Mourning in Japan
JOE YAMAMOTO M.D.1,
KEIGO OKONOGI M.D.2,
TETSUYA IWASAKI M.D.3, , and
SABURO YOSHIMURA M.D.4
1 Associate professor of psychiatry, University of Southern California School of Medicine, 2025 Zonal Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. 90033
2 Ikyokucho, Keio Gijuku University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
3 Instructor, Keio Gijuku University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
4 Chief medical examiner, Tokyo
The authors examine the process of mourning in a culture whose religions sanction the implied presence of the deceased through ancestor worship, as compared to a culture where this is not acceptable or encouraged. Most of 20 Japanese widows interviewed during the acute grief phase of mourning adhered to the cultural beliefs and were less depressed and anxious and had less difficulty accepting the loss than those who did not. The authors suggest that the almost universal Japanese custom of ancestor worship serves an important adaptive function in the work of mourning.
