Event Report: The Past Can Be Changed: The Lost Beat: How RADWIMPS Drummer Satoshi Yamaguchi Reclaimed Music Through Neuroscience Research and Voice-Controlled Drums
On February 19th, 2026, the Centre for the Study of Japan hosted Satoshi Yamaguchi, former drummer of the Japanese band RADWIMPS and Visiting Researcher at Keio University, to deliver an inspiring presentation about his personal struggle and research on Musician’s Dystonia, a neurological disorder that affects professional musicians. This event was co-sponsored by the Asian Institute, University of Toronto Schools (UTS), The Eureka! Research Institute at UTS, The Japan Foundation Toronto, The Japan Society Canada, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work (University of Toronto), and the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute (University of Toronto). The event began with opening remarks by Dr. Phillip Lipscy, Director of CSGJ and Richard Charles Lee Director of the Asian Institute, followed by Dr. Leanne Foster, Principal of UTS. Finally, Dr. Rie Kijima, Director of the Initiative for Education Policy and Innovation, introduced Yamaguchi as he took the stage.
Yamaguchi began by sharing the story of his life’s biggest setback and his journey to overcome it since. Eleven years ago, while performing as part of the popular Japanese band RADWIMPS, he developed Musician’s Dystonia (MD), a condition that affected his right leg’s ability to play the bass drum. Yamaguchi recounted that he was no longer able to enjoy music and express himself the way he wanted. In 2015, he made the painful decision to step away from the band and career he loved, just as RADWIMPS was on the cusp of becoming a global sensation with the soundtrack for the anime film, Your Name (Kimi no Na wa). Despite occurring in about 1% of professional musicians, there was little awareness and understanding about MD in the music industry. It took five years for Yamaguchi to get an accurate diagnosis, and the condition led to a rift between himself and his band members.
After spending a few quiet years in the coastal town of Hayama, Yamaguchi developed a strong urge to understand the nature of his condition. This led him to join Keio University as a researcher in 2021, where he conducted research on MD among drummers in Japan. He then spent time at Stanford University in 2023, where he discovered the huge popularity of Taiko drumming among the Japanese-American community. Inspired by the orally-taught nature of Taiko, he went on to create VXD, a voice-controlled bass drum interface with Yamaha. This technology allowed him to play the bass drum with his voice, overcoming the difficulties he had with MD. He ended the segment with a poignant quote: “The past doesn’t define us – it’s the steps we take now that give meaning to everything behind us”.
Following the first half of his lecture, Yamaguchi gave a live demonstration using VXD to perform the drums. He explained how the VXD system works to isolate his voice from other external sounds. He then performed “Sparkle” from the anime film Your Name, which the audience welcomed with loud cheers.
Yamaguchi then moved on to explain his research, describing how he stepped into academia and providing an overview of his project. It all began with his personal struggle and own questions, as he sought to understand the nature and causes of his MD. This was bolstered by his fateful encounter with Dr. Shinya Fujii, a researcher who was also a fellow drummer with a deep passion for music. With Dr. Fujii, Yamaguchi took his first steps into research as a participant in a case study of his focal task-specific dystonia (FTSD) symptoms (Honda et al. 2024). He showed audience members a video of himself playing the drums, showing how his symptomatic and asymptomatic states were virtually indistinguishable by the naked eye, whereas the data proved an unmistakable difference.
Yamaguchi continued his research over the next few years, conducting a large-scale survey with 868 drummers across Japan in 2024. Prior research showed that while amateur drummers are at more risk of developing Playing-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (PRMD) such as muscle fatigue, professional drummers may be more likely to develop MD. Yamaguchi’s survey attempted to compare amateur and professional drummers and their affected body parts. He found that more amateurs reported Playing-Related Physical Problems (PRPPs) in their upper limbs such as wrists, while professionals reported PRPPs in their right legs followed by their left arms. Beyond physical symptoms, Yamaguchi also explored the potential causal factors for PRPPs, including stress, stress resilience, starting age, and the change of techniques, among others. Interestingly, he found that many amateur and professional drummers experience significant stress as they have to simultaneously keep up with the metronome and perform. Yamaguchi reflected on his own personal experience as a performer to contextualise these responses.
After presenting on his research study, Yamaguchi ended his talk with a medley of RADWIMPS songs including “全然前世” (zenzenzense) and “いいんですか？” (iindesuka). The audience gave a standing ovation for the performance.
To close the event, Yamaguichi was joined by students from the University of Toronto Schools (UTS) Taiko club, who gave an enthusiastic performance on Japanese taiko drums. We would like to thank Satoshi Yamaguchi for his wonderful and inspiring talk, as well as the organisers for their hard work and the entire audience for their attendance.
For more, read our CSGJ student affiliates’ interview with Satoshi Yamaguchi here.
