Katsumasa An's 'Healing Emotional Wounds' Part 4 Review (NHK 100 Minutes on Great Books, January 2025)
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Through parts 1 to 3, we considered the importance of emotional care through psychiatrist Katsumasa An's book, 'Healing Emotional Wounds'.
Part 4 also touched upon the underlying thoughts of An, who worked tirelessly in emotional care activities.
A psychological place of belonging is an environment where one is accepted by others, is not infringed upon by others, and feels safe being there. It means having safe interpersonal relationships and having one's own position secured within a certain group or local community.
An was born to Zainichi Korean parents. In the first episode of the NHK Saturday drama 'Healing Emotional Wounds', the protagonist (modeled after Katsumasa An) is seen struggling with that identity throughout. The fact that this book emphasizes the importance of a 'psychological place of belonging' is likely deeply related to An's own experience of worrying about being a social minority.
How will Japanese society accept this human vulnerability in the future? Will it choose a society where wounded people can heal their hearts, or will it choose a harsh society that discards the wounded...? (omitted) The world is full of psychological trauma. 'Healing emotional wounds' is not something that can be left solely to psychiatry or psychology. It is a question posed to all of us living today regarding how society should be.
Even after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, Japan has been struck by major natural disasters such as the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Kumamoto Earthquake, and the Noto Peninsula Earthquake. An stated that in the process of facing wounded disaster victims, he was made to realize 'how vulnerable human beings are'.
What is necessary to realize a society that accepts 'human vulnerability'?
I believe 'Healing Emotional Wounds' can also serve as a catalyst for thinking about that.