In This Chapter
^ Discovering the origins of Japanese medicine
^ Understanding disease according to Japanese medicine
^ Analysing your type
^ Exploring Japanese therapies and how they work ^ Finding a practitioner
Ou may be a bit surprised to find a whole chapter devoted to Japanese medicine. Unlike its counterparts – Chinese, Ayurvedic, and Tibetan medicine – it is less well known; in fact many people think of Japanese medicine as a copy of Chinese medicine. Yet this notion is far from the truth. The Japanese excel at amalgamating and refining ideas and in the field of traditional medicine they absorbed ideas from China, Korea, India, Persia, and Europe, added some authentic ideas and influences of their own, and came up with some genuinely original therapies that are now popular all over the world. Ever heard of shiatsu, macrobiotics, Zen, or Kanpo? These therapies all originated in Japan and in this chapter I introduce them to you and show you how they may be relevant to your health.
I must admit to some bias here, though. I had the pleasure of living, studying, and practising Asian medicine in Japan for five years and got to experience these Japanese therapies first hand and discovered just how beneficial they can be.
A (Very) Brief History of Japanese Medicine
Japanese medicine has its roots in the early native religion Shintoism, which is essentially a form of nature – and ancestor-worship that sees the world as inhabited by a myriad of deities and spirits. Neglect of these deities, or the influence of malevolent ones, was thought to be the root cause of disease and misfortune.
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In Japanese mythology, two deities, Izanagi and Izanami, are said to have given birth to the physical world and all natural phenomena, including water, wind, and plant life. They represent the male and female principles (like the YinAnd yangof traditional Chinese medicine we discuss in Chapter 4). According to legend, the deities
Gave birth to the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu. Amaterasu came to be regarded as the supreme Shinto deity and protector for the Japanese race and was revered by ordinary people who prayed to her for sun and rain for their crops and for their general health and well-being.
Ancient treatments therefore involved offerings and appeasement rituals to important deities, exorcism of malevolent spirits, and ritual cleansing and bathing to atone for misdeeds and to purify the body. Herbs also played a part in rituals and healing and were used for cleansing the body inside and out. Even the earliest texts mention plants and fruits such as Kuzu (arrowroot) and Momo (peach) that could be used for healing.
Fast forward to the fifth and sixth centuries AD when physicians and monks from Korea and China first visited Japan. They brought new medical ideas and practices, including acupuncture and moxibustion, and introduced Buddhism. Later, in the 16th and 17th centuries, European missionaries arrived bringing knowledge of surgical techniques and Western medical practices. For a while all these approaches existed side by side and institutes of medicine and divination were established that taught European medicine alongside traditional practices such as acupuncture and moxibustion (for more on these check out Chapter 9), herbal medicine (find more in Chapter 11), and rituals for exorcism – a set-up that would be quite remarkable even today!
But the warlords of Japan were jumpy about foreigners getting too much influence so, at several times in Japan’s history, they closed the doors to all outsiders. It is during these periods that Japanese medicine really came into its own as practitioners dived deep into their own resources and developed uniquely Japanese therapies.
Over the centuries these therapies have undergone constant development and innovation and now flourish in modern-day Japan, where traditional Japanese medicine and orthodox Western medicine exist quite comfortably side by side.
Deciphering Disease in Japanese Medicine
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In Japanese tradition, disease is seen as linked to the following: Impurity
Improper lifestyle
Disruption in the flow of Ki (vital energy) I Spiritual influences
The impurity idea dates right back to those ancient traditions where diseases, wounds, menstruation, sexual intercourse, and bad lifestyle habits were regarded as impurities that required cleansing. As a result, even today, bathing and purging are central aspects of therapy and in fact cleanliness and communal bathing, such as at the wonderful natural Onsen Spa baths throughout Japan, is a national pastime.
Improper lifestyle habits refer to activities that conflict with living in harmony with the laws of nature. These habits include dressing inappropriately for the season, staying up late and getting inadequate sleep, eating unseasonable foods or over-eating, over-working and taking insufficient rest, staying indoors for long periods of time, excessive smoking or drinking, and excessive sexual contact. It is believed that these habits cause imbalance in the body, mind, and spirit and eventually result in disease.
Disruption of the flow of Ki, Or vital energy, in the body (this concept is identical to that of Qi In Chinese medicine described in Chapter 4) is believed to be due to the influence of external pathogenic factors known as Ja-ki (literally, evil energy). These factors are thought to be able to enter the body and disrupt body processes leading to chronic, weak, deficiency (kyo) Conditions or acute, painful, excess (jitsu) Ones. Disruption may also be caused by improper diet, stress, injury, environment, or even mental state. At any given time, Ki Energy may become depleted in a certain part of the body giving rise to an empty, or Kyo State, while in another part of the body an accumulation or blockage of Ki May exist leading to an excess, or Jitsu Condition. Yet Kyo And Jitsu Co-exist with each other, just like Yin And Yang In Chinese medicine, and so in the body they represent a constantly changing state of balance within a unified whole.
