The spatial properties of perceptual empty space (yohaku): An analysis based on field theory

Abstract

The cognitive effects of “yohaku”(empty space) have been discussed within the fields of Eastern art history and visual design, but the visual processes underlying yohaku perception have yet to be fully elucidated. The present study examines the spatial properties of yohaku areas through a psychological experiment in which participants report on areas that they perceived to be yohaku within Japanese artistic paintings and patterns of arranged discs. In order to explain the spatial properties (area and location) of such areas, we construct a simple computational model based on visual field theory. Our model assumes that yohaku areas can be specified in terms of thresholds for two-dimensional Gaussian-filtered images of the stimuli. The model is able to well account for yohaku areas within disc patterns but not so well for those within artistic paintings. This difference may be ascribed to the spatial contexts depicted within artistic paintings.