Fujio Tbmoda played a major role in introducing client-centered therapy (CCT) into Japan. This article discusses the reception, transformation, and cultural implications of CCT, focusing on the work of Tomoda, which was deeply influenced by Chinese and Japanese classics. Section 1 introduces Tbmoda and his activities. Section 2 (Hayashi) features how Tomoda has come to equate the nondirective aspect of CCT with the not-doing-and-being-natural paradigm of Taoism. Section 3 (Suetake) analyzes Tbmoda's self-theory based on ancient Chinese philosophy. Section 4 (Morotomi) calls attention to the word "vacuum," uttered by Rogers' client. Section 5 (Osawa) compares Tomoda's theory on personality change with the Focusing approach by Gendlin. Section 6 (Shimizu) features Ibmoda's application of the CCT approach to his group programs. Section 7 (Kuno) highlights Tbmoda's finding in renku (Japanese linked poetry) a means of facilitating human development. Section 8 critically examines Tbmoda's work. I believe it expresses well the observations which for me have crystallized into two important themes: my confidence in the human organism, when it is functioning freely; and the existential quality of satisfying living, a theme presented by some of our most modem philosophers, which was however beautifully expressed more than twentyfive centuries ago by Lao-tzu when, he said, 'The way to do is to be." (Rogers, 1961, p. 163).
This article summarizes the historical development of client-centered therapy (CCT) and the person-centered approach (PCA) in Japan and their current status and future outlook there. CCT was enthusiastically accepted, especially at the beginning of its initial development in the late 1950s and the early 1960s. This initial enthusiasm, however, has gradually been eroded by some critical, suspicious, or conflicting attitudes due to the introduction of a multitude of other theories and approaches. CCT and/or PCA have been applied to a variety of educational, clinical, or business settings. But it can be fairly said that CCT and/or PCAhave now lost their initial influence. The authors believe that Rogers's way of thinking and his approach is one of the crucial ways of studying and understanding human beings and helping relationships. It is meaningful for us now to review CCT and PCA again to clarify their significance so that their new and better applications to Japanese culture can be found.
In part because of the information revolution, Japan is experiencing a crisis in culture. Because it is more sensitive to culture than other approaches, humanistic psychology may have much to offer in this time of crisis, particularly because of the Japanese value of inner privacy. Tomoda has explored ways of translating Rogers’s approach into a Japanese context of Zen, including the use of renku, a form of poetry collectively written by members of a group exploring their process in “a vague atmosphere of togetherness.” Another approach to bridging the East/West gap is explored in Naikan therapy in which an empathic therapist visits the client who sits and meditates on the dynamics of his or her personal relationships during a weeklong retreat. In the end, it is thinking inside the box, contrary to Western contemporary values, that seems to make humanistic psychology work for the Japanese, whose aesthetic values have persevered through the ages.
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