Occultism and the Tohoku Region in Postwar Japan: A Study of the Tohoku Psychic Science Association

Ongoing

Occultism and the Tohoku Region in Postwar Japan: A Study of the Tohoku Psychic Science Association

Research Term August 2026 – March 2027
Principal Investigator Ken'nosuke MOTEGI (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University)

Overview

This study explores the multi-faceted relationship between post-war Japanese 'psychical research' (modern spiritualism), science, culture, and academia. It takes as its point of departure the activities of the Tohoku Psychical Science Research Association, which was established in 1946 by researchers and students from Tohoku University alongside prominent intellectuals. Through archival investigations, this project aims to elucidate the nature of their activities and their interpersonal networks. Furthermore, it examines the historical position of psychical research from interdisciplinary perspectives—including literature and history—while also investigating the relationship between Post-WWⅡ local society and psychical research.

Researchers

Ken'nosuke MOTEGI

Principal Investigator
Associate Professor, Center for Integrated Japanese Studies / Graduate School of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University

Field of research: Cultural Representation

Satoshi KATO

Co-Investigator
Vice Director, Center for Integrated Japanese Studies / Professor, Tohoku University Archives, Tohoku University

Field of research: Modern and Contemporary Japanese History, Archival Science

Orion KLAUTAU

Co-Investigator
Associate Professor, Center for Integrated Japanese Studies / Graduate School of International Cultural Studies, Tohoku University

Field of research: Religious Studies, Intellectual History

Masato NIHEI

Co-Investigator
Professor, Center for Integrated Japanese Studies / Graduate School of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University

Field of research: Modern and Contemporary Japanese Literature

Kimi AKAI

Co-Investigator
Associate Professor, Center for Integrated Japanese Studies / Graduate School of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University

Field of research: Japanese Theatre

Collaborators

・Liana SAIF
(Associate Professor, Centre for the History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents, University of Amsterdam)

・Julian STRUBE
(Professor, Faculty of Theology, University of Göttingen)

Project Summary Slide

Summary slide of the research overview. (Click to view larger image)

Project Summary Slide