The True Story of the Practice of Music Therapy in Prewar Japan: Mainly Based on the `Byosha ian shorui tsuzuri' (Documents on Consolation of Patients), Collection of the Matsuzawa Hospital

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16H07427
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Sociology/History of science and technology
• Research Institution: International Research Center for Japanese Studies
• Principal Investigator: MITSUHIRA Yuki 国際日本文化研究センター, 研究部, 機関研究員 (20778675)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-08-26 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 音楽療法 / 近代日本精神医学 / 松沢病院 / 病者慰安書類綴

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In order to grasp the distinctive nature of the practice of Japanese music therapy during the pre-war period, this study surveys and analyses existing music therapy treatment records at the Tokyo Metropolitan Matsuzawa Hospital, focusing on the compilation ‘Byosha ian shorui tsuzuri’.The research found that ‘Active music therapy’ and ‘Passive music therapy’ were continually ongoing at the Matsuzawa Hospital during the pre-war period as part of psychotherapy and occupational therapy overall. The study found that during music therapy, instruments and music were chosen so as to match the patients’ cultural backgrounds and tastes, and that there was a tendency to avoid stimulating tones and lyrics. While the scope of the study was limited to music therapy in Matsuzawa Hospital, the study resulted in demonstrating that the practice of music therapy was spreading among psychiatric hospitals in Japan from the late nineteenth century to up to the pre-war years.

Free Research Field

音楽療法史