🌸共感覚と多感覚Synesthesia and multisensory experiences🌸

“Synesthetic expression” refers to a type of expression where one sensory stimulus simultaneously triggers multiple, different senses.

“Synesthesia” is a neurological condition in which the brain’s activity causes one sensory stimulus (for example, hearing a sound) to automatically and unconsciously trigger a different, unusual sense (for example, seeing a color).

People with synesthesia experience things like “seeing colors in sound” or “tasting flavors in letters.”

In art, “synesthetic expression” refers to a form of expression inspired by the experiences of people with this neurological condition, or as the expression of synesthetic artists themselves. It aims to simultaneously engage the viewer’s five senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste), encouraging a multi-sensory perceptual experience where different senses seem to merge.

In Braille digital art, “synesthetic expression” is achieved by combining the following elements, particularly given the limited visual information.

Tactile: Braille, raised shapes, and different textures.
Auditory: Audio commentary, or music and sound effects linked to the work.
Visual: Colors, shapes, and composition of images generated for sighted viewers.
Linguistic/Conceptual: The meaning or associations shared through language, such as the work’s theme, story, or title.

For example, “warm red” expressed in Braille digital art might be presented as the color red visually, while being represented tactilely by a coarse, warm-feeling material. At the same time, an audio commentary would convey the emotional meaning of the color, such as passion.

In this way, the goal is to integrate information from multiple sensory channels and evoke new, complex images and emotions within the viewer.。

In other words, “synesthetic expression” in Braille digital art is an artistic attempt to create a rich, multi-sensory experience that isn’t limited to a single sense.

While both “synesthesia” and “multi-sensory” involve multiple senses, their meanings are different.

共感覚（Synesthesia）

Synesthesia is a neurological phenomenon where a specific sensory stimulus automatically and unconsciously triggers a different, unusual sense. This is believed to be caused by a different wiring of the brain.

Characteristics:

Automatic and Unconscious: It’s not something you can consciously control; it happens spontaneously when a stimulus is present.
Atypical: It is a special perceptual experience held by certain individuals, not seen in the majority of people.
Consistency: The same stimulus tends to consistently trigger the same sensation (e.g., hearing the sound of ‘A’ always makes you see the color blue).

Example:

Seeing colors when you hear sounds (chromesthesia)
Seeing colors when you see letters or numbers (grapheme-color synesthesia)
Experiencing shapes from tastes or smells

多感覚（Multisensory）

Multi-sensory refers to the general cognitive phenomenon where information from multiple sensory channels is processed and integrated simultaneously. This is something that we, as humans, do naturally every day when we perceive the world.

Characteristics::

Universal: A basic cognitive function that everyone possesses.
Integration: Multiple sensory inputs are integrated in the brain, leading to a richer and more accurate perception and understanding.
Conscious and Unconscious: The integration can happen both consciously when you pay attention, and unconsciously.

Example:

You smell, see, and taste ramen to perceive its overall “deliciousness.”
When watching a movie, the combination of visuals (sight) and audio (hearing) creates a stronger sense of realism and emotion.
As you touch and recognize the shape of an object, you also feel its weight and temperature.

Usage in Braille Digital Art

In Braille digital art, we use the term “synesthetic expression” to emphasize the goal of not just presenting multiple senses, but of aiming for a deeper level of sensory integration—as if one sense is triggering another—to generate a multi-sensory image within the viewer’s mind.

Therefore, Braille digital art can be interpreted as an attempt to provide viewers with a rich, integrated experience that is close to synesthesia by using multi-sensory methods (combining touch, hearing, sight, etc.).

Summary

Synesthesia: A neurological phenomenon, experienced by specific individuals, where one stimulus automatically triggers a different sense.
Multi-sensory: A common cognitive function that everyone has, where information from multiple senses is processed and integrated simultaneously.

We can say that Braille digital art uses the latter multi-sensory approach to creatively encourage an integrated and rich viewing experience that is similar to synesthesia.。

In the case of Braille digital art, the most appropriate expression is to say that it promotes a “synesthesia-like experience” through “multi-sensory expression.”

Let’s reconfirm the definitions of each term.

Synesthesia: A neurological phenomenon that certain people are born with, where one sense (e.g., sound) automatically triggers another sense (e.g., color).
Multisensory: A common cognitive process in which information from multiple sensory channels (sight, touch, hearing, etc.) is presented and integrated.

Braille digital art is created by the artist intentionally combining multiple sensory elements such as touch, sound, and visuals for sighted people. This is precisely “multi-sensory expression” itself.

When an individual experiences this multi-sensory expression, regardless of whether they are visually impaired or sighted, they integrate the information from each sense. The goal is to encourage the mind to create a richer, more profound, and complex image or emotion, as if one sense were triggering another. This promotes an experience that is similar to, or mimics, the neurological condition of synesthesia.

Therefore, while Braille digital art itself uses “multi-sensory expression,” its ultimate goal and the experience it aims to provide the viewer with can be described as a “rich, integrated experience close to synesthesia.”

We believe that by using the term “synesthetic expression,” we are not just presenting multiple senses, but also implying a higher artistic goal: to fuse them and evoke a deeper level of perception and emotional response.