Pathography in Japan: Exploring the relationship between creativity and the psyche

Abstract

Abstract Pathography is a medical anthropological approach that examines the relationship between creation and psychiatric disorders through psychopathological and psychoanalytical lenses using case studies. Since it was first defined in the mid‐1960s, pathography in Japan has kept pace with current advances in psychopathological research. However, to date, the findings of pathographic research in Japan have not been published in English. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to introduce the history, methodology, and development of pathography in Japan to the English‐speaking world, accompanied by some classical examples. The paper first describes the history of pathography, from its origins in ancient Greece to important research in the field, including examples of publications and translations. Next, the paper presents the methodology of classical pathography as an approach that shares clinical psychopathology and psychiatric evaluation methods. This topic also introduces five main theses on the relationship between creativity and psychiatric disorders: opposition (“in spite of”), parallelism (“because of”), substitution (“instead of”), intrinsic (“belonging to”), and sublimation (“subsequent to”). Finally, the paper describes the development of pathographic research in Japan by summarizing the pathographies of several figures, including both creators and characters in literary works, and introducing the latest research on salutography, a newly developed field of study that explores the relationship between creativity and mental health. The paper concludes with a few words about the current limitations of pathography and suggestions for ethical considerations with respect to privacy legislation.

Keywords

• creativity
• pathography
• psychoanalysis
• psychopathology
• salutography