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Mieko Kamiya | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mieko Maeda (前田 美恵子) (1914-01-12)12 January 1914 Okayama, Japan |
| Died | 22 October 1979(1979-10-22) (aged 65) |
| Occupation | psychiatrist, author and translator |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Notable works | "On the meaning of life" 1966 |
| Spouse | Noburo Kamiya (神谷 宣郎) |
| Children | Two sons; Ritsu Kamiya (神谷 律) and Toru Kamiya (神谷 徹) |
| Relatives | Tamon Maeda (前田 多門) (father), Fusako Maeda (mother), Yoichi Maeda (前田 陽一) (brother) andMasaru Ibuka (brother in law) |
Mieko Kamiya (神谷 美恵子,Kamiya Mieko, January 12, 1914 – October 22, 1979) was a Japanesepsychiatrist who treatedleprosy patients atNagashima Aiseien Sanatorium. She was known for translating books on philosophy. She worked as a medical doctor in the Department of Psychiatry atTokyo University following World War II. She was said to have greatly helped theMinistry of Education and the General Headquarters, where theSupreme Commander of the Allied Powers stayed, in her role as an English-speaking secretary, and served as an adviser toEmpress Michiko. She wrote many books as a highly educated, multi-lingual person; one of her books, titledOn the Meaning of Life (ikigai ni tsuite in Japanese), based on her experiences withleprosy patients, attracted many readers.
Mieko Kamiya was born as the second child and the first daughter of five children of Tamon Maeda and Fusako Maeda. Tamon, a son of an Osaka merchant, was the prewar Japanese ambassador to the International Labour Organization and postwar Minister of Education. He became a Christian under the influence ofKanzo Uchimura.
Fusako, a daughter of a raw silk trader in Gunma, received a scholarship for the five years at the girls' high school ofFriends School (Japan) in Tokyo that had been established by theReligious Society of Friends (Quakers). Fusako had an English and Christian education there. Fusako was introduced to Tamon byInazo Nitobe and was married to him in 1910.[1]
The family moved toNagasaki and in 1920, Tamon became a deputy mayor of Tokyo. In 1921 he was appointed the Japanese representative to theInternational Labour Organization (ILO) atGeneva, Switzerland, whereInazo Nitobe worked as one of the Under-Secretaries General of theLeague of Nations. Kamiya had started to study English in the second grade atSacred Heart School in Tokyo from 1921. The family could speak English when they arrived in Geneva.
Kamiya was educated at theJean-Jacques Rousseau Institute (in French:Académie De Genève orInstitut Jean-Jacques Rousseau), whenJean Piaget, a developmental psychologist and philosopher known for his epistemological studies with children, was the principal. From 1924, she studied at the junior high school of theInternational School of Geneva (in French:Ecole Internationale de Genève). She later wrote that in reading and writing, French was most easy.
In 1926, the family returned to Tokyo. Kamiya entered the Juyu Gakuen, but changed her school within a few months to the Girls' High School of Seijo Gakuen (it now has a higher education department;Seijo University).[2]
In 1932, Kamiya entered theTsuda College. In 1934, she happened to visitTama Zenshoen Sanatorium as an organist accompanying a missionary. She was deeply impressed with leprosy patients there and felt that she should someday work for them. At that time, leprosy was an incurable disease, and all the people around her were against her becoming a physician. In 1935, she entered the College of the same school. She contracted tuberculosis, and while she was under treatment for the disease, she studied by herself classical literature in many languages, including Italian, French, German, and Greek. Her favorite wasMarcus Aurelius's book which she translated into Japanese later. Her tuberculosis cleared with pneumothorax therapy.
