Unsettled issues silenced for decades may still resonate today, crossing generations and life experiences even when they are distant in time and space. Years of silence are not simply empty for they accumulate almost imperceptibly. Though extremely subtle, they have materiality, affecting those who inherited them - be it by sheer chance or birth. This dissertation takes inspiration from Japanese artist Yamashiro Chikako s work dealing with war legacy in Japan s southernmost island of Okinawa. These twelve short essays alternate between academic research and pieces of memory and fiction in order to reflect on artistic ways of hearing inherited silences. The texts highlight art s creative potential to perceive synesthetic aspects of silence (especially those related to hearing, sight, and touch), and its ability to cope with whatever was left outside official registers.