Dr. Martin Regan is a Professor in the School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts at Texas A&M University. As a recipient of the Fulbright scholarship for the Lecturing/Research Program in 2022, Dr. Regan lectured and conducted field research at Senzoku Gakuen College of Music in Kawasaki, Japan. Additionally, he was affiliated with the Research Institute for Traditional Japanese Music at the Kyoto City University of Arts and taught at Osaka University, Minoh campus, as a Visiting Lecturer.

Dr. Regan became acquainted with the Fulbright Program through his Ph.D. advisor, composition teacher, and mentor, Dr. Donald Womack, who received a Fulbright to go to Japan in 2007-08. Granted a faculty developmental leave from his university in early 2022, Dr. Regan eagerly anticipated his lectureship in Japan. “Three years before I was awarded the Fulbright grant, I started considering when I was going to go and what I was going to do,” he says.

During his stay in Japan, Dr. Regan authored a monograph called “Soundscape of Japan: From Past to the Present,” besides teaching, conducting field research, and composing. “My field research took the form of attending Japanese traditional and contemporary music and theater events, conducting interviews with living practitioners, and taking one trip a month to Kyoto, where I was affiliated with the Research Institute for Traditional Japanese Music,” he notes.

Dr. Regan feels that Fulbright provided unique value in allowing teaching to be combined with research. “One of the things that attracted me most to Fulbright is that you can choose to do teaching and research at the same time. I feel like through affiliation with the university and being in a teaching role, it's easier to be considered as a part of the community,” he explains. “Through teaching, I can actually give back to that community and they can feel like I am one of them.”

While in Japan, Dr. Regan was featured in the prominent Hōgaku Journal holding the shakuhachi, an end-blown Japanese flute made of bamboo, which he plays. “As a non-Japanese, to be featured on the front page of the Hōgaku Journal was really an honor,” he says.

One of Dr. Regan's most cherished memories is his trip to Kushiro, Hokkaido. He fondly remembers visiting the Kushiro Marshlands National Park during winter when he witnessed the red-crowned cranes, believed to be a symbol of luck and longevity.

Dr. Regan notes, “One aspect about Japanese music is that it has a strong connection with nature. A piece titled Tsuru no Sugomori (Nesting of the Cranes), a solo piece for the shakuhachi, mimics the calling sound of the cranes. I went to Kushiro to witness and document the cry of the cranes.” The experience had a profound effect on his perception of Japanese music. “Now when I teach, I can demonstrate to my students how Japanese music has a deep connection with nature in a way that is not abstract,” he says.

Dr. Regan believes that his proficiency in Japanese played a crucial role in his experience. To prospective Fulbright scholars, he advises: “You need to start working on your Japanese language skills as quickly as possible. It makes living in Japan and concentrating on your research so much easier when you're not stressed out about the language.”

Back at Texas A&M University, Dr. Regan remains in regular contact with his Japanese colleagues. “Because of the relationships I cultivated last year, I’m still getting requests to write music. I'm currently working on a piece based on the life of Sen no Rikyu, the founder of the tea ceremony.”

Currently, he is in the middle of planning the World Shakuhachi Festival, which will be held in Texas in April 2025.