Takehisa's 'Catch Wave'." at International Association for Aesthetics, the XVth International Congress of Aesthetics (Makuhari, Japan), 8/23/2001.
A review about Asian Music Festival visiting Art Camp Tango on the website of Asian Music Network
: “To Listen and To Play: A record of Asian Meeting Festival coming to play at Art Camp Tango” (Feb 19th, 2018)