Fukurai, Tomobichi

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Fukurai, Tomobichi

President of the Psychical Institute of Japan, professor of Kohyassan University, and former professor at the Imperial University of Tokyo. He was obliged to resign because of a book he published in 1913 on his experiments with Chizuko Mifune and Ikuko Nagao, declaring clairvoyance to be a fact.

With Nagao's assistance, Fukurai also conducted experiments in thought photography. Other mediums with whom he experimented included three women, Tetsuko Moritake, Sadako Takahashi, and Tenshin Takeuchi, and one man, Kohichi Mita. His results were presented in the 1913 book, translated into English in 1921 under the title Clairvoyance and Thoughtography. The book was reissued with additional matter in 1931 and again in 1975. The implications of Fukurai's pioneer work were not pursued in the West for many years. Jule Eisenbud 's work with the "thought photography" of Ted Serios in 1964 had parallels to Fukurai's investigations.

Sources:

Fukurai, Tomobichi. Clairvoyance and Thoughtography. 1921. Rev. ed. London: Rider, 1930. Reprint, 1975.

Otani, Soji. "Past and Present Situation of Parapsychology in Japan." In Parapsychology Today: A Geographic View. Edited by Allan Angoff and Betty Shapin. New York: Parapsychology Foundation, 1973.