Introduction
The author, a disciple of the founder of Naikan Method, Yoshimoto Ishin, and founder of “Meditation Forest Naikan Training Center,” introduces Naikan (especially one-week intensive Naikan) in an easy-to-understand manner. He first introduces the method and experiences, and then touches on its purpose, theory, and awareness (what is known at the moment). Then, many experiences of samadhi are recorded.
An event that led to me reading this book
During the last week of September, I went to the “Meditation Forest Naikan Training Center” for a week of intensive Naikan. There, I listened to a tape of Mr. Yanagida’s voice, and I wanted to buy the book he had written. It was out of print, but I was able to find a used copy on Amazon.
Several years ago, at a gathering with my former teacher, I learned that one of my high school classmates was running an introspection dojo. Although I had been interested in the idea since then, I could not imagine myself going threr, because as long as I continued to work as a salaried employee, it was impossible for me to be completely free for a week.
However, at the end of 2020 I quit my job.
After that, I heard from two people that introspection is important: one was a seminarian and the other was someone who works in connection with the unseen world.
Many other people have appeared around me saying that “the answer is inside of you,” even if they do not use the word “introspection.
I have always lived my life looking for answers on the outside. It was both advice and counsel to me.
By the way, if you search the Internet, you will find several training centers for “introspection” all over Japan. The Meditation Forest Naikan Training Center is located in Sakura City, Tochigi Prefecture (the nearest station is Ujiie Station on the JR Utsunomiya Line).
What is Naikan?
Naikan is, as the name implies, a self-examination of one’s inner self. However, there is a method to the “introspection method” initiated by Mr. Ishin Yoshimoto.
Let’s examine yourself in relation to your mother. “Examine yourself repeatedly, in chronological order of age, in regard to the things your mother has done for you, the things you have done for her, the things you have caused her trouble, the things your parents have paid for your childcare, your father, grandparents, sisters, uncles, aunts, brothers, spouse, parents, teachers, friends, superiors, subordinates, liars and thieves, senior staff, junior staff, clients, neighbors, people with whom you have a disagreement, and other people in your surroundings. Please repeat the following over and over again in chronological order.
Psychotherapy of Love: Naikan, Kakusei Yanagida, Inaho Shobo, p. 102
This is where it all begins. To explain a little more, I examine myself from the age of XX to the age of XX with respect to the other person, all the way to the present. For a mother, it is from age 0 to 3, then from age 4 to 6, and so on. At the training institute, I was instructed that it is a good idea to divide the years into 3 to 4 year periods until you enter society.
Now, there are three things to look for in a person’s life. What he/she has done for you, what you have done for him/her and what you have caused him/her trouble.
In a space surrounded by a half-tatami-mat folding screen, we would spend the whole morning and night going over these things in detail. (Only “the things your parents have paid for your childcare” is done in a different way.)
Regarding the three themes, he said, “I examine myself against the subject, just as a prosecutor examines a defendant. The best way to do this, he says, is to “recall the actual specific events and experiences as vividly as possible, in as detailed and pictorial a manner as possible.
Interviews are then conducted approximately every two hours. There are seven interviews a day.
The Meditation Forest Naikan Training Center is located in a quiet environment in the mountains on a site of about 7,000 tsubos (about 23,100 square meters). Although it is not mentioned in the book, a cell phone is a must item nowadays, and students are required to leave their cell phones behind as soon as they arrive at the training center. Naikan is an “interception therapy,” in which one considers one’s relationship with others without any external stimuli.
Spending the first, second, and third days is difficult, and it is hard to remember what you used to do when you were a toddler.”
Conversely, it is generally agreed that from the fourth day, introspection deepens.
However, I think this varies greatly from person to person; by the fourth day, I certainly became somewhat accustomed to the environment. Because I was still accustomed to living in a chair, I was not comfortable sitting on the floor or sitting on the floor, so I spent my time in the small tatami space, moving my body every five minutes while I did introspection. It is a very difficult environment for a modern person.
Purpose of Naikan
The purpose of introspection is described as follows.
The founder of introspection, Yoshimoto Ishin, said that introspection is a way to live joyfully, no matter what kind of adversity a person is suffering from, or even if others may feel sorry for him or her. The goal of introspection is to transform a person into such a state of mind.
Therefore, the goal of Naikan is to help people reach a state of peace and tranquility. Liberation means to be free from bondage, to be free from vexations, to overcome afflictions, and to have a peaceful state of mind free from sorrow. In other words, to do introspection is to be liberated.
Psychotherapy of Love: Naikan, Yanagida Tsurusei, Whinoho Shobo, p. 100-101
The first sentence is what Yoshimoto Ishin said, and the second sentence is a paraphrase of the author’s own words. The first part can be summed up in the phrase “Tenmei Kaigo” (“to become enlightened through the process of being lost”) and the second part in the phrase “Anshin Ritsumei.”
The Moment of Liberation
Several people are introduced under the title of “moments of liberation. The following is by Yoshimoto Ishin.
I am happy to be liberated from the illusion, and I can die anytime I want. I am so happy, I could die at any time.
(Omitted.)
My feet seemed to be walking on air about a foot high, and no matter what I saw or thought, I was happy, happy, happy, and intoxicated with the light of joy.
Psychotherapy of Love: Naikan, Tsurusei Yanagida, Whinoho Shobo, p. 106
The following is the author’s sudden realization one day. It is a bit long, but I would like to quote it.
In the next instant, a series of infinite logic, what I would call the philosophy of life, was elaborately and precisely constructed in my mind. It is thought that the momentary realization would have amounted to five hundred pages (20,000 words) in manuscript form. The logic was formed in an orderly and systematic manner.
Two realizations formed the core of this vast theory.
One is the total acceptance of the immeasurable sins committed from birth to now, and the other is the total acceptance of the countless experiences from birth to now – the entire life span, so to speak. Sin is the nourishment of one’s life, and experience is the time and space in which one’s history is engraved. When you have accepted both of these, you have found your true self, and you have found a sense of oneness with the universe.
(Omitted.)
What I gained physically from this experience was that the deep-seated discomfort in my left intestine and a clinging sensation in my right back were completely gone, and I no longer need reading glasses for my eyes.
(Omitted.)
Since my first experience of introspection under Dr. Yoshimoto in August 1976, I have done intermittent daily introspection and intensive introspection seven times.
My heart is now pounding with excitement.
Psychotherapy of Love: Naikan,” Tsurusei Yanagida, Whinoho Shobo, p. 117-119
May 20, 1980, 5:00 a.m.
Notes at the meditation forest by Tsurusei Yanagida, age 55
In closing
I would like to read the above sudden realization that the author had during his introspection (the full text is much longer) over and over again for a while. It took a very long time and a tremendous amount of practice to reach this point, but the words very well describe the state of being that was reached.
We tend to seal up the black history of the past, deny our past self and try to change, or run to positive thinking, but if we do these things, we will never reach the state of “Anshin Ritsumei.”
However, if we do this, we will never reach the state of “Anshin Ritsumei,” which means to know one’s destiny, to be at peace, and to be unmoved by things, which is the ultimate state in life. I, too, would like to die with a taste of this state of mind at the end of my life.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version), and revised a bit by me