Kyo And Jitsu Can be related to mental and emotional states and the fulfilment of needs and desires as well as to aspects of your physical body. So, for example, if you’re hungry, this is an
Empty or Kyo State with the desire or need for food. After you eat and become satiated, this is a Jitsu State relating to fullness and the fulfilment of your desire.
The body always strives to maintain a balance between Kyo And Jitsu And a healthy person usually succeeds in achieving this. However, if things get too far out of balance, then the body can no longer cope, which is where Japanese therapies can be utilised to restore equilibrium.
Spiritual influences are still taken into consideration in traditional medicine in modern-day Japan due to the widespread belief in karma and reincarnation. A belief in Karma Means accepting that every action you take, or every thought that you have, as well as your general conduct has an influence on your subsequent destiny, while a belief in reincarnation means believing in past and future lives.
Diseases are also thought to have a karmic cause, relating to a behaviour or experience in a past life. For such diseases it is believed that only spiritual remedies will help and therefore religious rituals, exorcism and prayer will be employed as therapy on the advice of priests or monks.
Understanding Your Health – the Japanese Way
In this section I show you how you can determine your own Kyo (deficient) or Jitsu (excess) balance by assessing yourself according to common characteristics associated with each. After you determine your basic type you can make simple changes to your diet, lifestyle, and daily habits to help restore balance in the body and improve your health.
Determining your type according to Japanese medicine
Go through both checklists in Table 7-1 answering yes or no to each of the questions. Then tally your totals for each checklist. The list with the most yes answers is your current type according to Japanese medicine.
Table 7-1 Figuring Out Your Type
CHECKLIST A Yes No
Do you often feel tired or exhausted? Do you feel the cold easily?
Do you suffer from mild aches or pains that feel better for warmth or pressure?
Are you generally pale?
Do you lack strength and muscle tone?
Do you often feel mentally slow and forgetful?
Do you often feel tired on waking?
TOTAL ‘YES’ _/7
CHECKLISTB
Do you often feel irritable and restless? Do you often feel hot?
Do you suffer from acute pain and/or red and swollen joints?
Do you experience stiffness and pain on pressure?
Are you generally flushed or red-faced?
Are you always on the go and constantly feeling hyped up?
Do you find it hard to get to sleep and/or experience wakefulness during the night?
TOTAL ‘YES’ _/7
Adopting self-care for your type
Now that you’ve added up your answers in each checklist and determined which type you scored most for, take a look at the descriptions below to see whether you’re predominantly a Kyo Or Jitsu Type and what self-care practices you can adopt to support your body balance.
Deficiency (kyo) type
If most of your ticks are in Checklist A, then you are predominantly a Kyo Type. This means that you tend to be deficient in energy and may suffer from cold conditions, general weakness, fatigue, and impaired mental function to a greater or lesser degree.
According to Japanese medicine, deficient types may find the following self-care tips helpful to boost general vitality and protect against the health problems associated with deficiency:
I Keep yourself warm at all times.
I Wrap up well, taking care to keep your midriff, lower back, and feet covered.
I Avoid walking barefoot on cold floors.
I Avoid getting wet or sitting for long periods in damp or wet clothes.
I Eat lots of warming and easily digestible foods such as soups, casseroles, and steamed vegetables.
I Add warming spices such as cinnamon and ginger to your food and drinks.
I Chew your food well.
Avoid intake of cold or iced foods and drinks.
I Avoid caffeine-based drinks such as coffee and colas and replace these with nourishing beverages such as dandelion coffee, ginseng tea, and ginger tea.
Make sure that you drink six to eight glasses of water daily. I Take some gentle exercise like walking every day. I Do not overtire yourself. I Get plenty of rest and sleep.
I Make sure you’re comfortable and warm at night. I Use ginger baths and compresses to warm your body. I Avoid anxiety and worry and take steps to reduce your stress.
Excess (jitsu) type
If most of your ticks are in Checklist B, then you are predominantly a Jitsu Type. This means that you tend to have an excess of energy in particular parts of the body and may suffer from hot conditions, digestive problems, painful and stiff joints, irascibility, and impatience to a greater or lesser degree.
According to Japanese medicine, excess types may find the following self-care tips helpful to calm and cool things down, remove blockages, and protect against the health problems associated with excess.
