Imagery in Psychological Recovery from Trauma Caused by Earthquakes : Images of Namazue

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  • 鯰絵にみる震災体験の心理的関与によるイメージ化過程
  • ナマズエ ニ ミル シンサイ タイケン ノ シンリテキ カンヨ ニ ヨル イメージカ カテイ

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In this article, the process of psychological recovery from trauma caused by a major earthquake through the use of namazu (gigantic catfish) drawings (called namazue in Japanese) is examined. Namazue can bee seen in the tile block print pictures found in kawaraban, newspapers of the Tokugawa Period, several of which were published around the time of the Great Ansei Earthquake (1855) which struck Edo (Tokyo) at the end of the Edo Period. Ordinary people in Edo used catfish to symbolize the damage caused by the earthquake and their feelings toward it. According to Komatsu (1995), they were able to reduce their earthquake-related fear and anxiety through namazue. Komatsu classified the psychological modification process of the images of namazue into four categories: a) Direct expression, b) Imagery representing cursing, c) Personified and ambiguous images, and d) Images of recovery. This process is then compared with that of post-traumatic play therapy. Using a drawing of one elementary school student who suffered from a recent earthquake experience as an example, the same self-healing process of creating images of namazue can be seen. In conclusion, for reconstruction in the disaster area of the Great East Japan Earthquake to proceed, the author recommends that: 1) people should be mindful of the potential psychological effects that namazue may have on psychological recovery from trauma; 2) people should trust their own, innate human power of recovery; and 3) an environment should be created in which the psychological recovery process can proceed smoothly.

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