Japan’s national religion is influenced by folklore and culture and it ultimately affects the Japanese’s views and interpretations of events. Kazuhiko Fukuda, a psychologist, who wrote the book High Prevalence of Isolated Sleep Paralysis: Kanashibari Phenomenon in Japan, describes different survey results regarding kanashibari. One of the surveys given, asked the subjects about their perceptions of kanashibari. The survey was given to 235 college students who lived in Canada and in Japan (86 Canadian and 149 Japanese). Many college students do not get a healthy amount of sleep. With sleep being the one of the main causes of sleep paralysis, college students are already vulnerable to experiencing kanashibari. The survey demonstrated that the
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After she experienced kanashibari, she decided to undergo “Oharai” (an exorcism ritual) at a local shrine (Yoshimura 162). Ayako, then asked why she felt the need to have an exorcism performed. She responded that “it had to have something to do with ghosts. I didn’t want to be possessed. I assumed there had been ghosts [in the room that night], and I didn’t want to get possessed” (Yoshimura 162). Yuka tried to explain more to Ayako why she automatically believed that it was a paranormal experience, but she could only justify her reaction by simply stating that “it just seemed to make perfect sense to her” (Yoshimura 162). Yuka claims to be an intuitive person and was relying on her gut in order to make sense of what had happened to her. Yuka and many other people in Japan will go to great lengths in order to never experience Kanashibari again. Yuka is an example of one of the many qualitative thinking Japanese victims, where after experiencing kanashibari, they rely on their religious beliefs to determine how to interpret the incident. She never considered Kanashibari as a harmless bodily reaction from waking up to early from the REM cycle, only that there was a ghost in her room. The product of her religion and culture influenced her view of the spirit world and of the medical field. She assumed it was a ghost without any proof by only relying on her previous knowledge of
After she experienced kanashibari, she decided to undergo “Oharai” (an exorcism ritual) at a local shrine (Yoshimura 162). Ayako, then asked why she felt the need to have an exorcism performed. She responded that “it had to have something to do with ghosts. I didn’t want to be possessed. I assumed there had been ghosts [in the room that night], and I didn’t want to get possessed” (Yoshimura 162). Yuka tried to explain more to Ayako why she automatically believed that it was a paranormal experience, but she could only justify her reaction by simply stating that “it just seemed to make perfect sense to her” (Yoshimura 162). Yuka claims to be an intuitive person and was relying on her gut in order to make sense of what had happened to her. Yuka and many other people in Japan will go to great lengths in order to never experience Kanashibari again. Yuka is an example of one of the many qualitative thinking Japanese victims, where after experiencing kanashibari, they rely on their religious beliefs to determine how to interpret the incident. She never considered Kanashibari as a harmless bodily reaction from waking up to early from the REM cycle, only that there was a ghost in her room. The product of her religion and culture influenced her view of the spirit world and of the medical field. She assumed it was a ghost without any proof by only relying on her previous knowledge of