12 Tsuruko Haraguchi

General Biography

Tsuruko Haraguchi was born “Tsuruko Arai” on June 18th, 1886 in the city of Tomioka, Japan to a wealthy family of five, being the middle child of the three (Takasuna, 2007; 2013). In her youth, Haraguchi knew she was going to be someone important, as she graduated two years ahead of her classmates in high school and then attended college in Tokyo in 1903 (Jenkins, 2013). Haraguchi’s impact stretched further than the field of psychology, as she was a trailblazer in allowing women into higher education.

Attending Japan Women’s University, Haraguchi studied Humanities in the Faculty of English Literature. She was dedicated to completing her degree and pursuing her courses (Jenkins, 2013). Through one of her undergraduate courses, Haraguchi was introduced to a professor by the name of Matataro Matsumoto, who inspired her (Takasuna, 2013). Though Japanese women were not able to get graduate degrees from Japanese universities, Haraguchi was able to find a roundabout solution. After graduating with her literature degree in 1906, Haraguchi did not go to a Japanese university since Japan was not able to offer any graduate programs for women. Instead, she headed to New York where she pursued her doctorate in psychology at Teachers College of Columbia University. Here, she became a student of psychologist Edward Lee Thorndike and began doing research alongside him (Jenkins, 2013).

Throughout her years of doing research, Haraguchi primarily focused on one area, which was mental fatigue. Her research mainly consisted of herself as a participant doing mental multiplication using two four-digit numbers, as well as translating a textbook authored by pioneering psychologist John Dewey into Japanese (Takasuna, 2013). Haraguchi also conducted research in other areas including female independence, international studies, and married couples, but ultimately she found the most success with her mental fatigue research.

In 1912, Haraguchi wrote her doctoral thesis titled “Mental Fatigue.” This work became well-received by other psychologists who replicated it (Jenkins, 2013). The only problem was that the thesis was unpublished, but because of her previous work with Thorndike, Haraguchi’s work was given exposure in the journal Educational Psychology (Takasuna, 2013), where her ideas were popularized. On June 15, 1912, Haraguchi earned her Ph.D., which was a historical moment not only for herself but for Japan, as she was the first Japanese woman to earn a Ph.D. in any field of study (Onuki & Sato, n.d).

In addition to graduating with a Ph.D., on that same day Haraguchi got married. Her husband, Takejiro Haraguchi (1882–1951), became a professor at Waseda University, and the two remained married through her tuberculosis diagnosis and eventual death (Takasuna, 2013). Before then, Haraguchi became a mother of two children, but according to her daughter, Sayuri Kuranishi, “she did not remember anything of her mother” because she died very young (Takasuna, 2013). Even then, Sayuri and her brother printed her essay, “Happy Memories,” as a lasting memory of their mother and her experience in the United States (Takasuna, 2013). Although Haraguchi’s death came at the early age of 29 in 1915, that would not change the impact that she created through her work.

Important Achievements

In pursuit of an education, Haraguchi enrolled at Teachers College of Columbia University as “the only Japanese student and the only female doctoral student in the program” (Jenkins, 2013; Ceynar et al., 2023). At this institution, Haraguchi served under the direction of Edward Lee Thorndike (Jenkins, 2013; Cash White, 2022). Haraguchi’s memoir describes that she felt uncertain about applying to a doctoral program, yet Thorndike recommended she try, to which she was successfully admitted (Takasuna, 2020; Ceynar et al., 2023). Throughout her career, Haraguchi additionally worked under the mentorship of Robert Sessions Woodworth and James McKeen Cattell, focusing on mental manipulation research tasks (Onuki & Sato, n.d.).

Haraguchi is primarily known for her work on mental fatigue (Takasuna, 2020). She conducted these experiments using herself as a subject, which included translating literature from English to Japanese, as well as executing mathematical problems in her mind, while measuring her physiological reactions (Takasuna, 2013; Jenkins, 2013). Her research specifically investigated the influence of “mental work on physiological processes and on the efficiency of mental functions” (Jenkins, 2013). A few years after graduating from Teachers College in 1912, Haraguchi expanded her initial graduate research on mental fatigue and published Studies on Mental Work and Fatigue (Jenkins, 2013).

In Studies on Mental Work and Fatigue, published in 1914, Haraguchi investigated the effects of performing mental tasks and how this affected the body’s physiological reactions, while also measuring how the quality, referred to as the “efficiency” of mental activities, deteriorated or improved over time, in relation to fatigue (Ceynar et al., 2023; Jenkins, 2013). The work of Haraguchi is considered to be “among the earliest in this area” of experimental psychology and has created a foundation for which modern psychologists analyze its replicability using measures of validity and reliability (Ceynar et al., 2023).

