[A consideration of the name of the Ajase complex]

The concept of the "Ajase complex" was advocated by Heisaku Kosawa, one of the researchers who brought psychoanalysis into Japan. Kosawa's emphasis was originally on the feeling of guilt that is based on the apologetic feeling that comes from being forgiven, in contrast with the guilt that comes from the fear of punishment. However, Okonogi, a disciple of Kosawa, began to change this concept's emphasis to mother/child friction. The Ajase (Ajătaśatru) story which Kosawa and Okonogi based the origin of the name "Ajase complex" on is far different from that of the Buddhist scriptures. The most significant difference is as follows: in the Ajase legend, that comes mainly from two Buddhist scriptures, the Contemplation Sŭtra and the Mahăyăna-mahăparinirvăna-sŭtra, the murder of the father by the child Ajase is the main theme and resembles the Oedipus complex. The episode of Ajase trying to kill her mother, Vaidehi, comes from the mother Vaidehĭ trying to help the imprisoned king and does not come from mother/child friction. In the Ajase complex, the mother's planned pregnancy to ensure the connection of love with her husband, the king, the attempted murder of Ajase, who is the reincarnation of the hermit, by Vaidehĭ, and the story of how a mother's love saves Ajase from the hate that grew out of the mother/child friction, are not included in the above-mentioned Buddhist scriptures. The story to back up the Ajase complex comes from Kosawa and Okonogi's new interpretation and origination. In this article, the authors are not trying to deny the value of the specific pathological mother/child relationship suggested by the Ajase complex. It is not the definition that we doubt, but the naming.