Uchi-Soto (内外)

Uchi-Soto (which literally translates to “inside-outside”) refers to the differentiation between ‘in-groups’ and ‘out-groups’; a concept that permeates Japanese society and language. Varying levels of politeness and respect are embedded in the language, reflecting the complex and changing layers of personal relationships between ‘uchi (内)’: typically family members and close friends, and ‘soto (外)’: strangers, customers, and also foreigners (外人). In reflecting on my own relationship with this concept (particularly in my identity as both Japanese and ‘foreigner’), I became interested in finding a musical language in the layers ‘in-between’; the subtle gradations of a single instrument’s physical ‘uchi’ and ‘soto’.

–Salina Fisher