A Comparative Investigation about three themes in Naikan between China and Japan. − Focusing on the View of "Trouble" −

Abstract

  Naikan therapy was established in Japan in the 1950s and was introduced into China in 1992. Naikan therapy in China has principally developed using “Variant Method Naikan,” which is a modification of the original method of Naikan used in Japan. However, the important components of the original treatment structure, notably the three Naikan themes, has been maintained in Chinese practice.

  In this study, we queried 62 Japanese students and 111 Chinese students using a questionnaire focused on the three themes of Naikan. As the result of this study, we suggest that the sense of ‘trouble’ is experienced as being much heavier for Chinese than for Japanese, and that the Chinese ‘guilt feeling’ resulting from the ‘trouble they have caused’ is closely associated with ingratitude towards parents. This suggests that Naikan therapy in China will need to develop based on Chinese family relationships and particular Chinese views of ‘trouble’ within those relationships.

  The results of this study show that a Chinese cultural background gives rise to interpretations of the three themes that are different from those in Japan. In particular, there was a notable difference between Chinese and Japanese assessments about the ‘guilt feeling’ that was recalled from ‘trouble they have caused’.