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Attention deficit and attention training in early twentieth-century Japan

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ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders

Abstract

Yuzero Motora (1856–1912), regarded as the first professional Japanese psychologist, tried to address students’ attention difficulties through attention training methods of his own design. His reports contain the first description of ADHD-like symptoms in the history of Japan. Motora viewed “distractibility” as the irregular transition of attention. Students with low scores and attention difficulties who participated in Motora’s exercises showed improvement in arithmetic, psychological testing, and certain aspects of daily life. This article describes Motora’s theoretical conception of attention and attention training methodology, the history of attention deficit and attention training, and the significance of Motora’s experiments.

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Acknowledgments

This article is partly supported by a grant-in-aid from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, Japan (to TT). The authors want to thank Dr. Tatsuya Sato for offering information about Motora’s attention training.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Psychology, Ryukoku University, 125-1 Daiku-cho Higashi-hairu Omiya, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan

    Toshinobu Takeda

  2. Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan

    Mizuho Ando

  3. Institiute of Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan

    Keiko Kumagai

Authors
  1. Toshinobu Takeda
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  2. Mizuho Ando
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  3. Keiko Kumagai
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Correspondence to Toshinobu Takeda.

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Takeda, T., Ando, M. & Kumagai, K. Attention deficit and attention training in early twentieth-century Japan. ADHD Atten Def Hyp Disord 7, 101–111 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12402-014-0157-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12402-014-0157-7

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