# Work, Self, and Society: A Socio-historical Study of Morita Therapy

## TL;DR

This paper explores how Morita Therapy, rooted in Japanese culture, helped people reconcile personal identity with societal expectations through work in early 20th-century Japan.

## Contribution

The study offers a socio-historical analysis of Morita Therapy's emphasis on work as a bridge between self and society.

## Key findings

- Morita Therapy framed mental illness as a result of alienating work environments.
- It provided a philosophy for middle-class individuals to integrate into work without losing self-worth.
- The therapy's appeal was tied to its socio-historical context in Japan's early 20th-century work culture.

## Abstract

Morita therapy is known as a psychotherapy grounded in the culture of Japan, particularly its Buddhist culture. Its popularity in Japan and other East Asian countries is cited as an example of the relevance and importance of culture and religion in psychotherapy. To complement such interpretations, this study adopts a socio-historical approach to examine the role and significance of work in Morita’s theory and practice within the broader work environment and culture of the 1920s and 1930s in Japan. Morita conceptualized shinkeishitsu as a personality disease and a social illness caused by an alienating work environment. He proposed a remedy that emphasized the subjective emotional experience of work. To his primarily middle-class clients and readers, Morita’s reconciliation between the self and society and that between autonomy and compliance was persuasive and useful, providing a philosophy whereby they could integrate into the work environment without loss of self-worth. The socio-historical character of Morita therapy is vital to understanding its power and appeal during Morita’s time. Moreover, it sheds light on the complex interrelationships between work, mental health, and society.