Satoshi Yamaguchi, the drummer of popular Japanese band RADWIMPS and Visiting Researcher at Keio University, will deliver an inspiring presentation about his personal struggle and research on Musician’s Dystonia, a neurological disorder that affects professional musicians. He will share his personal story and reflections about his musical career, which he was forced to suspend in 2015. He will then discuss how he refocused his energy on academic research, presenting findings from large-scale epidemiological studies on Musician’s Dystonia he conducted in collaboration with scholars from Canada, Japan, and other countries. The event will feature a live performance by Yamaguchi using “VXD,” a voice-controlled drumming system he co-developed.
About the Speaker:
Satoshi Yamaguchi is the drummer of Japanese band RADWIMPS and a Visiting Researcher at Keio University. He began his musical career as a teenager and performed as the drummer of RADWIMPS, a popular Japanese band that gained international acclaim for composing the soundtrack of award-winning anime movie Your Name (Kimi no Na wa). In 2009, he developed Musician's Dystonia, a neurological disorder affecting motor control, and was forced to suspend his drumming career in 2015. In 2021, he began participatory research on dystonia as a Visiting Researcher at Keio University. During a two-month research residency at Stanford University Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics in 2023, he gained insights that led to the 2024 co-development of VXD, a voice-controlled drumming system. In 2025, he launched a solo tour, The Past Can Be Changed, returning to live performance for the first time in a decade.
Speakers
Satoshi Yamaguchi
Drummer of Japanese band RADWIMPS
Visiting Researcher at Keio University
Phillip Y. Lipscy
Richard Charles Lee Director, Asian Institute
Director, Centre for the Study of Global Japan
Rie Kijima
Assistant Professor
Director, Initiative for Education Policy and Innovation
Director, Peace, Conflict and Justice
Director, Munk One
Affiliated Faculty, Centre for the Study of Global Japan
Co-Sponsors:
University of Toronto Schools
The Eureka! Research Institute at UTS
The Japan Foundation, Toronto
The Japan Society Canada
Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto
Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, University of Toronto
Recording Notice & Consent
Please note that this event will be recorded. By attending, you consent to being photographed and/or video recorded.
If you prefer not to be filmed, a designated seating area will be available for participants who do not consent to being recorded. Please let an event organizer know upon arrival.
