Takao Oda
Journal of Sandplay Therapy
Volume 21, Issue 1, 2012
Keywords
stone, meaningfulness, meaninglessness, sandplay therapy, clinical example, Japan, Japanese, over-clarification, stabilizing whole, meaning, “illness of meaning,” modern culture, sandplay, symbol, culture, city, meaning, stones, rocks, Western, depression
Abstract
The article deals with meaningfulness and meaninglessness of stones. In Japan, we see many stones that are casually placed about the city. Although many of the stones in the city can be understood aesthetically or through folklore, there are also many stones that cannot be understood from these viewpoints. This suggests that Japanese people like to place meaningless objects, and the stones will be suitable for the placement in such a case. The author also discusses the stones that appeared in sandplay therapy processes. Three case examples illustrate the stone’s power to stabilize the whole without over-clarifying or burdening the meaning. The author focuses more on the meaninglessness of stones as a means to resist the illness of meaning in modern culture. This paper was presented at the 21st ISST Congress: Origins, Evolution, Essentials, 2011, Ittingen, Switzerland.
German / Deutsch
Steine in der Stadt: Bedeutung und Bedeutungslosigkeit von Steinen
SCHLÜSSELWÖRTER: Steine, Bedeutung, Bedeutungslosigkeit, Sandspieltherapie, Fallbeispiel, Japan, japanisch, Übererklärung, Stabilisierung des Ganzen, Sinn, »bedeutungskrank«, moderne Kultur, Sandspielprozeß, Symbol, Kultur, Stadt, Bedeutung. Dieser Text wurde auf dem 21. ISST Kongreß 2011 in Ittingen, Schweiz vorgetragen
Suggested Citation
Ueda, T. (2012). Stones in the city: Meaningfulness and meaninglessness of stones. Journal of Sandplay Therapy, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.61711/jst.2012.21.1.531