Other topics Haraguchi focused on throughout her career included analyses of female independence, international studies, married couples, and the cultural differences between American and Japanese women (Cash White, 2022). Throughout her time in Japan, Haraguchi worked on papers and articles, while also teaching at Japan Women’s University (Takasuna, 2013; 2020). Haraguchi’s final work was a Japanese translation of Hereditary Genius by Sir Francis Galton, as well as a memoir published in 1915, which was based on her time at Columbia University. The memoir was originally titled Tanoshiki Omohide, which translated to “Happy Memories” (Jenkins, 2013).

Historical Context 

Although it was difficult for women to pursue education further than high school, Haraguchi was motivated by her professor, Matataro Matsumoto, to engage in higher education at a university (Jenkins, 2013; Takasuna, 2007). Through Matataro’s guidance, Haraguchi moved to the United States to obtain her graduate education (Takasuna, 2007). Matataro, a Japanese psychologist with high prestige, having graduated from Yale with a Ph.D., established the Japanese Psychological Association (JPA) in 1927 and the Japanese Journal of Psychology, in addition to being Haraguchi’s mentor (Okamoto, 1976; Jenkins, 2013).

As the first Japanese woman to earn a graduate degree in psychology, Haraguchi influenced other individuals to attain an education. The second female Japanese psychologist, Tomiko Kōra, worked towards an education in the United States as well, with a focus on gender in psychology (Takasuna, 2007; Jenkins, 2013). While Haraguchi’s influence on Kōra was indirect, the work she completed inspired the integration of Japanese women in higher education. Additionally, in a related field, the career and life of Haraguchi inspired female Japanese film director, Etsuko Izumi, to create a film about Haraguchi’s life (Takasuna, 2013).

At Japan Women’s University, Haraguchi emphasized the importance of permitting women to become integrated into the study of psychology and recommended that they initiate a program that focused on experimental psychology (Onuki & Sato, n.d.). This laboratory allowed women the opportunity to participate in research relevant to their interests. This contribution permitted the structure of the Japanese university to change, as women had struggled to belong in the system of higher education (Takasuna, 2007).

In Japan during the 20th century, because only men were admitted into institutions of higher education, specified schools labeled as “colleges” were developed for women, which were not formally associated with higher education institutions (Takasuna, 2007; 2013). One of the universities that included a “college” in its name was Japan Women’s College (Takasuna, 2007). It was not until 1947 that a law formally recognized women’s colleges as accredited educational organizations (Takasuna 2013; 2020). After graduating from Japan Women’s College, Haraguchi left for the United States and published her thesis on mental fatigue, which Edward Thorndike acknowledged in the journal Educational Psychology (Takasuna, 2007).

Aside from assumptions that were held about women in education, the social environment of Japan impacted how the field and study of psychology were viewed (Takasuna, 2007). Japan was considered a collectivist culture, but shifted slightly toward an individualistic perspective during the late 1860s with globalization (Takasuna, 2007; 2020). Regardless of this slight shift in ideals, Japan still remains a predominantly collectivist culture today. This change enabled ideas from Western cultures to emerge and enter Japanese society, creating modifications to its structure. This included developments in the government, laws, and the attitudes toward different societies’ customs and trends. Within this cultural shift, Japan was introduced to new subjects of research, which included psychology. With an emphasis on the individual, psychology challenged the collectivistic views of Japan. With time, though, the discipline began to integrate itself into Japanese society (Takasuna, 2007).

It’s also important to note that some of the research Haraguchi conducted was related to the Eugenics movement. This movement began in Britain, and was emphasized in the book Hereditary Genius (1869) by Sir Francis Galton, which Haraguchi translated to Japanese (Tatsuya, 2010; Jenkins, 2013). Galton, a Victorian polymath, and cousin of Charles Darwin, was regarded as the “Father of Eugenics,” having created the concept in 1883 to encourage the “fittest individuals” to breed (Farber, 2008). Haraguchi’s mentor, Matataro Matsumoto, was described as an “enthusiast” of Eugenics, having published “The Rise and Fall of the Elite Race,” which regarded Eugenics with an apparent interest (Tatsuya, 2010; Sitcawich, 1998, p. 83).