I Keep yourself cool and avoid sitting in direct sun or hot, stuffy rooms. I Wear clothing with thin layers of cotton or other natural fibres.
I Eat plenty of cooling foods such as salads and other raw foods. I Avoid excessively spicy or over-hot foods. I Avoid over-eating. I Chew your food well.
I Avoid stimulants such as caffeine, alcohol, and sugar and avoid any recreational drugs.
I Drink six to eight glasses of water daily.
I Avoid sitting in any one place for extended periods. Get up and move about.
I Take regular, vigorous exercise.
Practise deep breathing. I Build appropriate relaxation into your daily routine. I Work less, play more, and take regular breaks. I Get adequate rest and sleep.
I Take short baths in warm, not hot, water, and add pouches of grated Daikon (long white radish) and parsley to ease discomfort.
I Practise patience and tolerance.
Understanding Diagnosis in Japanese Medicine
Practitioners of Japanese medicine determine your Kyo And Jitsu And your overall health balance by means of four types of diagnosis (shin):
Palpation (Setsu-shin) Observation (Bo-shin) Listening and smelling (Bun-shin) Questioning (Mon-shin)
Diagnosis by palpation (Setsu-shin)
With Setsu-shin, The practitioner takes pulses on each of your wrists and may also palpate your abdomen and specific points along the meridian channels
(channels of vital energy in the body – see Chapter 4 for the lowdown on these). As in traditional Chinese medicine, Japanese medicine recognises six pulses on each wrist, corresponding mainly to each of the major organs of the body. (Go to Chapters 2 and 4 to find out more about pulse taking.) In Japanese medicine, pulse taking has a slightly lighter touch than in Chinese medicine and the practitioner generally takes the pulses on both of your wrists at the same time, comparing the left and right sides of each pulse position with each other.
Abdominal palpation may also be used to determine the relative Kyo And Jitsu Of all your internal organs. Master practitioner Shizuto Masunaga employed a unique form of Hara (abdominal) diagnosis. This same form is used by many shiatsu practitioners and some acupuncturists today.
The practitioner palpates each area feeling for fullness (jitsu) Or emptiness (kyo). A diagnosis for fullness occurs when the abdomen feels hard and often tender when pressed. In an emptiness diagnosis, the abdomen feels soft and fingers sink in without resistance.
Practitioners also often palpate along meridian lines. Again they are feeling for areas that are soft and sunken and that welcome pressure (kyo) Or those that are hard and resistant and painful on pressure (jitsu). These points will form the basis of treatment in both Japanese acupuncture and massage, including Shiatsu.
Diagnosis by observation (Bo-shin)
Bo-shin Involves looking at the tongue and sometimes also the fingers, toes, ears, and face. The Japanese medicine practitioner examines the tongue to assess its colour, shape, and coating for information about the functioning of your internal organs (go to Chapter 2 for more details on tongue and face signs and what they can tell you about your health).
Micro-diagnosis, which involves the examination of an individual body part for information about the whole body, is also a speciality in Japanese medicine. Just as different parts of the tongue are said to correspond to various parts of the body, so too it is said to be possible to examine the hands, fingers, toes, face, ears, and so on for similar clues.
For example, in analysing the fingers and toes, redness, red spots, and the sensation of heat in a particular digit indicate a Jitsu (excess) condition in the organ to which it corresponds, while pallor, white or brown spots, or sensations of coldness can indicate Kyo (deficiency).
The practitioner may also take note of your gait, body size and proportions, skin, nails, hair, facial expressions, and even the colour of clothes that you’re wearing as all can provide valuable clues to your current state of health.
Diagnosis by listening and smelling (Bun-shin)
Bun-shin Diagnosis includes listening to the quality of your voice (loud, quiet, soft, grating, and so on), the sound of your breath (wheezy, rasping, noisy, quiet, and so on), and any gurgling sounds in the intestines that can indicate digestive problems or areas of blockage. A Bun-shin Diagnosis also notices any type of body odour (bitter, pungent, sweet, and so on) or bad breath. In questioning, you are also likely to be asked about any type of odour associated with your urine and stools because this can also provide useful diagnostic information.
Diagnosis by questioning (Mon-shin)
Your Japanese medical practitioner is likely to ask you about everything from your taste in food, to your bowel and sleep habits, as well as the usual details of your symptoms and medical history. However, as with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), some practitioners do not speak or ask you much at all, preferring to focus on observation and palpation to see what the body can communicate directly.
The body may reveal secrets you yourself are not yet aware of, such as signs of stress damage, even though you may be thinking that you are coping just fine, or early warning distress signs from a particular organ that you are cheerfully abusing, such as the lungs in smokers or the spleen and stomach in people who eat loads of sweets.
