Masuaki Kiyota (清田 益章, Kiyota Masuaki, born 1962) is a Japanese psychic known for his alleged ability of thoughtography.
Kiyota was tested by investigators in London by Granada Television and the results were negative. It was discovered that with tight controls, Kiyota was unable to project mental images onto film. He could only achieve success when he had the film in his possession without any control for at least 2 hours.[1]
Kiyota feats such as metal bending were endorsed by Walter and Mary Jo Uphoff as evidence for psychokinesis.[2] However, skeptics and magicians have written that Kiyota is a clever "trickster" who performed his feats by magic tricks.[3][4] According to James Randi "Kiyota's Polaroid photos were apparently produced by preexposing the film, since it was noted that he made great efforts to obtain a film pack and spend time with it in private."[5] In a 1984 television interview, Kiyota confessed to fraud.[6]
References edit
- ^ Nickell, Joe. (2005). Camera Clues: A Handbook for Photographic Investigation. University Press of Kentucky. p. 198. ISBN 978-0813191249
- ^ Uphoff, Walter; Uphoff, Mary Jo. (1981). Mind Over Matter: Implications of Masuaki Kiyota's P.K.Feats with Metal and Film. Colin Smythe. ISBN 978-0861400621
- ^ Scott, Christopher; Hutchinson, Michael. (1979). Television Tests of Masuaki Kiyota. Skeptical Inquirer 3: 42-48.
- ^ Kurtz, Paul. (1985). A Skeptic's Handbook of Parapsychology. Prometheus Books. p. 348. ISBN 0-87975-300-5
- ^ Randi, James. (1995). "Masuaki Kiyota". In An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-15119-5
- ^ Melton. J, Gordon. (2001). Fraud. In Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. Gale Group Inc. "Randi's point was driven home in 1984 when Masuaki Kiyota, hailed as the Japanese Uri Geller, revealed in a television interview that he had faked the phenomena that had been verified by both American and Japanese researchers."