Issui Minegishi is a ichigenkin (one-string instrument) player from Japan. I met her in NY through my director friend. She mentioned how challenging it is to manipulate the one string to create music. One of the things she is focusing on right now is to listen to the silence after the sound is gone. It seems already minimalistic given that it is only one string which is producing sound, but she wants people to listen to the sound after the sound is gone. This ultimate minimalist approach resonated with me. In Japanese, 'ma' (the space between) is honored in every aspect of life. In studying ookawa (Noh hip-drum) a little, I learned that vocal calls and rhythm are much more important than the actual sound you make. Rhythm of course means the 'sound' part and 'no sound' part. Vocal calls fill in the 'no sound' part. And this 'no sound' part goes with the arm movements. Extremely acute sense of listening is required to listen to this 'ma'. Some also say that 'ma' is where the spirits reside. It seems like the portal to the eternal world. When you honor this space more than the 'filled' space, the sound is much fuller and the 'no sound' gets awaken, creating the equisite harmony.