Shiatsu originates from ancient Chinese and Japanese manipulative techniques called
Do-In (self massage) from China and anma from Japan. These techniques are part of
a variety of treatments involving herbs, heat, and manipulation used to treat complaints
identified under the theories of Traditional Chinese Medicine. They continue to be,
and have been used for many hundreds of years in China.
Chinese medicine was taken from China to Japan by a Buddhist monk in the 6th century,
where the manipulative techniques were further developed to include abdominal diagnosis
and treatment.The modern development of Shiatsu in a form which we recognise today
was developed in the early part of the 20th century by Tamai Tempaku, a Japanese
practitioner, who incorporated Western medical knowledge of anatomy and physiology
into the older methods of treatment. One of Tempaku’s students, Tokojiro Namikoshi
westernised Shiatsu further by using neuro-muscular terminology and removing references
to oriental medicine. Namikoshi holds much credit for bringing the Shiatsu culture,
as we know it today, to the West, and Namikoshi Shiatsu is still popular in the US
today.
Shizuto Masunaga, (1925-1981), who had a background in psychology, developed Zen
Shiatsu, the main style of Shiatsu practiced in the UK and Europe today. Masunaga
was convinced that channels of energy could be felt in areas other than those already
identified in the classical meridian channels, and developed a “map” of meridian
extensions along with the diagnostic areas of the hara and back that we use today.
In the zen style of shiatsu, the attitude of mind, awareness, and focus of the practitioner
is an important factor in the treatment.
