The Energetic Brain Club in Life and Death

Summary Japan’s aging society leaves many of its eldest residents to encounter loneliness and social isolation. However, the elderly in Japan and elsewhere are rarely passive vessels to fate and often use available tools to meet their needs. Exploring loneliness and its remedy, this essay presents an ethnographic account of a single Energetic Brain Club meeting in the Tokyo sprawl. While, on paper, the club is aimed at preventing dementia, cognitive declines frequently remain a peripheral topic. Elderly members partake in hospitality rituals and engage in long, meandering conversations about family, memories, struggles, and politics. In the process, they find commiseration, connection, and a salve for loneliness.