The Eugenics movement in Japan began before World War II and continued throughout the war (Tatsuya, 2010). It spread to Japanese psychologists, including Haraguchi, whose research was used to investigate and establish “methods for measuring human abilities” and “differences in mental capacities” (Tatsuya, 2010, p. 17; Sitcawich, 1998, p. 84). While Haraguchi’s direct involvement in the Eugenics movement is not explicitly discussed, several women who attended Japan Women’s College were under the guidance of Matsumoto. This resulted in the production of research relevant to the ideas behind Eugenics (Sitchwich, 1998, p. 325). Haraguchi specifically pursued research related to the concept of mental abilities and how this varied across groups, including age and race (Sitcawich, 1998).

Historical Impact 

Although Haraguchi’s life was cut short at the age of 29 from tuberculosis, the time she spent doing research had an impact on psychology. Her dissertation was relatively important, as it had been published in 1912, which was only 40 years after the development of William James’s psychology research lab (Ceynar et al., 2023). This meant that many questions in psychology were still being unraveled with regard to what areas needed focus and how to approach them.

Haraguchi’s dissertation reviewed previous research on mental fatigue, which eventually led to further questions about the connections between the mental fatigue, physiology, and biology (Ceynar et al., 2023). After reviewing Haraguchi’s research, it was clear to many psychological researchers that her design and methodologies had flaws, given she was often the only research subject of her experiments and investigations. Regardless of this, at the time of the publication of her research, Haraguchi’s methods reflected what several other psychologists were practicing, as “her dissertation demonstrated what our early science looked like” (Ceynar et al., 2023).

Though her career ended early, Haraguchi still had an influence on those who were around her. In the journal Educational Psychology, her advisor Edward Thorndike referenced her work (Jenkins, 2013). She was also an inspiration to several Japanese women seeking graduate education like Tomiko Kōra, who became the second female psychologist in Japan (Takasuna, 2013). Yet, while Haraguchi did not develop any theory that is taught today, she was an early psychologist who had a positive impact and helped lay the foundation of psychology. Her work on mental fatigue, despite its flaws, demonstrated the potential approaches to be taken by future psychologists in regard to choosing participants and engaging in education.

References

Cash White, K. (Host). (2022, March 18). Women in psychology (No. 3) [Audio podcast episode]. In Are Your Notes Finished Yet? Conversations for Today’s Mental Health Professionals. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from https://finishednotes.com/episodes/women-in-psychology/

Ceynar, M. L., Nkwonta, A. M., Cline, D. C. L., & Grahe, J. (2023). Studying mental fatigue: Dr. Tsuruko Arai Haraguchi inspires from the past. In Grahe, J., Ceynar, M., & Mason, R.S. (Eds.). Early psychological research contributions from women of color, Volume 1 (1st ed.). Routledge. https://rb.gy/q1ljms

Farber, S. A. (2008). U.S. scientists’ role in the eugenics movement (1907-1939): A contemporary biologist’s perspective. Zebrafish, 5(4), 243–245. https://doi.org/10.1089/zeb.2008.0576

Jenkins, A. (2013). Profile of Tsuruko Haraguchi. Psychology’s Feminist Voices Digital Archive. Retrieved February 23, 2023 from https://feministvoices.com/profiles/tsuruko-haraguchi

Okamoto, S. (1976). “Dr. Matataro Matsumoto: His career and achievements”. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences. 12(1): 31–38. https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6696(197601)12:1%3C31::AID-JHBS2300120104%3E3.0.CO;2-J

Onuki, Y., & Sato, T. (n.d.). Japanese psychologists: G-h. A Brief History of Japanese Psychologists. Oklahoma State University. Retrieved February 12, 2023 from https://psychology.okstate.edu/museum/japanese/g-h.html

Sitcawich, S. O. (1998). Eugenics in an Imperial Japan: Some ironies of modernity, 1883-1945 (9900914) [Doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1487952208105178

Takasuna, M. (2020). The first generation of Japanese women psychologists. Genealogy, 4(2), 61. https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy4020061

Takasuna, M. (2013). Tsuruko Haraguchi (1886 – 1915). Society for the Psychology of Women. Retrieved February 12, 2023 from https://www.apadivisions.org/division-35/about/heritage/tsuruko-haraguchi-biography

Takasuna, M. (2007). What was not discussed: Reply to comments. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, 41, 114-119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-007-9007-x

Tatsuya, S. (2010). Prewar and wartime Japanese psychology: Involvement with eugenics, military affairs and education. Collected Papers for Human Services Research, 17-19. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=d236d2d60576e011a2f292153aa6c6b4627fc85a