The four forms of diagnosis used in Japanese medicine are all closely linked to the correspondences of the Five Elements. Whiz over to Chapter 4 to see a full table outlining what these are and showing how you can make links, for example, between shouting and liver function, yellow skin and stomach function, and salty taste and the kidneys.
Once the Japanese practitioner has used these diagnostic skills to assess your health balance, then, with your practitioner, you can decide what form of treatment is the most suitable for you.
Restoring Balance with Japanese Therapies
Japanese therapies aim to purify, cleanse, and balance the body by expelling the pathogenic Ja-ki (evil energy), balancing Kyo And Jitsu, And normalising the flow of Ki Vital energy and bodily functions. The overriding aim is to bring the body back into harmony with itself and back in tune with the cycles of the natural world.
The most widely used therapies are the following:
I Japanese acupuncture and moxibustion (warming therapy) I Kanpo (herbal medicine)
I Japanese massage techniques (including Shiatsu And Anma) I Ampuku (abdominal massage and therapy)
I Japanese manipulation techniques (including Honetsugi (bone-setting) and So-tai (a gentle manipulation therapy))
I Cleansing hydrotherapies (onsen Spa baths)
Dietary therapy (using certain foods for their medicinal effects or following therapeutic diets)
Japanese meditation practices such as Zen
I Spiritual medicine (prayer offerings, religious rituals, pilgrimages, and the like)
Alongside these therapies, practitioners are likely to give you a myriad of self-care recommendations related to your daily lifestyle (such as the ones mentioned in the section ‘Adopting self-care for your type’, earlier in this chapter).
Japanese acupuncture and moxibustion (warming therapy)
Japanese acupuncture is similar to the acupuncture practised in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), but the needles are finer and the techniques more delicate and varied.
Insertion is generally painless and shallow. Sometimes the needle is just held against the skin without actually being inserted, or the skin is stimulated by the blunt edge of a small metal instrument. Fine metal rollers are also used to stimulate the meridian channels, especially in the treatment of children.
The selection of points is also a little different. Many different styles exist but in general fewer points are selected than in TCM and more use is made of the extraordinary meridians. (To read more about meridians and Japanese acupuncture, have a read of Chapters 4 and 9.)
The use of Ring needles, Which are worn for extended periods (also described in more detail in Chapter 9), is very popular as are tiny little magnets on plasters that can be worn for several days to stimulate circulation and ease pain.
Japanese acupuncturists also use a range of other associated techniques, which we discuss in the following sections.
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Moxibustion
Moxibustion (also known as moxa) is a warming treatment that involves burning an aromatic herb, Artemesia Vulgaris, To increase circulation and stimulate the flow of Ki (vital energy). In Japan, moxa applied directly to the skin is favoured, so fine moxa wool (the dried herb) is gently hand-rolled into tiny rice-grain-sized pieces and then placed directly on the skin, lit with a fine incense stick, and burnt down. The whole process is repeated several times on the same spot until the surrounding skin becomes red and warm.
During my Asian medical training in Japan, I spent many hours practising this technique, rolling the fine moxa wool into minute sausage shapes between the thumb and forefinger. Being speedy is handy when you have to repeat the treatment many times on various acupoints, often simultaneously. One of my teachers, Kitaoka-sensei, once demonstrated his swiftness across a set of six pairs of points on someone’s back. With lightning speed he placed the moxa grains, lit them, put them out, and replaced them all in quick succession; by the time he got to the bottom pair on the lower back he was just in time to go back to the top pair by the neck as they burnt down and extinguished themselves. Watching him execute this skill was mesmerising, rather like watching an expert juggler in a circus!
The idea of the rice grain moxa is that it is used to warm and tonify the body when a person has a deficient (kyo) Condition. The grains are placed repeatedly on the same point until the person starts to feel a sensation of heat. In Japanese medicine, since the moxa grains are so tiny, they are often allowed to burn right down to the skin. Doing so can produce tiny burn marks or
Blisters but is believed to be therapeutic by mobilising immune cell function. Actually, the marks disappear within a few days, leaving the skin unblemished.
In most people heat is felt after three to five moxa applications as the empty point becomes filled, but in some cases it can take much longer.
Cupping
Cupping is sometimes practised in Japanese medicine with round glass cups shaped like glass balls, which have an opening at one end. A lighted taper is placed inside to heat up the air inside the cup, which is then quickly placed on the skin. This process creates a vacuum, drawing up the skin into a bulge inside the cup and holding the cup in place. The effect is to stimulate circulation and the whole procedure is only mildly uncomfortable. However, cupping does leave small, red/purple rings on the skin, most famously seen on film star Gwyneth Paltrow’s back, but these fade within a few days. The technique is particularly popular amongst elderly Japanese women with back pain, office workers with neck and shoulder pain, and young women with menstrual problems.
