The early 20th century: Shaping the discipline of psychology in Japan¹

Abstract

In this paper, we aim to describe the developing process of early Japanese psychology. This is the story of the institutionalization of psychology in Japan. We deal with the first period of Japanese psychology and trace the process of shaping the discipline of psychology in Japan. We also focus on the life and studies of Motora, who was the first psychology professor in Japan, and those of his students. In 1903, Yuzero Motora opened the first formal laboratory of psychology at Tokyo Imperial University, and in 1904, the first 2-year course in psychology was commenced. Both the laboratory and the two-year course could produce psychology students who studied "new" or experimental psychology. But not all the experimentation resulted in success. We also examine Fukurai's clairvoyance and thoughtgraphy experiments. Although Fukurai was one of the promising students of Motora, he gradually changed interest to parapsychology. Fukurai's adherence to these psychic phenomenon and his isolation from academic society resulted in the removal of clinical psychology from the psychology discipline in Japan.Key words: history of psychology, psychology in Japan, Yuzero (Yujiro) 3 Motora, laboratory of psychology.In 1903, Yuzero Motora opened the first formal laboratory of psychology at Tokyo Imperial University (now University of Tokyo). There were 12 rooms for experiments and lectures, and a library (Hidano, 1998) in a wooden onestorey house. As Capshew (1992) pointed out, the laboratory acquired a dual identity among psychologists. On a basic level, it was designated as a site for research. On a symbolic level, the laboratory provided support and structure for the aspirations of psychologists.In 1904, the first 2-year course in psychology was commenced at the Tokyo Imperial University. Students could select psychology as a major at the end of their first year at the university and they could study psychology for the remaining 2 years. In 1905, the first seven students graduated.This period (1903)(1904)(1905) is considered an epoch-making period for Japanese psychology. Of course, there had been some epoch-making events before the laboratory was built. Yuzero 1 This study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (No. 13410022) provided by the Japan Society for Promotion of Science.2 Correspondence concerning this article should be sent to: Tatsuya Sato, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Letters, Ritsumeikan University, Tojiin Kitamachi, Japan. (Email: satot@lt.ritsumei.ac.jp) 3 Motora himself spelled his name as Yuzero, but some present psychologists spell his name as Yujiro according to the standard romanized Japanese of the present day.

What Was Not Discussed: Reply to Comments

“…Instead, his experiments on clairvoyance conducted with two "psychic" women subjects eventually caused a major dispute among academics, including psychologists and physicists (Ichiyanagi 1994;Sato and Sato 2006). Fukurai resigned his post in 1913, a year after the death of professor Motora.…”

Seeking double personality: Nakamura Kokyō's work in abnormal psychology in early 20th‐century Japan

“…Among the three different sciences of memory described by Hacking (the anatomical science of memory, the statistical science of memory, and dynamic psychiatry), Japanese psychiatry and academic psychology, which respectively followed the German schools of biological psychiatry and experimental psychology, were mainly concerned with the former two and devoted scant attention to dynamic psychiatry and psychology (Oda, 2001; Omata, 2000, pp. 87–108; Satō, 2002; Satō & Satō, 2005). It had also not received significant attention in contemporary healing and self‐cultivation cultures.…”

History of “History of Psychology” in Japan

“…Yujiro Motora (1858–1912) was the first Japanese scholar to introduce modern psychology to Japan and he trained many students in this new field (Sato & Sato, ). He learned modern psychology in the United States under Stanley Hall.…”