Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Psicologia Analítica, 2016  99 Ludmila da Silva Pires* Abstract This article is a review of the book The Japanese psyche – major motifs in the fairy tales of Japan, written by Hayao Ka- wai. After a brief contextuali- zation about the author and his work, which aimed to transform analytical psychology in a body of thought and practice that could grasp the Japanese mind, there is a critical analysis of the Kawai’s work and his theoreti- cal formulation.  Keywords: analytical psychology, Japanese fairy tales, Hayao Kawai, Japanese culture. As the first Jungian psycho- logist in Japan, Hayao Kawai ( , 1928-2007) greatly influenced the field of clinical psychology and Japanese’s cultural and religious studies. He introduced the concept of sandplay in Japanese psycho- logy, as well as actively parti- cipated in the Eranos Circle in 1982. One of his best-known books, The Japanese psyche – major motifs in the fairy tales of Japan, is proposed to exam- ine Japanese mind through an interpretation of Nipponese fairy tales, and make compari- sons with their western coun- terparts. The book describe, throughout its nine chapters, Kawai’s efforts to transform analytical psychology into a body of thought and practice that could grasp the Japanese mind, based on an eastern psy- che structure, not just being a simple transposition of western psychological concepts and practices to Japan. In this book, the author’s proposal is to provide an under- standing between Japanese people and the “people of the West”, both in their similarities, but also in their distinctive prop- erties. Considering folklore and mythology as sources of under- standing the depths of the hu- man mind, Kawai makes use of the  (Mukashi Banashi ) – the “Ancient Tales”, which com- pose the Nipponese folklore, products of Japanese imagina- tion. Thereafter, it underlines the importance of the female fi- gure in the field of Japanese psyche – covering a variety of characters like the goddess-sun Amaterasu, the queen Pimiko, to the powerful female shamans of Shinto shrines (KAWAI, 2007, p. 11-12). In the introduction, Kawai presents his justification for choosing these stories in his book. His approach is based on the strength of these folkloric female figures, describing how these can be considered as rep- resentatives of a Japanese ego. To base his comparisons and the development of his thought, the author refers to James Hillman’s work and his arche- typal psychology, and the ego’s development theory by Erich Neumann. However, he goes further to highlight the pecu- liarities of Japanese stories, cre- ating a rich and deep under- standing of Nipponese culture and personality. Furthermore, it proposes a kind of develop- mental point of view of an ego which could be suitable to Japa- nese psyche. The first chapter, called “The forbidden room”, is dedicated to study the story “The nigh- tingale’s home” ( ウグイスの, Uguisu No Sato), a tale that clear- ly moves between conscious- ness and unconscious spaces. The main issues addressed by Kawai are a transgression of a Book review * Degree in psychology by Faculty of Administratives Studies of Minas Gerais (2014). Professional practices in the áreas of public policies, developing projects in the third sector and in the psychologist’s ethical code. Currently, teaches courses of oriental body practices and work as a project coordinator at the NGO Espaço Mãos Dadas. Email: <pires.ludmila1@gmail.com>. The Japanese psyche – major motifs in the fairy tales of Japan KAWAI, Hayao. São Paulo: Paulus, 2007. 278 p. v.34, p.99-101 Junguiana