Abstract
'Ma' originally means 'space' in Japanese. We have regarded the beauty of 'Ma' as essentially significant in Japanese traditional arts. But it is equally essential in the understanding of Japanese traditional music to appreciate the 'Ma'-unique pause between sounds of strings (shamisen etc.), drums (tsuzumi etc.) and winds (hu-e etc.). In this paper, I have discussed the relation between the character of Japanese traditional music and 'Ma', and explained how the expression of 'Ma' is possible and what the expression of 'Ma' signifies.
