Rui-Katsu – Here’s Why Crying Clubs Are Now Replacing Rave Clubs In India

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All the buzz in India is now focused on crying clubs, where people inspired by the Japanese Philosophy, Rui-katsu, which means “tear seeking” or “tear activity”, come together in groups and collectively relieve stress by crying or, more accurately, wailing by watching a sad movie, reading a sentimental poem, or engaging in other tear-jerking experiences.

This communal space allows people to be emotionally vulnerable together in a place where crying is traditionally taken as a sign of weakness and immaturity. Crying is sometimes considered as some sort of a sin, especially for men, but here at Crying Clubs, it is in fact considered a blessing, a virtue, or a spell that cures a curse.

“The act of crying is more effective than laughing or sleeping in reducing stress. If you cry once a week, you can live a stress-free life.” – Hidefumi Yoshido

The Origin of Rui-katsu

Source: https://www.shortoftheweek.com

“Have you cried recently?”

Did you cry yesterday? Or last week? How ‘bout last month? Or even last year?

It all started in 2014, when Hidefumi Yoshida ‘Tear Teacher (Namida Sensei)’, a former high-school teacher and counselor, founded the certification, “Crying Therapist (Tears Therapist)” with Hideo Arita, who is a brain physiologist, doctor, and emeritus professor at Toho University School of Medicine. As a Crying Therapist, Hidefumi conducts lectures and workshops throughout Japan for anyone willing to let down their walls and put it all out on the floor. He even owns a place that he runs as a coffee shop where people come to cry.

The internet came into attention of this concept when Noemie Nakai, an actress and director, followed Hidefumi across his workshops with a camera and awe of his work. She made a short film, “Tears Teacher” in which Hidefumi admits that he didn’t use to cry at all before this job, but after practicing Crying Therapy, it is easier for him to get emotional.

He believes that crying not only boosts our immune system but also boosts our nervous system, as it helps us be ourselves and show our whole selves to other people. He also believes that by crying for even a few minutes each month, our minds can detox and rid us of our complexities, which build up in our minds over time and could cause unregulated emotional outbursts at any given time, might that time be fortunate or unfortunate.

Crying in front of someone else, specifically a lot of people, is scary because it destroys this imaginary hold we think we have over ourselves and our standing in society.

Thinkers and physicians of ancient Greece and Rome posited that tears work like a purgative, draining off and purifying us. – Harvard Health

Everyone has a different weakness; someone might break down watching an elderly person eat alone, and someone might break down watching someone win a medal. Hidefumi encourages us to utilize these feelings and pour them all out, following our hearts will. Bottling up our feelings and not listening to our heart and mind is the real silent killer, which slowly but surely results in a suffocated death.

“The type of tears is also important. Yoshida believes the most refreshing tears are the ones provoked by emotional experiences, like a stirring movie or story. These tears are very different than the tears of grief over a loved one. Grief forces a lasting sorrow onto us vs. a poem that offers an organic and temporary emotional moment.” – Molly Keating at O’Connor Mortuary

Recently in Japan, many companies have opened up, such as Ikemeso Danshi, which offer ‘Handsome Weeping Boys’ who sit with clients and watch their choosing of entertainment that helps them cry and then wipe their tears and provide them comfort while the clients navigate through their feelings. (another reason to visit Japan, my list just keeps on growing)

An Inside Look at the Benefits of Crying

Whether you are crying due to grief or sorrow, or due to happiness, it carries the same type of benefits through and through. Here are some benefits of throwing a crying fit, according to Mind Piper Organization:

• Crying helps to relieve pain – Crying releases oxytocin and endorphins. These
  chemicals make people feel good and also help ease both physical and emotional
  pain.
• Crying can enhance mood – Crying helps lift people’s spirits and makes them feel
  better by releasing oxytocin and endorphins.
• Crying releases toxins and reduces stress – When we cry due to stress, our tears
  contain a number of stress hormones. Researchers have found that crying could reduce the levels of these chemicals in the body which could in turn reduce stress.
• Crying helps sleep better – It is hypothesized that calming, mood-enhancing, and pain-relieving effects of crying may help a person sleep more easily.

Wouldn’t it just be hilarious if all these reasons were why babies cry? Well, they are. A study conducted in 2016 shows that letting babies cry themselves to sleep is indeed an effective method since crying releases relaxing hormones (as mentioned above) that help the babies sleep soundly and blissfully through the night.

Let’s Wah Waah Into Conclusion

Listen, now I have never been the type of person who cries all the time, even though sometimes I do feel like crying all the time. It just doesn’t come easy to me. But what has helped me is watching sad, coming-of-age, or feel-good movies. They really let me get my cry on. I guess it’s because it is easier to cry for someone else than for yourself. 

Though something that I have got to admit is that the feeling that comes after having a good cry is totally unmatchable. It is kind of like euphoria, an adrenaline rush, a freeing moment. Nothing truly matches that feeling.

“I think when you cry you learn about yourself. It’s important for people to stay vulnerable to live a fulfilling life. I’ll teach my kids that crying is ok. We’ll watch movies and cry together. That’d be nice.” – Hidefumi