Abstract

The term neurasthenia, which had been widely used in Japan before the Second World War, came to be replaced by the term neurosis thereafter. With this change in terminology, there seems to have been a shift in the popular ideas of minor psychiatric disorders towards a more psychological view. Unlike in the West where psychoanalysis was a major contributing factor, in Japan it was Shoma Morita who contributed to this change by questioning the somatic basis of conditions then diagnosed as neurasthenia and by developing the conceptshinkeishitsu in the early 1920's, rejecting the concept of neurasthenia. In his theory, the development of shinkeishitsu symptoms is explained in terms of certain psychic dispositions and as a vicious cycle of sensation and attention; he formulated a psychological treatment, Morita therapy, which has been very effective for that condition. With the advent of modernization in this country, doubts have been raised whether this form of psychotherapy with continue to be acceptable to modern Japanese. However, in reality many neurotic patients are still being treated with Morita therapy, although analytically oriented psychotherapy is coming to be practiced more and more in recent years. The indigenous psychotherapies represented by Morita therapy and Naikan therapy have deep-seated roots in Buddhist tradition: its values and ideas have been redefined and reformulated into forms of therapy acceptable to modern Japanese.
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles and news from researchers in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.References
Doi, T. 1964 Psychoanalytic Therapy and “Western man.” The International Journal of Social Psychiatry, Congress Issue, pp. 13–18.
Harada, R. 1971 Psychodynamic interpretation of Naikan. In Okumura and Sato, eds, Naikan Therapy. Igaku-shoin, pp. 87–94. (In Japanese)
Heibonsha Encyclopedia 1933 Neurasthenia, Heibonsha. (In Japanese)
Imura, T. 1950 What is Neurosis?, Nippon Igaku Zasshi. (In Japanese)
Kakeda K. et al. 1967 Neurosis, Igaku-shoin, pp. 359. (In Japanese)
Kleinman, A. 1980 Patients and Healers in the Context of Culture, Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 128–129.
Kondo, K. 1976 The Origin of Morita Therapy. In WP Lebra, ed., Culturebound Syndromes, Ethnopsychiatry and Alternate Therapies, Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii, pp. 250–258.
Kora, T. 1938 The problem of so-called neurasthenia, Seishin Shinkeigaku Zasshi, 42: 755–796. (In Japanese)
Kora, T. 1955 So-Called Neurasthenia-Shinkeishitsu Neurosis, In A Symposium on Neurosis, pp. 121. (In Japanese)
Lock, M. 1982 Popular Conceptions of Mental Health in Japan. In AJ Marsella and GM White, eds, Cultural Concepts of Mental Health and Therapy, Hingham: Kluwer Academic, pp. 220.
Miyake, K. 1932 A Handbook of Psychiatry. Nankodo, pp. 337–341. (In Japanese)
Morita, S. 1921 The Treatment of Shinkeishitsu and Neurasthenia. Nippon Seishin Igakkai. (In Japanese)
Morita, S. 1928 The Nature of Shinkeishitsu and its Treatment. Tohodo-shoten. (In Japanese)
Morita, S. 1929 The result of treatment by Morita Therapy. Seishin Shinkeigaku Zasshi, 40. (In Japanese)
— 1934 Shinkeishitsu 5(1):33–34. (In Japanese)
Nabeta, K. 1982 The clinical study of taijinkyofu. Seishin Shinkeigaku Zasshi, 84:525–543. (In Japanese)
Nishizono, M. 1978 The Picture of Cure and Prognosis. In K Kakeda et al, eds, Modern Psychiatry 6B, Nakayama-shoten, pp. 93–110. (In Japanese)
Nomura, A. 1961 Dr. Morita and his therapy. Shinkeishitsu, 2:7. (In Japanese)
Okonogi, K. 1979 Psychotherapy in the psychiatric department of a university hospital. Seishin Bunseki Kenkyu, 23(3):135–143. (In Japanese)
Ohara, K. et al. 1976 Historical change of shinkeishitsu neurosis and the future of Morita therapy. Seishin Shinkeigaku Zasshi 77:397–403. (In Japanese)
Reynolds, DK. 1976 Morita Psychotherapy. Berkeley: University of California Press.
—. 1980 The Quiet Therapies. Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii, pp. 46–65.
Sato, K. 1960 Zen and Psychoanalysis. Sogensha, pp. 310. (In Japanese)
Shimoda, K. 1942 A Lecture on Mental Health. Iwanami-shoten, pp. 68–124. (In Japanese)
Suzuki, J. 1979 Fasting therapy. In Ishikawa and Suematsu, eds, Psychosomatic Medicine, Asakura-shoten, pp. 406–410. (In Japanese)
Suzuki, DT. et al. 1977 (1960)Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis. London: Souvenir Press, pp. 18–20.
Suzuki, T. and Suzuki, R. 1976 Morita therapy. In ED Wittkower and H Warnes, eds, Psychosomatic Medicine, New York: Harper and Row, pp. 180–189.
— 1981 The effectiveness of impatient Morita therapy. Psychiatric Quarterly, 53:201–213.
Suzuki, T. et al. 1982 On the long-term development of shinkeishitsu neurotics treated by Morita therapy. Psychiatria Clinica, 15:145–152.
Takahashi, T. 1979 The onset ages of some neurotic disorders. Seishin Eisei Kenkyu, 26:9–13 (In Japanese)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information

This paper was translated by Ryu Suzuki.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Suzuki, T. The concept of neurasthenia and its treatment in Japan. Cult Med Psych 13, 187–202 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02220661
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02220661