The History Of Shiatsu

Shiatsu’s roots can be traced back to more ancient forms of massage that were practised in China. Around the 6th Century AD, China and Japan began commercial trade. China introduced to Japan its already comprehensive system of medicine, which included acupuncture, herbs and massage.
Tokujiro Namikoshi, the creator of Namikoshi Shiatsu Therapy and known as the founding father of shiatsu, was born on November 3, 1905 . At the age of seven, he, with his entire family, moved as settlers from the warm climate of the Seto Inland Sea to the severe setting of the northern Japanese Island Hokkaido.

On the day after they had completed their long and gruelling journey, Tokujiro’s mother suddenly began to complain of pain in her knees. Everyone first thought it was as a result of their journey and failed to take the ailment seriously; but as time passed the pain grew worse and spread to her ankles, wrists, elbows and shoulders, to become what is now called multiple rheumatism of the joints.

There was no doctor in the village where they lived and no medicine was available. As the children could not bear to watch their mother suffer, they took turns stroking and pressing the parts of her body that hurt. Gradually their mother began to suffer less and she frequently said to Tokujiro, “your hands feel best”. This praise encouraged the boy to work harder in treating his mother. Though he was ignorant of physiology or anatomy, his sensitive hands and fingers sensed differences in the skin condition, heat and stiffness; and he adjusted his pressing to these variations and over time discovered that the most effective method was to use 80 percent pressure and 20 percent rubbing.

Since he had been pressing on both sides of the middle region of the spine, unknowingly he had been stimulating the suprarenal body to secrete cortisone, which cures rheumatism. Ultimately, he brought about a complete cure; and this process of unenlightened experimentation taught him the powers of self-cure built into the human organism. This was the birth of his system of shiatsu.

Eventually After studying amma massage and western style massage Tokujiro opened the Shiatsu Institute of Therapy in Hokkaido in 1940. By 1957, the new name of Japan Shiatsu School was officially licensed by the Minister of health and Welfare and was the first school of its kind in Japan. Finally, by 1964 shiatsu was recognized as a distinct form of therapy.

Shiatsu Today

Zen Shiatsu, as currently practiced in the UK has been around since the 1970s. It was developed out of Namikoshis teachings by Shizuto Masunaga, who was a student of Namikoshi Shiatsu. His system treats not just localized acupuncture points but entire meridians throughout the body.