Origins of shiatsu

Shizuto Masunaga

Founder of the Iokai Shiatsu school in Japan

Shizuto Masunaga was born in 1925 in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. He was introduced to shiatsu at a very early age by his mother, who practised abdominal shiatsu on him and mixed with great shiatsu masters. He studied psychology at the University of Tokyo, then entered the Japan Shiatsu College, where he studied shiatsu with Tokujirō Namikoshi, the school’s founder. He went on to teach and work there for eight years. Through his own observation and research, he drew up a map of the meridians that was more complete than the one used in acupuncture and by Namikoshi. He found that the meridians run through both the upper and the lower limbs, which is not the case with the meridians of acupuncture and classical shiatsu. He developed his own style: rather than stimulating acupuncture points alone, he worked on the whole meridians, all along the body. For him, it was essential to approach the human being as a whole, both physically and emotionally. He also developed the Ampuku method (ampuku is abdominal shiatsu) and defined the diagnostic zones of the abdomen. His disagreement with Namikoshi led him to found his own school in 1968: the Iokai institute in Tokyo.

The term IO is inspired by the Buddhist sutra about the one who recognises imbalances and determines the appropriate means of restoring balance. KAI stands for association, communication between people under one roof.

His technique is based on “simultaneous diagnosis and treatment”, and his practice emphasises the idea of exchange between giver and receiver. His teaching rests on the concept of I SHIN DEN SHIN, meaning direct transmission from person to person – literally “from my soul to your soul”. Teaching can only pass from master to student, not through theoretical concepts.

In Japan, Masunaga is recognised as a brilliant innovator whose research is rooted in origins, practice and direct observation.

Until his death in 1981, he taught his shiatsu not only in Japan but also in Europe, Canada, the USA, Korea and Hong Kong.

“The circulation of ki is always better when we are completely relaxed and the mind is not attached to anything. Yet simple rest and relaxation are not enough to change our balance, because the pattern of tension created by our lifestyle tends to keep us in the same condition, and the adjustments needed for our particular type are not made.”
S. Masunaga

Masunaga’s books translated into French:

Zen shiatsu, ou comment équilibrer le yin et le yang (Zen shiatsu, or how to balance yin and yang)
Zen, exercices visualisés (Zen visualisation exercises)
Shiatsu et médecine occidentale (Shiatsu and Western medicine)
Les 100 récits du traitement (100 treatment stories)

Masunaga’s book: Zen shiatsu (French edition)

Masunaga’s book: Zen, exercices visualisés (Zen visualisation exercises)

Kazunori Sasaki

Founder of Iokai Meridian Shiatsu Europe and president of the AISE (Association Iokai Shiatsu Europe)

Before studying shiatsu, Kazunori Sasaki practised Neeshin-ryoho, a traditional Japanese therapy that stimulated the meridians by applying heated styluses.

In search of an understanding of Eastern spiritual thought, he made a long journey through India and Asia. Then, having joined Masunaga’s Iokai institute, he worked there for many years as a practitioner and as Masunaga Sensei’s assistant. He was the contact person for the European students who came through, and that is how he came to be invited, with Masunaga, to spread the teaching in Europe.

After Masunaga’s death, he was invited to continue his master’s work on the Eastern approach and to take further the research into the mind and the knowledge of traditional Eastern medicine through shiatsu.

Since then, Sasaki Sensei has lived in Europe, where he trains Iokai practitioners and teachers.

Who is it for?

Athletes

Shiatsu improves joint flexibility through stretching. Working on the blood circulation and the energy of each joint helps prevent the risk of injury and improve performance. Shiatsu can also help you manage stress: feeling relaxed and psychologically at ease can make it easier to approach a sporting competition mentally. Finally, as a treatment, shiatsu supports the elimination of toxins and muscle regeneration, improves joint flexibility and promotes good recovery after sporting exertion.

Infants

With babies, shiatsu can be used from the very first days. It can relieve complaints that are as varied as they are common, such as colic and reflux, eczema, recurrent bronchitis, colds and ear infections, crying at the end of the day, sleep problems, restlessness… by regulating the nervous, emotional and endocrine systems and strengthening the immune system. The aim is always the same: to balance the circulation of vital energy in order to stimulate the body’s capacity for self-regulation and self-healing.

Pregnant women

Being able to receive regular shiatsu throughout pregnancy is a real gift. Heavy legs, back pain, stress, muscle or joint pain, minor bowel problems: shiatsu helps with many discomforts. Mothers-to-be can even start before conception, to help them stop smoking or ease emotional tension. Shiatsu not only significantly relieves back pain during pregnancy, it also prepares for childbirth by relaxing and loosening the pelvis and sacrum area. What’s more, it helps mothers-to-be feel emotionally closer to their baby and feel confident.

Children and teenagers

Shiatsu soothes and re-centres nervous or hyperactive children, reduces stress and anxiety, and improves sleep and concentration. It also helps shy or anxious teenagers, searching for their identity or for landmarks, to feel more secure by becoming more aware of their rapidly changing body. It encourages openness and communication, with themselves and with their surroundings. In front of screens, young people are too often in “all-brain” mode, so their energy is drawn too much towards the upper body. Shiatsu helps bring the energy back down to the centre, the “hara”, and calm the mind.

Adults

When someone receives shiatsu for the first time, at the end of the session they often look surprised and serene, and tell me: “I feel as if I’ve been on a journey through my body and discovered new territory”, and also “I didn’t know I had tension there!”

Indeed, shiatsu lets us discover a world we are mostly unaware of: our energetic potential. It also makes us aware of areas of tension we had overlooked, because they are so old that they seem “normal” to us. Shiatsu allows us to free ourselves from the tension built up over the years and to access our full energetic potential.

Seniors

If older people belong to a generation that is not used to manual therapies, now is the time to discover the gentleness of a touch that brings warmth, comfort and relief. Shiatsu relieves age-related aches and pains, supports the body’s physiological functions and keeps the mind active or revives it. It refreshes the body, makes it more supple and stimulates curiosity and the joy of living.

As for the joints, while shiatsu cannot reverse osteoarthritis, it can halt its progression and significantly relieve the resulting joint pain. Shiatsu can be given in different positions, including seated for people who find it difficult to lie down on the floor.