Newsletter No.46 - History and Identity

Hello, everyone. I hope you all have been well and have adjusted your bodies to the wintry weather if you are living in the Southern Hemisphere. There is too much news in our current world that I want to turn away from, yet I see young people fighting for freedom of speech. In this chilly weather, I wear a Palestinian scarf that my dear Palestinian friend, whom I studied dance movement psychotherapy with 11 years ago, gifted me. This is a small part of me protesting the wars and uncontrolled violence. Speaking of a war, I have been pondering my identity as being Japanese. My children go to Japanese Saturday School, and there are many school functions where I listen to both national anthems. When I hear the Australian national anthem, I do not know why, but I get teary. I grew up with a family that did not allow me to sing the Japanese national anthem (Kimigayo) and hold the flag with pride. The Japanese Government, unlike the German Government, did not change the flag and national anthem when World War Two was over. When I was little, I used to go to many local gatherings where Korean old women gave testimonies of their horrifying sexual assaults by Japanese soldiers. I remember they were in white traditional Korean clothes called Chima Geogori and often outraged when speaking. I also remember that at one school occasion, all children stood up to sing the Kimigayo, and I remained muted. Someone said to the teacher, “Mioi did not sing the anthem!” When I watch the FIFA World Cup, I see some young Japanese people lay their hands on their chests and sing the Kimigayo so proudly. I see their gestures with mixed feelings. Living in Australia, I get to hear or even meet people who experienced the Second World War and had experienced the Japanese invasion either in Australia or in the Pacific islands. The history is continuous in us and living and real. I imagine myself sometimes about Germans, Israelis, Palestinians, Aboriginals, South Africans, to name a few. What is it like for them to live with their national identities? In my personal therapy, I am trying to find out the reason for my emotional responses to my ‘identity.’

Research

My research project about preverbal trauma has commenced again after some months of a pause. I am about to interview six foster/adoptive parents in June and July, and preparing for it. The Somatic Body Map is going to guide me on how these interview experiences will be internalised in my body. I am creating my own somatic body map to see my own research process as well as mitigate vicarious trauma in this process. My mentor/supervisor, Annette Schwalbe, asked what a talisman for me in this project could be. So, I kept exploring what it could be, and now I see an oxygen mask. As I read many case studies of preverbal trauma, I experienced breathlessness immensely. I am going to explore what my oxygen mask could look like on my map! After I gather and analyse the data, I will call for a focus group for parents and practitioners. If you work/have worked with children who experienced preverbal trauma and are interested in joining a focus group, please contact me. Research | Moving Circle (This research is funded by the Hanny Exiner Memorial Foundation.)

Individual Somatic Body Map

I have been offering individual somatic body mapping sessions for a couple of people who are a trans person, researcher, and a family. Each client has their own purposes to access their bodies and creativity, and I am looking forward to what is going to unfold in their journeys.

In-person Embodied Group Supervision

I am going to offer in-person embodied group supervision from July to December 2025. In this space, we will learn not only about being in the body but also the language that describes movements, postures, and gestures. I will actively bring the knowledge of Laban Movement Analysis to support practitioners to be able to notice embodied expressions in clients, even in talking therapy. Please contact me if you are interested. Likewise, I will continue to offer embodied group supervision online from July to December 2025. It is likely to have an online group on a Tuesday or Friday. The idea of group supervision also meets the low cost of supervision for practitioners.

I hope you will be kind to yourself when you see the reality in our world. We can do so much for our own people locally and globally.

Kind regards, Mioi