Taijin Kyofusho - A Japanese concept between neurasthenia and social anxiety

The present treatise gives an overview of the development of a culture-boun d syndrome of social anxiety in Japan, taijin kyofusho (TKS). Through the a ppearance of the neurasthenia concept to a specific view of psychological r eactions to social cultural change was enabled. The categorization by Pfeif fer (1980) exemplifies the formation of this specific type of anxiety in Ja pan. Differences and similarities to disorders of DSM-IV (such as social ph obia, avoidant personality, dysmorphophobia) are represented and discussed. The analysis shows that TKS is favored by a special structure of interpret ation within a specific cultural context.