Blood-letting
Blood-letting involves a small incision being made in the skin with a fine three-edged needle and the removal of a few drops of blood. Usually this technique is used on the fingertips to relieve fever or on the upper back to relieve neck and shoulder pain. Blood-letting can be combined with cupping, and surgical gloves are used to prevent blood contact. The technique is used -fcOOTf To remove blood stagnation and encourage fresh blood circulation.
The most moxa applications I have ever had to emergency acupoint, used for alcohol poison-do was in the case of a young friend who had ing, on the sole of the foot, taking one foot each been disappointed in love and turned up at my and working in tandem. Almost one hour later, Tokyo apartment just past midnight. He’d been after nearly 100 applications to the same point on a bender, combining beer with huge amounts the friend suddenly stirred, murmured some-of Japanese whiskey and was in a terrible state. thing about feeling heat on his foot and then He staggered through the door, wailed some- rolled over and slept soundly on the floor until thing about his lost love, and then promptly the next morning. When he awoke he, remark-passed out on the floor in a drunken stupor. I ably, had no hangover and simply got up and was unable to rouse him in any way. He was out went off to work. The moxa seemed to have cold and I was quite concerned. My partner, an restored him but they were unable to cure his acupuncturist, suggested moxa treatment and broken heart! together we began lighting moxa grains on an
Kanpo
The term Kanpo, Meaning ‘the way of Han’, is taken from an ancient Chinese herbal text called Shang Han Lun, Written by a doctor, Zhang Zhong Jing, almost 2,000 years ago. Zhang has been nicknamed the Chinese Hippocrates because his prescriptions, herbal formulae, acupuncture, and lifestyle recommendations are still in use today.
Zhang is famous for having said, ‘Even though doctors are not able to cure all diseases, they
Can discover the course of diseases by using certain theories, and guide themselves to treatment principles. If my book can help doctors do that, it would overwhelmingly satisfy my expectations by more than 50 per cent.’ This humble sentiment has been more than met and we wonder how he would have felt if he’d known his ideas would endure for almost two millennia, inspiring countless practitioners and undoubtedly helping countless patients to this day.
Magnet therapy
Magnet therapy is very popular in Japan, with millions of tiny magnets on plasters being sold over the counter in pharmacies each year. These plasters are also quite widely used by Japanese acupuncturists, who place them on areas of stiffness and pain, to bring relief, or on acupoints, to balance the flow of energy within the meridian channels.
Kanpo (herbal medicine)
The Japanese herbal medicine tradition developed originally from Chinese texts but, like many of the therapies described earlier in this chapter, went through uniquely Japanese stages of refinement and development. Nowadays, in Japan, only medical doctors are legally allowed to practise Kanpo, Yet over the counter Kanpo Remedies for the general public are hugely popular.
Japanese formulae generally use fewer herbs than the Chinese ones and dried granular extracts are more commonly used than fresh herbal ingredients because they’re convenient and easy to take.
Kanpo Diagnosis is based on eight principles described below as four pairs of opposites:
I Determining if the person’s symptoms are predominantly Kyo (deficient) or Jitsu (excess)
I Determining the stage of illness (chronic/acute)
Ascertaining whether the disease is external and superficial or internal and deep
Determining whether symptoms are predominantly hot or cold
The relative balance of the eight principles is diagnosed using the four methods of diagnosis described earlier in this chapter (palpation, including abdominal diagnosis; observation; listening and smelling; and questioning).
After the predominant underlying weakness, or Kyo, Has been identified, it can then be treated with appropriate medicinal herbs. This approach is almost the opposite to the Western medical one, which focuses on identifying and treating the invading germ, virus, or bacteria. In Kanpo, The emphasis is on supporting the weak or vulnerable parts or systems of the body to prevent them from succumbing to invading pathogens.
Because Kanpo Medicine focuses on an individual’s constitution and that person’s particular response to the disease, the treatment for different people with the same disease, according to Western medicine, will often be different. So, for example, if five people were diagnosed with asthma, in Western medicine they may all be prescribed the same type of inhalant medication, yet, in Kanpo, Their herbal medicine prescriptions, while maybe having some ingredients in common, would probably all differ.
Most Kanpo Formulae have five to ten ingredients. They’re usually made from plant ingredients including roots, bark, leaves, flowers, fruit, and fungi, although occasionally mineral or animal ingredients may be used. These ingredients are selected according to their individual effects on the body and also their combined effects with each other.
Kanpo Herbal medicines are well researched and are regarded as safe to take, with virtually no side effects if prescribed and taken properly.
