Shiatsu
Shiatsu (指圧 Japanese from shi, meaning finger, and atsu, meaning pressure) - is a hands-on therapy technique originating in Japan. Shiatsu is an evolving form. Various styles incorporate (to differing degrees) aspects of Japanese massage traditions, Traditional Chinese Medicine practice, and "western" anatomy & physiology.
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[edit] History of Shiatsu
Shiatsu originated in Japan. There were many hands-on therapies called “Teate” before traditional Chinese therapies such as Acupuncture and Tuina were introduced to Japan. The term shiatsu was first used in a book published in 1915, Tenpaku Temai's Shiatsu Ryōhō.
Tokujiro Namikoshi founded the Japan Shiatsu College in 1940 and systematized a form of Shiatsu therapy based more on Western anatomy than traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine. In Japan, Namikoshi's system enjoys special legal status, and its adherants often credit him with the development of shiatsu sui generis; the story is told that at the age of seven, Tokujiro Namikoshi developed a technique of pressing using his thumbs and palms as he tried to nurse his mother who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis]].
Namikoshi treated many high profile persons such as former Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida and other successive Prime Ministers, the Prosecutor for the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, Prosecutor Keenan, as well as celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Muhammad Ali. In this way, Shiatsu became known not only in Japan but also overseas.
Other styles of shiatsu exist; adherants of the Namikoshi system generally contend that these are derived from the work of Namikoshi, and refer to them as Derivative Shiatsu. For example, Tadashi Izawa established Meridian Shiatsu, incorporating Meridian Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine into his Shiatsu therapy. Shizuto Masunaga's book, called Zen Shiatsu in English, popularized Zen (or Masunaga) Shiatsu in North America and Europe. Ryukyu Endo, a Buddhist priest, introduced Tao Shiatsu, which involves concentrating the mind and making supplications to the Buddha. Kiyoshi Ikenaga, in his book Tsubo Shiatsu, elucidates from an anatomical and physiological point of view, how meridian points (or Tsubo) are useful in Shiatsu Therapy.
[edit] Time Line
- c. 3,000 B.C.E. Acupressure was used in China, as recorded in point prescriptions found in ancient bone carvings.
- c. 400 C.E. Mastery of bodywork was required for Chinese physicians.
- c. 550 Chinese medicine brought to Japan by the Buddhist priest Gan Jin Osho
- 1603-1867 Edo period. Peak of manipulative therapies (shiatsu/anma, acupuncture, moxibustion) in Japan. Just as in China thousands of years earlier, mastery of bodywork was required for physicians.
- 1614 Sugiyama Waichi born. Blind since childhood, Sugiyama became one of the greatest healers of his time. After he healed the Shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (5th in that line) of a painful abdominal aliment that had baffled other physicians, in gratitude the Shogun made massage (then called 按摩, あんま, anma) the special province of the blind.
- 1867-1911 Introduction of European medicine into Japan. Anma declined from a comprehensive treatment system into a simple relaxation massage.
- 1911 Laws regulating the practice of acupuncture, moxibustion, and anma were introduced in Japan, forcing practitioners of old-style anma therapies (古法 按摩, こほう あんま, koho anma) to find new names for their practices to distinguush themselves and avoid legal entanglements.
- 1915 Tenpaku Temai published his book Shiatsu Ryōhō. This is believed to be the first use of the term shiatsu.
- 1919 Tenpaku Tamai's book Shiatsu Ho is published. More popularly successful than his first book, it described a system integrating koho anma, ampuku (abdominal massage), tsubo (acu-point) theory, do-in (ki cultivation exercises), and Western anatomy and physiology.
- 1925 Namikoshi opened his first clinic for Shiatsu Therapy.
- 1940 Namikoshi opened the first school of Shiatsu Therapy in Tokyo.(Now this school is known as the Japan Shiatsu College)
- c. 1945 After World War II, traditional Japanese forms of medicine were outlawed by the MacArthur occupation government, after returning POWs told stories about being stuck with needles and burned with moxa when they fell ill. The ban caused much protest. Because there were still many blind Shiatsu/Anma practitioners, Helen Keller interceded with the American government. The ban was rescinded.
- 1950 Toshiko Phipps becomes the first qualified Shiatsu therapist to teach in the U.S.
- 1953 In a famous incident which greatly increased the reputation of shiatsu and of Namikoshi Tokujiro, Namikoshi treated Marilyn Monroe after she fell gravely ill while visit Japan and failed to respond to conventional treatment.
