Cross-Cultural Study of the Aesthetic Experience of the Japanese Classical Dance Bugaku

<title>Abstract</title> <p>This preregistered cross-cultural study examined how Japanese and German participants perceive and experience Bugaku, a classical Japanese court dance with over a millennium of history. In an online experiment, 801 participants (392 Japanese and 409 German) watched a professional Bugaku performance and completed dance evaluation questionnaires. The 39-item questionnaire was developed through preliminary observations with Bugaku learners and expert practitioners in Germany, combined with established dance evaluation scales. Factor analysis identified five dimensions of Bugaku appreciation: Preference, Self-transcendence, Gracefulness, Harmony and Structure, and Movement Comprehension. Japanese participants reported significantly higher ratings for Preference, Self-transcendence, Gracefulness, and Harmony and Structure, while German participants demonstrated higher Movement Comprehension. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that cultural background moderated the relationship between Movement Comprehension and Preference: higher Movement Comprehension predicted lower Preference among German but not among Japanese participants. Individual traits, such as a Desire for aesthetics and experience in dance observation, predicted appreciation across both cultures. These findings suggest that while culturally specific aesthetic frameworks shape responses to classical dance, universal elements transcend cultural boundaries. The results contribute to understanding cross-cultural aesthetics by demonstrating how cultural background influences the perception of complex aesthetic stimuli and evokes emotions such as awe and transcendence.</p>