If you’re pregnant, breast-feeding, or hoping to conceive you must always inform your practitioner or consult your GP before taking Kanpo Medicinal herbs.
You can take Kanpo Herbal medicines with Western medicine but ensure you’re carefully monitored by qualified and experienced practitioners in case of interactions. Always inform your GP and herbal practitioner of any medicines and herbs that you’re taking.
Japanese massage techniques (including shiatsu and anma)
Anma, shiatsu, And Western massage are the three most commonly practised types of massage in Japanese medicine nowadays. These three massage
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Approaches have all been licensed as forms of therapy by the Japanese government since 1955. Although they share some similarities, their underlying theories and practice and their common usage today are quite different:
Anma Is used to treat general discomfort and to release tension or stress. This therapy is most commonly practised amongst blind practitioners in Japan or amongst Shiatsu Practitioners in the West.
Shiatsu, Based on meridian theory, is used for both diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of disorders. It has become a very successful and popular therapy in many Western countries. Shiatsu Is also quite widely used for stress relief.
Western massage is most widely used in the treatment of muscular and skeletal problems, often in medical settings.
Anma
Anma Is the oldest of the massage traditions, having reportedly been brought over from China more than 1,500 years ago. It was once part of the mainstream of Japanese medicine but fell out of favour as Western massage approaches became more popular. Anma Then became almost exclusively the preserve of blind massage practitioners. (Massage has long been an accepted occupation amongst blind people in Japan.) These practitioners kept the therapy alive and it is now once again popular in Japan and taught to sighted practitioners as well.
Anma Is quite a vigorous form of massage designed more for therapy than for relaxation or pleasure. It involves gripping techniques where tense muscles are held and then released to ease muscle tension and promote blood circulation. Anma Also involves direct stimulation of acupoints along the meridian channels using mainly the fingers, thumbs, knuckles, and sometimes the elbows. Pressure is applied quite firmly and deeply, and the treatment is carried out fully clothed with no oil being used.
Anma Is ideal for treating tension-related ailments, muscular pain and stiffness, muscle strains, sports injuries, neck and shoulder problems, back problems, headaches, sinus problems, and so on.
Shiatsu
The term Shiatsu, Literally ‘finger pressure’, is a therapy that Tokujiro Namikoshi developed in the early 1900s, when he was just nine years old, using finger pressure massage to relieve his mother’s painful rheumatism.
Namikoshi’s Shiatsu Involves using the fingers, thumbs, and palms to apply pressure to the surfaces of the body in order to correct imbalances and promote health. Namikoshi believed that this type of therapy could stimulate the body’s natural healing mechanisms.
Various other forms of Shiatsu Have been developed by other Japanese masters over the years. One of the most well known is Zen-shiatsu, Developed by the great master practitioner, Shizuto Masunaga, which also employs the knees and elbows to apply firmer pressure and uses stretches to balance and realign the body.
Shiatsu Can be performed through clothing or directly onto the skin. As Shi-atsu Is a form of pressure therapy, oil isn’t used.
Western massage
Western massage was introduced to Japan by visiting European doctors in the early 1900s, and is based on Western anatomy and physiology. This massage involves vigorous kneading, grasping, and rubbing techniques designed to stimulate the sympathetic nervous system and release muscle tension. Most moves are directed from the extremities towards the heart in order to promote the return of circulating blood to the heart. Western massage is performed directly onto the skin and oil may be used.
Ampuku (abdominal massage and therapy)
Ampuku Therapy is diagnosis and therapy of the abdomen. As an ancient massage technique Ampuku Was banned during the American occupation of Japan after the Second World War but has enjoyed a revival, primarily amongst shiatsu practitioners in recent years.
Hara –
The HaraRefers to the lower part of the abdomen between the navel and the pelvic bone. The word Hara Literally means belly; in Japan this area is believed to be the centre of energy in the body. Its central point is the Tanden (known as the Dantien In Chinese), an acupoint located an inch and a half below the navel on the mid-line of the body. This point is known as ‘the sea of Ki As it is said that the Ki (vital energy) of the body generates there and then radiates throughout the body as a whole. This point is also held to be the centre of gravity in the body.
In the Japanese tradition, good health and well-being are believed to be connected to having a
Strong Hara. If your Hara Is strong, you stand tall; have a good posture; are calm, clear, and confident; and are able to ward off disease. A strong HaraIs also said to give you indomitable will-power that can be directed towards any activity that you undertake. In martial arts, the person with the strong Hara Is easily able to vanquish an opponent, even if they appear physically larger or stronger. The strong Hara Gives inner power that is believed to come from a renewable energy source that can be cultivated and utilised as necessary.
