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

Nakamura Kokyō studied a woman with a split personality who lived as his maid from 1917 until her death in 1940, serving as his muse and assistant in promoting abnormal psychology. Multiple personality was central to Nakamura's theory of the subconscious, based on dissociation. It also became a flashpoint in his disputes with religious groups, who invoked Western psychical research to modernize their doctrines of spirit possession. Nakamura distinguished his psychological view from spiritual understandings by emphasizing individual memories—especially traumatic ones—and hysteria. His views on memory and hysteria conflicted with both academic mainstream and cultural beliefs, which may partly explain the limited success of his campaigns.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This paper examines Nakamura Kokyō's study of a woman with a split personality who lived in his home as a maid from 1917 until her death in 1940. She was his indispensable muse and assistant in his efforts to promote abnormal psychology and psychotherapy. This paper first explores the central position of multiple personality in Nakamura's theory of the subconscious, which was largely based on the model of dissociation. It then examines how it became a central issue in Nakamura's disputes with religions including the element of spirit possession, which invoked Western psychical research to modernize their doctrines. While both were concerned with the subconscious and alterations in personality, Nakamura's psychological view was distinguished from those spiritual understandings by his emphasis on individual memories, particularly those that were traumatic, and hysteria. The remaining sections of the paper will examine Nakamura's views on memory and hysteria, which conflicted with both the academic mainstream and the established cultural beliefs. This conflict may partly explain the limited success of Nakamura's academic and social campaigns.