It may take a while to visit them all but the 100 Soundscapes of Japan offer a most unique opportunity to visit and appreciate the country and culture of Japan.
You see, heading off to experience Okinawa's pristine tropical waters, the magnificence of Matsumoto Castle in Nagano or the historical elegance of Kyoto's Kinkakuji is no difficult thing. They are all stunningly beautiful, a visual treat for the eyes. But to visit a place because of its sound, well, that is a truly marvellous idea.
In 1986 Japan's Ministry of the Environment decided to do something about noise pollution and came up with the idea of creating a national list of sounds representative of the nation, its environment, culture and heritage. Putting it to the people, thousands of entries were whittled down to a final 100 sounds.
With an aim to increase awareness, respect and pride in the local environment, the 100 Soundscapes of Japan come from all 47 of the nation's prefectures and represent all four seasons, the natural world, intangible historical artefacts as well as local crafts and cultural traditions.
The rhythmical wood clapping of traditional ramie weaving from Showa village in Fukushima is listed. So too are the steam engines from the Yamaguchi Line running between Yamaguchi and Shimane prefectures. Water is strongly featured with Tateyama's Shomyo Falls in Toyama prefecture and the sounds of Rurikei stream in Kyoto.
Culturally significant events like Tokushima's Awa Odori Festival and the horse festival's Bells of Chagu Chagu Umakko in Iwate are listed. Kumagaya in Saitama prefecture features its Arakawa River insects singing their summer songs while the cicadas at Yamadera in Yamagata, immortalised in Matsuo Basho's famous poem, do the same.
There is, of course, much more to this list than the sounds mentioned. Animals, plants, oceans, and local life are all represented. But even the 100 sounds themselves can only ever be a small proportion of the many more that are possible.
Even if you can't get to all of the sounds listed, you can still take full advantage by creating your own list and listening to the Japan - if not the world - that is around you.
For the complete list of the 100 Soundscapes of Japan, please click the below links:
- English - 100 Soundscapes of Japan
- Japanese - 100 Soundscapes of Japan