In Ampuku, The practitioner generally kneels beside you, as you lie on a mattress on the floor, and then gently probes the abdomen with the fingers to identify areas of Kyo (deficiency) and Jitsu (excess).
The hands are then used to balance these areas and to stimulate circulation within the abdominal area. This technique is believed to work on both a physical level (stimulating blood and lymph circulation) and also on an energetic level since the abdomen is the seat of the Hara - said to be the energetic powerhouse of the body.
Ampuku Treatment is believed to access and mobilise this powerhouse, enabling vital energy to circulate freely to areas of need in the body. It is on this basis that Ampuku Actually claims to be able to heal specific diseases rather than to simply offer massage for relaxation. In Japan, some practitioners still exist who practise solely Ampuku, Both diagnosing and treating through the abdomen alone.
In the West, Ampuku Is mainly incorporated as part of Shiatsu Therapy.
Japanese manipulation techniques
Various forms of home-developed manipulation therapies are practised in Japan, though osteopathy and chiropractic, popular in Europe, are rarely found. The most common manipulation therapies are the following:
IU Honetsugi: This therapy, literally meaning ‘bone-setting’, deals with sprains, strains, fractures, and dislocations and helps restore full movement and correct alignment to the joints.
IU Sei-tai: This therapy aims to facilitate structural realignment by bringing the body back to order. It involves gentle manipulations and soft-tissue work applied to the spine and joints, together with stimulation of acu-points with direct finger pressure. The idea is to correct postural imbalances, restore normal movement and alignment to the spine and joints, activate the body’s natural healing mechanism, and increase the vital energy supply to the internal organs. Nutritional and lifestyle advice may also be given.
IU So-tai: This bodywork system was developed by Dr Keizo Hashimoto, who found that his medical training didn’t enable him to heal patients with joint and pain problems effectively. He studied acupuncture and Sei-tai And then came up with the idea of ‘reverse motion treatment’ whereby the body is moved in the direction in which it feels most comfortable in order to release tension in the opposite side.
Dr Hashimoto also advocated that the treatment of joint pains should not be seen in isolation and should be combined with healthy breathing, eating, thinking, movement, and environment. There must be something in his approach for he lived to a healthy 96 years himself!
So-tai
Following the principle of ‘reverse motion treatment’ you first turn your head slowly to the left and right sides to see which moves more easily and which is stiff and/or painful. Then, instead of trying to increase the movement on the stiff/painful side, you first turn to the comfortable side. If this was your right side, you would turn your head fully to the right, stretching your neck muscles and looking over your right shoulder. At the same time you offer some resistance to this turn by placing your right hand against your right cheek and trying to push it back to the forwards position.
This resistance tricks the muscle into working harder and helps to release tension in the muscle in the opposite side. You then slowly release the hand and turn the neck back to the left side. Hey presto! – you should now find that you can turn farther to the left than before and with less discomfort.
This simple principle can be applied to other joints of the body and it really works! When I trained in So-tai, My teacher asked someone with severe neck restriction to come to the front for a demonstration. The woman had awakened with a stiff neck, was unable to turn to the left-hand side, and was in considerable discomfort. The teacher adopted the approach outlined above, standing behind the woman and placing one of her hands on the woman’s left shoulder and using the other to resist her turn to the right. She repeated this movement twice, each time asking the woman to return her head to the front. On the final release she asked the woman to turn her head to the left and there were gasps from the practitioner audience because she was suddenly able to look right over her left shoulder!
Japanese hydrotherapy
In Japan, bathing is a daily ritual and visiting mineral spa baths is a national pastime. The idea is that bathing can help ward off disease and different types of mineral waters at the various Onsen Spa baths around the country (of which more than a thousand exist) are highly prized for their particular healing properties. Spa baths may be hot or cold and the minerals they contain, such as sulphur and iron, are believed to help relieve arthritic, joint, and other health problems.
In the home, ingredients are sometimes added to baths for medicinal purposes. For example, you can add sliced ginger or mandarin orange peel to baths (usually dangled over the edge tied in a muslin pouch) to increase circulation and warm the body in winter and to prevent colds and flu. You can easily try out this practice for yourself!
Japanese dietary therapy
In Japan, it has long been believed that eating seasonal, fresh food in balanced combinations of colour and origin (that is, combining food from land, sea, and mountain in a single dish) is essential for health. Even ancient texts have detailed descriptions and diagrams of foods that are good to eat and which sorts of foods go well together or should not be combined.
One pioneering army doctor in the 1870s, Dr Sagen Ishizuka, spent many years identifying different types of food cures for various diseases and identified the importance of acid/alkaline balance in the body.
