Rheumatoid Arthritis Support

Shiatsu, as well as ''Teate'' (手当て medical treatment, pronounced ''te-a-te'') originated in Japan. There were many hands-on therapies called Teate before traditional Chinese therapies such as Acupuncture and Tuina (called Anma in Japan) were introduced to Japan around 1000AD. The practice of this massage was a semi-mystical activity performed by women and the blind. The term shiatsu may have been first cited in a 1915 book, Tenpaku Tamai's ''Shiatsu Ryoho''.

Tokujiro Namikoshi founded the Japan Shiatsu College in 1940 and systematised a form of shiatsu therapy based on Western anatomy and physiology. In Japan, Namikoshi's system enjoys special legal status, and its adherents often credit him with the development of shiatsu; the story is told that at age seven, Tokujiro Namikoshi developed a technique of pressing with his thumbs and palms as he tried to nurse his mother who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis. Shizuto Masunaga, originally a student and then teacher at the school, and professor of psychology at the Tokyo University, opened his own school (Iokai Center of Shiatsu) and taught what has become known as the Zen style of Shiatsu based on Traditional Chinese Medicine.

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, though it was Masunaga's book, Zen Shiatsu, published in the 1970s that was instrumental in establishing the techniques outside Japan.

Other styles of shiatsu exist; adherents of the Namikoshi school generally contend that these are derived from the work of Namikoshi and refer to them as Derivative Shiatsu. It is to be noted, however, that Namikoshi's school was (and continues to be) devoted to reconciling the ancient massage arts of Japan with Western medicine in line with the efforts Japan made since the turn of the 20th century to 'westernise' certain elements of its culture, and it ignores traditional Chinese medicine and its systems of channels. Masanuga, on the other hand, was intent on reconciling the massage arts with traditional Chinese medicine, and went back to early texts (such as the Huang-Di Nei Jing - The Yellow Emperor's Essentials of Medicine, a compilation of Taoist theory and a text book of acupuncture) which influence most Shiatsu styles today. Some of the various styles are listed as follows:

*Tadashi Izawa established Meridian Shiatsu, incorporating Meridian Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) into his shiatsu therapy.

*Shizuto Masunaga’s book, called Zen Shiatsu in English, popularised Zen (or Masunaga) Shiatsu in North America and Europe.

*Ryokyu Endo, a Buddhist priest, introduced [http://www.taoshiatsu.com Tao Shiatsu], which involves concentrating the mind and making supplications to the Buddha.Endo sensei was astudent of Masunaga sensei and continued the development of and systemized the teaching of the expanded meridian network and treatment.

*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.

*Wataru Ohashi has developed a style called Ohashiatsu.

*Pauline Sasaki and Cliff Andrews have developed a form, derived from Zen Shiatsu, called Quantum Shiatsu, which aims to work with different levels of a person's energy: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.

*Bill Palmer and David Ventura have developed Movement Shiatsu, which specialises in working with chronic conditions through specific experiments and exercises.

*Yuichi Kawada's Yoseido shiatsu puts much importance on stretching the eight extraordinary vessels regularly through exercise and also on exercising the eight regulating points of these extraordinary vessels. Yoseido shiatsu deals with learning these eight vessels as well as learning the twelve principal meridians and all the basic knowledge of shiatsu such as: correct posture, breathing, attitude of the practitionner and above all the importance of oriental philosophy and the basis of all oriental medicine, the understanding of I-Ching (the book of changes). In advanced learning, the relationship between I-Ching and oriental medicine is thoroughly studied.

*Shigeru Onoda, the founder of Spanish Shiatsu School in Madrid, has developed a style called Aze Shiatsu.

*Ted Saito has practised shiatsu in Toronto since 1971 and developed a style called Shinso Shiatsu.

*Seymour Koblin developed a form of Shiatsu derived from Zen, Ohashi and Macrobiotic Shiatsu called [http://seymourkoblin.com/touch.html Zen-Touch Shiatsu]. *Zen-Touch Shiatsu incorporates unique methods that address assessment, recommendations and shiatsu techniques for Body Mind Spirit are included in this form.

*Carl Dubitsky one of the founding members of the AOBTA, developed Bodywork Shiatsu derived from blending Namikoshi and Structural Integration (Rolfing).

*RJ Nikola who expanded Namikoshi shiatsu involving more detailed meridian work based on the teachings of Dubitsky sensei and who elucidated the concept of working from a mental hara in addition to a physical hara, in his book Japanese Full-Body Shiatsu.

*Arturo Valenzuela Serrano founder of Shiatsu Yasuragi. Investigates the influence of emotions in the human body, especially in infants. In 1999 he founded the school of shiatsu, Shiatsu Yasuragi, a way of doing shiatsu based on the official definition of shiatsu from the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Japan, developing the application of shiatsu in stretcher expands the number of pressure lines and points and is particularly worried about the emotions and their influence on the body. His method of exploration permits to know the person's emotional state, to recognize if there is some emotion involved, and by pressure on certain points of shiatsu helps to restore emotional equilibrium, his work is published in several journals and leading to the publication of the books [http://www.shiatsuescuela.es/shiatsuescuela/libros_publicados.html '"Oriental Diagnosis of Emotions "''] and[http://www.shiatsuescuela.es/shiatsuescuela/libros_publicados.html Your Baby Healthy and Happy with Shiatsu]. It is noteworthy that since 1997 organized volunteer groups for the implementation of shiatsu in university hospitals in Madrid, child units. (( publication cite, [http://www.paintasmile.org/v2/upload/medias/proj_66/Salud_Madrid.pdf 24 Hours With Children's Hospital .. MADRID.SALUD Magazine])), ((publication cite, [http://www.madrid.org/cs/Satellite?blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobcol=urldata&blobkey=id&blobwhere=1158626348987&ssbinary=true&blobheader=application/pdf MADRID.SALUD Magazine, number 44, p.22 The Human Face of Health, 2007])), ((publication cite, [http://www.humanizar.es/formacion/revista/anteriores.html Mozas Garcia Susana, Shiatsu in Hospital, publication journal Humanizing], May-June 2004, number 74, issn = 1697-2880 )).

Mention should also be made of Tansu, a shiatsu style using Indian Tantric practices, and of those who combine the principles of Feng Shui with the energy field studies of Semyon Kirlian, Robert Beck, John Zimmerman and others in their practice of Shiatsu.

Since 1980 the evolution and development of shiatsu has largely taken place in Europe and North America.


Adapted from the Wikipedia article Shiatsu, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki