In Japan hands on therapies were often referred to under the general heading of Anma which covered many different styles of practice.

Shiatsu arose out of these traditional practices. Shiatsu literally translated means finger pressure. It is unclear when the term Shiatsu was first used. In 1940 Tolujiro Namakoshi opened the first school of Shiatsu Therapy. His style of Shiatsu is known as Namakoshi Shiatsu and is based on an understanding of how the body functions according to western principles of anatomy and physiology.

One practitioner who graduated from Namakoshi’s School of Shiatsu was called Shizuto Masunaga. Masunaga was a psychologist and scholar of Oriental Medicine as well as being a practising shiatsu therapist and teacher. He integrated all these elements into his style of Shiatsu, known as Zen Shiatsu. He re-established the need to work the whole meridian rather than just certain Acu-points. This way of working confirmed the wider role whole meridians play in our health and well-being. This style of Shiatsu is very popular in Europe, Australia and North America.

Shiatsu works with the concept of ‘Diagnosis and Therapy combined’. This refers to the ability of the practitioner to use their sensory organs, including their thumbs and hands to detect imbalances or irregularities in the meridians, organs and body structure enabling them to bring about a greater sense of equilibrium to all these areas. This skill takes considerable practise and experience to master and means that Shiatsu does not always require formal diagnosis before commencing treatment.