Learning the Art of a Healthy Mind from Ryōkan Using Famous Stories

The well-known Japanese monk, Ryōkan (1758–1831) achieved a timeless and unique self-realization, particularly in his search for truth in the world of poetry and calligraphy. On the other hand, many stories about the words and deeds of Ryōkan reflect unfavorably on him. In addition, much of Ryōkan’s behavior has been considered from a medical perspective. For example, the psychiatrist Iida (1987) argued for the strong possibility that Ryōkan had schizothymia in his psychopathology. However, he suggested that people can prevent or overcome the recurrence of a similar illness by learning about the life of someone like Ryōkan. Even though the hypothesis that Ryōkan had Asperger's syndrome (AS) has recently been suggested (Honma, 2012), the author indicated that Ryōkan’s psychopathology was similar to a mixture of schizotypal personality disorder and “developmental disorder,” which implies AS. And the author considered ways to learn about mental health from these characteristics. Although Doi (1985) often cited him, Ryōkan’s generous and agnostic freedom, such as “just walk on the ground,” was Ryōkan’s way. The author suggested that the “ground” of the clinical setting is important to clinical psychology.