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State mindfulness, hope, and ikigai before and after crafting an amulet in a field study at a Zen temple in Kyoto

Jimpei Hitsuwari, Makiko Kamikawaji, Toryo Ito

Research Square September 25, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-10850849/v1 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Qualitative and single-group pre-post field study
Sample size 426
Population Visitors to a Zen temple in Kyoto who participated in the Yuwai-mamori amulet-making experience (Study 1: 113 participants; Study 2: 426 participants)
Duration Approximately 15-minute experience
Topics Buddhism Meditation
Key findings The authors report that a brief amulet-making ritual involving verbalizing a wish was accompanied by small increases in state mindfulness (dz = 0.25) and hope (dz = 0.15), while total ikigai did not change robustly; opposing subscale shifts in ikigai offset each other. They note the lack of a control group prevents causal attribution of these changes to the experience.

Abstract

Abstract Amulets are ubiquitous across cultures. However, psychological research on amulets has concentrated on the effects of owning and using them, whereas the experience of making one’s own amulet remains largely unexplored. This research takes a descriptive and exploratory approach to examine pre–post shifts in psychological states surrounding Yuwai-mamori, an approximately 15-minute experience at a Zen temple in Kyoto, in which visitors craft their own amulets while verbalizing personal wishes. In Study 1, a co-occurrence network analysis of participants’ free-text responses ( N = 113) identified themes such as time to face oneself, verbalizing wishes, and calmness of mind. State mindfulness, hope, and ikigai, respectively, were selected as the corresponding measures for Study 2. In Study 2, a single-group pre–post comparison in the field ( N = 426) showed small but significant increases in state mindfulness ( d z = 0.25) and hope ( d z = 0.15). Ikigai showed no robust change at the total score level. However, at the subscale level, an increase in recognition of the meaning of one’s existence ( d z = 0.22) and a decrease in active and positive attitude toward one’s future ( d z = − 0.13) offset each other. The design lacked a control group, preventing causal attribution of the observed changes to the experience. Nevertheless, this research used field data to describe the psychological state changes that co-occur during brief crafting accompanied by the verbalization of a wish within a ritual framework, adding a state-level perspective to the literature linking craft and well-being.

Comparable studies

Other non-randomized and open-label trials on buddhism, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Oxytocin Release during the Meditation of Altruism and Appreciation (Arigato-Zen) 32 participants providing saliva samples before and after Arigato-Zen practice 2018 Pre-post intervention study n = 32
Zen Den: A Novel Approach to Promote Well-Being in the Workplace. Nurses at an academic level 1 trauma center in Hawaii 2024 Pre-post intervention study n = 92
Buddhist Meditation and Positive Psychology: Cultivating Happiness, Gratitude, and Life Satisfaction Adult participants from Vietnam aged 18-45 2026 Quasi-experimental (nonrandomized) with wait-list control n = 85
Buddhist-like opposite diminishing and non-judging during ketamine infusion are associated with antidepressant response: an open-label personalized-dosing study. Patients suffering from depression 2022 Open-label outpatient study n = 11
The Effects of Mindfulness and Buddhist Meditation Coaching on Mental Health Outcomes in College Students. College students enrolled in a meditation course 2022 Observational pre-post study n = 256

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Buddhism Meditation