was a Japanese Jungian psychologist who has been described as "the founder of Japanese Analytical and Clinical Psychology". He introduced the sandplay therapy concept to Japanese psychology. He participated in Eranos

Eranos

Eranos is an intellectual discussion group dedicated to the study of psychology, religion, philosophy and spirituality which has met annually in Switzerland since 1933....

 from 1982. Kawai was the director of the International Research Center for Japanese Studies

International Research Center for Japanese Studies

The , or Nichibunken , is an inter-university research institute in Kyoto. Along with the National Institute of Japanese Literature, the National Museum of Japanese History, and the National Museum of Ethnology, it is one of the National Institutes for the Humanities...

 from 1995 to 2001. As chief of the Agency for Cultural Affairs

Agency for Cultural Affairs

The is a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education . It was set up in 1968 to promote Japanese arts and culture. As of April 2007, it is led by the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs, Tamotsu Aoki....

 from 2002 to 2007, he oversaw the popular Nihon no Uta Hyakusen

Nihon no Uta Hyakusen

is a selection of songs and nursery rhymes widely beloved in Japan, sponsored by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and Nippon PTA. A poll was held in 2006 choosing the songs from a list of 895...

 song selection, as well as the "Kokoro no Note" ethics

Ethics

Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...

 textbook now used in all Japanese primary schools. He died in Tenri Hospital

Tenri Hospital

Tenri Hospital is an international hospital in Tenri City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It was founded as part of the secular mission of Tenrikyo...

 following a stroke.

Published works

translated by Sachiko Reece, ISBN 0882143689 translated by Mark Unno, ISBN 0932499627 translated by James G. Donat, ISBN 3-85630-544-0, ISBN 1603440534

Awards

Kawai received the Osaragi Jiro Prize in 1982 for his work Japanese Psyche: Major Motifs in the Fairy Tales of Japan. In 1988 he received the Shincho Gakugei Prize in Learning and the Arts for The Buddhist Priest Myōe: A Life of Dreams.