Interoceptive awareness in professional performers of the traditional Japanese theatrical art “Noh”

“Noh” is a traditional Japanese theatrical art characterized by sophisticated emotional expressions. Noh is performed by experts in various fields such as the shite-kata actors) and the hayashi-kata (instrumentalists). It has been reported that Noh performers acquire peculiar physical techniques, such as breathing patterns, during expression; however, it is unclear whether practicing Noh causes psychological transformation. In this study, we examined changes in trait-level interoception that accompany the practice of Noh. In the survey, 22 professional Noh performers (10 actors, Mage = 45.60, SDage = 12.29, age range = 23–56; 12 instrumentalists, Mage = 47.50, SDage = 10.85, age range = 25–62; all participants were male) and 18 controls with no Noh experience (Mage = 40.50, SDage = 6.85, age range = 31–52) completed a series of questionnaires, including psychological scales on multiple aspects of interoception, such as belief about accuracy or attention. The actors showed substantially higher scores than the controls in terms of interoceptive attention. Furthermore, interoceptive accuracy in the actors correlated positively with years of experience. This study provides important insights into the physical and psychological techniques of Noh performers and contributes to the elucidation of factors that alter interoception over time.