Psychoanalytic Explorations into the Primal Relationship in Japan and India

Osamu Kitayama is a Training and Supervising Analyst at the Japan Psychoanalytic Society, Professor Emeritus at Kyushu University and President of Hakuoh University. He served as President of the Japan Psychoanalytic Society from 2016-2019 and continues to work with patients in private practice. He has authored numerous articles on culturally oriented psychoanalysis and books.Jhuma Basak is a Training and Supervising Analyst at the Indian Psychoanalytical Society. She has published on culture and gender. Over the past 20 years, she has presented at IPA Congresses along with the first Keynote from Asia-Pacific, 4th IPA-region at the 53rd IPA Congress (International Journal of Psychoanalysis). A past Co-chair of COWAP Asia-Pacific, she co-edited Psychoanalytic and Socio-Cultural Perspectives on Women in India: Violence, Safety and Survival (2021).

'Basak and Kitayama, experienced Indian and Japanese psychoanalysts, provide a brilliant model for the comparative study of psychoanalysis and culture. The themes they explore include mother-child dynamics; triadic relationships in the context of cultural practices; mythological symbolism as it relates to maternal sacrifice, guilt, and intense bonds between family members; shame culture; and the relationship between transience and resilience. A dialogue between Eastern and Western psychoanalytic traditions occurs that illuminates how family dynamics and cultural prohibitions differ, inform, and sometimes clash with each other. It is a profoundly interesting cross-cultural exploration for psychoanalysts, social scientists, and the general public.’Harriet L. Wolfe, M.D., President, International Psychoanalytical Association'The international psychoanalytic community will be both fascinated and deeply fertilised by this inspiring dialogue between an Indian and a Japanese analyst on fundamental issues of the human experience. Coming from two cultures so characterised, so rich in history, images and contents, they will contribute immensely to the future of psychoanalysis by opening up new scenarios and innovative ideas.’Stefano Bolognini, Past President International Psychoanalytical Association'This fascinating and historically important collection is an illuminating retrospective on the evolution of psychoanalysis in Japan and India. The artistic backgrounds of both authors brings their co-authorship together in an inspiring way. To read about some surprising convergences of the different cultures between India and Japan refreshes and advances both the practice and theory of psychoanalysis. Intriguing and stimulating I strongly recommend this book to all readers interested in the cultural impact on contemporary psychoanalysis.’Jan Abram, Author of The Surviving Object: psychoanalytic clinical essays on psychic survival-of-the-object (2022) New Library of Psychoanalysis, Routledge.

• Foreword Acknowledgement Content Introductions PART 1 The prohibition of ‘Don’t Look’ in Mythology, Culture, & Clinical Contexts 1. Creating Bridges: Japanese ‘resistance’ and approaches 2. Depth-psychotherapy in Shame Culture 3. Re-weaving the story of the prohibition of ‘Don’t Look’ 4. The Wounded Caretaker & Forced Guilt 5. Dependence and Transience: Beauty or Danger 6. Various Narratives Centring on “under the bridge” 7. Cultural Invocation of Maternal-fusion in Males – India and Japan 8. Vicissitudes of Transience in Covid Times – Reflection on ‘Shame Culture’, India PART 2 The Triadic Tryst 9. Being Drawn into a Primal scene 10. Music Heard When One jumps into a Swamp 11. Enthralled Infancy in a Bed of Parental Tryst PART 3 An Interface - ‘Listening to Asian Female Voices’ 12. Jhuma Basak to Osamu Kitayama 13. Osamu Kitayama to Jhuma Basak