- 1953 Namikoshi Toru (son of Namikoshi Tokujiro) came to the U.S. to teach at the Palmer Chiropractic College
- 1955 Shiatsu Therapy first recognized by Japanese government but only in conjunction with anma and massage.
- 1957 Shiatsu Therapy officially recognized by Japan as a separate and distinct therapy.
- 1964 Shiatsu officially defined by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Japan.
- 1970 Masunaga's students teaching in America and Britain, most notably Pauline Sasaki and Wataru Ohashi
- 1979 Shiatsu Society in UK formed
- 1989 AOBTA formed in United States
[edit] Definition of Shiatsu
"Shiatsu technique refers to the use of fingers and palm of one's hand to apply pressure to particular sections on the surface of the body for the purpose of correcting the imbalances of the body, and for maintaining and promoting health. It is also a method contributing to the healing of specific illnesses."
Japanese medical department of the Ministry of Welfare (Current Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare) in December 1957
[edit] Essence of Shiatsu
The characteristic of Shiatsu is to practice using only the fingers, palms and especially the thumbs, but the essence of Shiatsu is “Diagnosis and Therapy combined.”
“Diagnosis and Therapy combined” is the ability of the practitioner to use his sensory organs (palms, fingers and thumbs) to detect irregularities, such as stiffness of the surface of the body, and to promptly correct or heal these problems. To acquire this amazing skill takes considerable experience. The defining difference between Shiatsu therapy and modern and Kampo medicine (also known as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), such as acupuncture and moxibustion) is this “Diagnosis and Therapy combined”; the fact that Shiatsu does not always require previous diagnosis before commencing treatment.
In modern medicine, the course of treatment can only be decided after a diagnosis has been made. In TCM, it is also necessary to diagnose before treating. In Shiatsu Therapy, practitioners promote the prevention and recovery of illnesses by stimulating the immune system and natural healing power that people already possess. Therefore, even without a diagnosis or with a language barrier, practitioners can, to quote Tokujiro Namikoshi , treat patients with “thumbs and thin futon” at any time. Treating the body as a whole helps to restore the physical functions of the nervous system, circulatory system, bone structure, muscles, and internal secretion and stimulates its natural ability to heal illness. That being said, skilled practitioners can contribute considerably to regional health and medical treatment.
[edit] Shiatsu Standardization
Shiatsu originated in Japan and has migrated to many corners of the Earth. As such, every nation and state has devised its own method of certification and licensure, often overlapping with the licenses for massage.
In the US, one professional organization for Asian Bodywork Therapy (including Shiatsu) is the AOBTA (American Organization for Bodywork Therapies of Asia). This organization is seeking statewide standardization of Asian Bodywork licensure requirements. To date, the AOBTA has been named specifically in the licensure laws of Illinois and Washington, DC. The AOBTA is also working with the NCCAOM (National Certification Council for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine), to introduce mandatory, standardized national board certification to the profession.
The AOBTA and NCCAOM require applicants to present a portfolio of training including Anatomy & Physiology, Chinese Medicine, student clinic, primary discipline training, and elective coursework.
"Shiatsupractor" is the name given to a recently proposed international standardized Shiatsu license. The name Shiatsupractor was first used in British Columbia, Canada in 1990’s. Presently, at the end of 2003, in the regions of North America (United States and Canada), Europe (member nations of the EU), and Japan, the use of Shiatsupractor is officially protected as a registered trademark. In Japan, the educational standard for Shiatsupractor approval corresponds to that of the licenses for Anma, Massage and Shiatsu Practitioners.
[edit] See also
[edit] Other Related Therapies
[edit] External links
- Shiatsupractors' Association
- Canadian College of Shiatsu Terapy
- Shiatsu Massage bridges the space between the body and the spirit
- Zen Shiatsu School in Harrison Hot Springs B.C. Canada Near Vancouver
- Zen Shiatsu Chicago
- AOBTA American Organization for Bodywork Therapies of Asia
- Shiatsu Society (Gesellschaft) Switzerland
- Shiatsu Society UK
- Chiropractor Adelaide: For additional information on Chiropractor Adelaide
[edit] External downloads
- Download maps of the Shu points, Mu points, Circadian clock, every Meridian (PDF files, downloadable under Creative Commons Licence : Paternity-Non Commercial use only-No derivative works)
