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The Rise and Fall of Neurasthenia in Japanese Psychiatry

Kyoichi Kondo

The history of the theory and treatment of neurosis in modem Japanese psychiatry began with the exploration of the concept of neurasthenia, introduced through German psychiatry and French neurology. An original perspective on the diagnosis and treatment of neuras thenia was developed by Morita who founded Morita Therapy. Neurasthenia gradually came to be discussed in relation to Morita's concept of shinkeishitsu. Since World War II, the term neurosis has replaced neuras thenia. At the present time in Japan, neurasthenia is used with only a limited and narrow meaning. Clinical data in Japan show an increase in neurasthenia during World War II and a decrease after the war. In its place, there has been an increase in obsessive-compulsive and phobic symptoms. This rise and fall of neurasthenia can be related to changes in the theory of neurosis along with changing sociocultural conditions.

Transcultural Psychiatry, Vol. 31, No. 2, 137-152 (1994)
DOI: 10.1177/136346159403100204


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