Transcendental Collaboration: The Significance of Itako’s Kuchiyose in Promoting Grief Care for Suicide-Bereaved Family Members

This chapter seeks to clarify the support provided by itako—a spirit medium based on a folk belief in Aomori prefecture, Japan—to bereaved families in order to overcome grief caused by the loss of a family member due to suicide. To this end, we conducted semi-structured interviews with seven women in their 30–70s who, more than 12 months from the study start date, lost family members to suicide and sought the help of itako. Through these interviews, we phenomenologically grasped the transcendental collaborative relationship that exists between the bereaved family member, the spirit of the deceased, and the itako as the spirit medium. By asking the reason for suicide through the itako, the bereaved family members reported finding healing in discovering the value of the deceased’s life by empathizing with the deceased’s way of life. Furthermore, by personally experiencing divine protection from and connection to the deceased and achieving mutual forgiveness while grieving, the bereaved reported acquiring a divine revelation to carry on with life and reported being able to cleanse their mind.