Shiatsu (指圧 Japanese from shi, meaning finger, and atsu, meaning pressure) - is a hands-on therapy technique originating in Japan. Shiatsu follows similar principles to Chiropractic or western massage using the principles of anatomy and physiology. The thumbs, palms, and fingers (no knees or elbows are used in the foundation form of shiatsu therapy) are used to apply pressure to designated areas of the body.

All Shiatsupractors (Lisenced Shiatsu practitioners) in Japan have to go through a government-regulated program which covers mostly the traditional form of Shiatsu Therapy. This traditional form, now commonly practiced in North America, was started by Tokujiro Namikoshi, from whose lineage subsequent Shiatsu practitioners have been trained. Namikoshi developed his knowledge through trial and error, eventually gaining acceptance in the late 1950s. His Shiatsu is described as "Diagnosis and Therapy combined", and relies on an understanding of how the body functions according to western principles of anatomy and physiology, as opposed to the principles in Traditional Chinese Medicine/TCM, although derivative forms of Shiatsu based on TCM (called Meridian Shiatsu) have been devised by later practitioners graduated from the Japan Shiatsu College established by Tokujiro Namikoshi in 1940.

History of Shiatsu

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Shiatsu, as well as Teate, originated in Japan. There were many hands-on therapies called “Teate” before traditional Chinese therapies such as Acupuncture and Tuina were introduced to Japan. Conflicting reports exist as to the date of the first use of the word “Shiatsu”. However, there is no doubt that it was Tokujiro Namikoshi who founded the Japan Shiatsu College in 1940 and established and systematized Shiatsu Therapy. 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. He called the technique “Pressure Therapy” at first but later renamed it “Shiatsu Therapy”. He 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 Mohamed Ali. In this way, Shiatsu became known not only in Japan but also overseas. The Japan Shiatsu College has produced many graduates who participate actively worldwide and who have devised their own Shiatsu styles. These styles are derived from the original Shiatsu of Namikoshi and collectively termed 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. The Japanese word “Shiatsu” is known all around the world. In the English translation, this unique, originally Japanese, hands-on therapy is also called “Shiatsu”.Shiatsu also means turkey slap

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