In 1938, in view of the worsening US-Japan relations, Japan set up a Japan Culture Center in New York, and her father, who was one of the editorial writers of the NewspaperAsahi Shimbun, was appointed as its head and the family moved to New York, except her elder brother, Yoichi Maeda, who lived in Paris. Kamiya began to study Greek literature at the Graduate School ofColumbia University and lived with her family in Scarsdale, New York. After her health condition improved, Kamiya studied atBryn Mawr College from February to the end of June 1939. She met Masa Uraguchi, who was a graduate student of botany atPhiladelphia University and who became her lifetime best friend. She also metWilhelm Sollmann, who was a German journalist, politician, and Interior Minister of theWeimar Republic. Kamiya had a close relationship with Mr. and Mrs. Sollmann until June 16, 1939. Kamiya also had a close relationship with Caroline C. Graveson, an English psychologist. When Graveson was leaving the United States, she said to Kamiya, "I predict your future. You'll be an author after you graduate from three M (Medicine, Marriage and Motherhood)."[3]
In 1940, Kamiya began to study medicine with the approval of her father, at the premedical course ofColumbia University. In fear of the coming war, in 1941, she returned to Japan and enteredTokyo Women's Medical University. Her father returned to Japan after the beginning of the US-Japan war in an exchange ship. In October 1942, she visited Masao Oota orMokutaro Kinoshita who was an authority on leprosy research atTokyo University and visitedNagashima Aiseien Sanatorium and spent 12 days there. She metKensuke Mitsuda and other staff and reconfirmed her interest in leprosy patients.
In the fall of 1944, she graduated from the medical school and entered the department of psychiatry ofTokyo University She was interested in psychiatry because one of her friends developedschizophrenia. In May 1945, her house burned down and she had to stay in the University treating patients.
After Japan's defeat in World War II, her father was appointed Minister of Education, and Kamiya was asked to become a secretary. She could speak fluent English and translated many papers. Her work continued after her father resigned in January 1946. In May, she returned toTokyo University and helped to examineShūmei Ōkawa who was a prisoner of theInternational Military Tribunal for the Far East.
In May 1946, she married Noburoh Kamiya, an instructor in botanical research atTokyo University. In 1949, he was appointed Professor atOsaka University and their family moved to Osaka. She translatedMarcus Aurelius Antoninus's book, which was published. Her husband was invited to teach at theUniversity of Pennsylvania where he had studied, but she and their two children remained inOsaka. She earned money for living expenses for their children, who had contractedtuberculosis, by teaching French.
In 1951, her family moved toAshiya. In 1957, she started her studies in psychiatry atNagashima Aiseien Sanatorium. She earned her Ph.D. in 1960. In the same year, she became a professor atKobe College and in 1963, also a professor at her alma materTsuda College. She taught not only psychiatry but also French literature. In 1965, she became chief psychiatrist atNagashima Aiseien Sanatorium. Her unique studies included a visit toVirginia Woolf's husband and also toMichel Foucault in 1966. She published a book, "On the Meaning of Life (ikigai ni tsuite)".[4]
Kamiya died on October 12, 1979, from heart disease at age 65.[5]
Kamiya's best known work is described in the Japanese Wikipedia articleOn the meaning of life (ikigai).[6]
According to Mieko Kamiya, the Japanese wordikigai means two things: the object itself and the feeling of the one who feelsikigai. The latter may also be calledikigai-kan (ikigai feeling). When a person considers what theirikigai is, they are likely to consider the following questions.
ikigai may be felt most when what a person wants to do is also their duty, when the answers to questions 1 and 2 are the same. However, there are people whoseikigai differs from what they do to make a living. In trying to forcibly match these, they may become nervous, may develop reactive depression, or even commit suicide.
Kamiya stated that those who have firmikigai would be those who realize their own mission, or purpose in life, and who are deliberately progressing toward their goals. They are usually not distinguished persons; they may be teachers at secondary schools, or those engaged in special education, or those working in hospitals in remote areas. If they are too busy or are otherwise unable to be faithful to what they should be, this spoils theirikigai most. What is important is pursuing their purpose, not whether or not they accomplish their goal. They will be satisfied even if they die if they are on the road to the accomplishments; but if they are not faithful, they cannot die satisfied.
According to Kamiya, when a person discovers a new theme for their existence, this theme should be in line with their true nature. The decision is very important, and if there is trouble in the decision, neurosis, or a pseudo-way of life, or even suicide may result. A new theme of life may be related to the former one, or may be a totally different one. An example might be the change from love for a human to love for God. This change in the theme of existence may be referred to as replacement of passion.Paul Gauguin may be cited as someone who experienced this, as he started his career as astockbroker, but went into drawing art at the age of 35.
According to Kamiya, the fundamental role of religion is to give a person unified standards of value, orikigai (meaning of life).
