Women’s Wellbeing Strategies in Contemporary Japan: Kokoro no Kea and Spiritual Coping

A growing body of research shows that religiosity and spirituality contribute to the development of coping strategies and resilience in managing stress. This study presents the results of an ethnographic investigation carried out between 2020 and 2024 with thirty-two Japanese women engaged in holistic spiritual practices such as meditation and yoga, including both members of religious organizations and non-affiliated participants. Using a descriptive phenomenological approach, the study examines the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES), biographical experiences, and the adoption of religious and spiritual coping strategies. Findings indicate a rising preference for holistic spiritual practices even among women affiliated with religious communities. Central to this trend is kokoro no kea, a form of “emotional care” offered by Buddhist temple monks and by professionals with a religious background known as rinshō shūkyōshi. In a context where formal psychological services often medicalize anxiety, depression, and emotional distress, kokoro no kea is experienced as a non-pathologizing form of support, perceived as more closely aligned with the participants’ identity-related, spiritual, and everyday needs. This preference also responds to pressures faced by women arising from economic precarity, increased caregiving responsibilities, and the associated emotional burden. Among religiously affiliated women aged 25–40, it further reflects growing dissatisfaction with traditional gender norms and the emphasis on family devotion promoted by many religious institutions. Overall, the spread of kokoro no kea emerges as a form of female resistance to the structures of the “care economy” and as a process of redefining wellbeing in contemporary Japan.