Research

Ryoka Hagiwara has studied piano performance, composition, and musicology in Japan and the UK. She holds a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from the Showa University of Music in Kawasaki, graduating in 2023. She completed her master’s degree in composition from the University of Edinburgh in 2024 with a composition project and thesis focusing on cultural identity and music.

Since September 2025, she has been participating in the Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 1671 “Home(s): Phenomena, Practices, Representations” at Heidelberg University (Germany) as a doctoral candidate and academic researcher.

  • Japanese music and instruments in the 19th and 20th centuries

  • Sociomusicology

  • Practice-based / informed research (performance and composition)

  • Music and cultural identity

Research Interests

Accepted conference papers:

Kokoronaki / Minimo awarewa / Shirarekeri / Shigitatsu sawano / Akino yugure: Exploring Cross-Cultural Identity in Music (Innovation in Music 2025, Bath Spa University - https://www.inmusicconference.com )

Appropriation or Appreciation? Musical Representations of Japan in Screen Media (IAFOR, The Kyoto Conference on Arts, Media & Culture - https://kyoto-amc.iafor.org/ )