A Japanese case of the reincarnation type with written records made before verifications: A child claiming to have fought on the battleship Yamato

Abstract

This paper reports a case of the reincarnation type in which a child claims to have past-life memories and exhibits behaviors appropriate to the person he appears to be referring to as his past-life personality. The case has the following three interesting characteristics. First, it is a fairly strong Japanese case in the sense that it has many of the characteristic features of cases of the reincarnation type. Second, the child's statements were recorded and the investigation started before the possible identification of the previous personality was made. Third, in a number of ways, it is comparable to the case of James Leininger, one of the best-known American cases: The child claimed to have fought in the Second World War and have been killed in a battle; had unusual knowledge about a battleship with which he claimed to have been affiliated; and repeated in a play the crucial scene of the battle in which he claimed to have died.