Dr Sagen Ishizuka’s ideas were further developed by one of his students, George Ohsawa, into a system known as macrobiotics (taken from the Greek Macro Meaning ‘big’ and Bio Meaning ‘life’) that has become popular in the West.
In this system, foods are classified according to the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) principles of Yin (cooling foods such as lettuce and cucumber) and Yang (warming foods such as ginger). In a macrobiotic diet it is recommended that a balance of the two are consumed, with an emphasis on whole grains, vegetables, seaweeds, and so on, and that no dairy produce, refined sugar, chemicals, preservatives, or hot spices are consumed. An emphasis is also placed on alkaline-forming foods because it is believed that acidity contributes to many diseases such as arthritis and joint pain, acid regurgitation and digestive imbalance.
Spiritual medicine
In Japan, meditation, pilgrimages, ritual offerings and prayers are also seen as an aspect of personal healthcare. The idea of appeasing the gods still exists, even amongst people who are not particularly religious, and various gods within Buddhism are linked to health and healing. These include Yakushi, the medicine Buddha; Nikko-Bosatsu, god of sunshine and good health; and Fukurokuju, one of the seven gods of good fortune, who is the god of health and fitness. It is believed that praying and making offerings to these deities can help prevent or cure disease.
Several traditions of spiritual or energetic healing also exist in Japan involving such practices as the laying on of hands. The most well known in the West is Reiki healing. (Take a look at Chapter 20 for details on this therapy.)
Deciding When to Use Japanese Therapies
Many Japanese people use traditional therapies alongside orthodox Western medical treatment. Typically, the traditional therapies are preferred for chronic ailments such as arthritis, back pain, digestive imbalance, or general malaise, and Western medicine, as practised in state-of-the-art Japanese hospitals, is used for acute and serious conditions such as heart attack or ulcers. However, a cross-over also exists between the two.
When I lived and practised Asian medicine in Japan, I encountered many patients who used Western medicine for a diagnosis and treatment and then also visited an acupuncturist, Kanpo (herbal) specialist, or Shiatsu Or massage practitioner for either alternative or adjunct help. For example, people diagnosed with high cholesterol, gallstones, or non-insulin dependent diabetes would often have acupuncture or herbal treatment in an attempt to improve their condition and sometimes in order to avoid medication or surgery.
In the West, the most commonly used Japanese therapies are Shiatsu (mostly for relaxation but also for pain relief and relief from common ailments), acupuncture (for almost any kind of ailment but often for pain, menstrual problems, digestive problems, urinary problems, and headaches), and Kanpo (again for almost any condition but often for asthma and other respiratory complaints, skin problems, and more).
Exploring the Evidence for Japanese Medicine
In Japan, a considerable amount of research has been carried out on Kanpo Herbal medicine and acupuncture, although a lot of this work is in Japanese journals and not yet readily accessible to Western readers. Other Japanese medical approaches such as moxibustion, Shiatsu, And some of the other massage or manipulation therapies have little research evidence to support them.
Various trials in recent years have demonstrated the effectiveness of Kanpo Herbal medicine for conditions such as asthma, eczema, menstrual problems, and digestive disorders.
It appears that Japanese-style acupuncture may also help various conditions including pain relief, arthritis, migraines, headaches, and insomnia but it is hard to evaluate this research without being fluent in Japanese. Some research has also been carried out on Japanese acupuncture in France and America but it is quite limited and more is needed.
Finding a Practitioner of Japanese Medicine
To find a Japanese-style acupuncturist (who may also practise Japanese moxibustion, cupping, and other therapies), contact acupuncturists via the professional acupuncture associations (you can find these towards the end of Chapter 9) and ask if they practise Japanese-style acupuncture. Increasing numbers of Western trained acupuncturists are now training in this approach.
You can contact Kanpo Herbal medicine practitioners via the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine (Www. rchm. co. uk) or the British Kanpo Association at the Kailash Centre, 7 New Court Street, London NW8 7AA (Tel: 020 7722 3939).
To find a Shiatsu Practitioner (who may also practise Japanese massage and manipulation therapies such as Anma, ampuku, And So-tai), Contact the Shiatsu Society (Tel: 0845 130 4560; Www. shiatsu. org), the Zen Shiatsu Society (Www. zen-shiatsu-society. co. uk), or Shiatsu International (Tel: 01787 880 005; Www. shiatsu-international. com). No professional regulatory requirements currently exist for practitioners of Shiatsu, But the General Shiatsu Council (GSC) is in the process of establishing a unified regulatory body for this therapy.
You can find international Sei-tai Practitioners at: Www. imoto-seitai. com/ english/ideology/index. html
For more information on macrobiotics and details of practitioners, contact the Macrobiotic Association of Great Britain (Www. macrobiotics. org. uk).