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 Skilled practioners demonstrate Shiatsu massage therapies on willing guests from Canada at the Namikoshi Shiatsu Salon in Tokyo, Japan. -- Photos by Ian Robertson |
Beaming a pleasant greeting in Japanese for six Canadian visitors and government hosts, the daughter-in-law of Shiatsu therapy founder Tokujiro Namikoshi was soon letting her fingers do the walking.
All the while, she kept talking, explaining through a translator how the 81-year-old hands-on "finger pressure" art could detect and ease all sorts of body ailments.
On those who knelt, then lay on mats in an all-white room of the Namikoshi Shiatsu Salon above a busy street in a "flatiron" building, her nimble manipulations were accompanied by rhythmic instructions.
"Shindan Soku Chiryo," or "Diagnosis and Therapy Combined," is the essence of Shiatsu, she said.
As the instructor in pink gave one-word orders, three male "Shiatsupractors" in white nimbly felt necks, shoulders and upper backs. First seeking irregularities under each woman's skin, muscles or body temperature, they briefly applied pressure, in, then out.
Releasing carbon dioxide and lactic acid trapped in muscles "improves circulation and the movement of limbs," Matsuko Namikoshi said. "Applying pressure to certain points also relieves stiffness and helps circulate blood."
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Responding to questions from Toronto massage enthusiast and travel writer Anita Draycott -- who earlier had told companions about a ham-fisted hotel therapist behaving like a deranged Samurai the night before -- Namikoshi said any use of knuckles, elbows, knees or feet was not Shiatsu. Simply put, they lack proper sensitivity to feel and facilitate.
Throughout the hour-long session, Namikoshi checked to make sure each volunteer was satisfied, not in pain.
From the exclamations and nods, most were pleased, despite the therapy only touching part of their bodies. And this was a tough crowd of spa-lovers.
On the sidelines taking photos, I was amazed that in my limited exposure to hands-on therapy, at least some of what the practitioners were doing seemed familiar.
Afflicted in 1994 with "frozen arms," a tendonitis that often left me in numbing pain at every attempt to pull my upper arms away from my sides, turn my wrists or shift car gears, I preferred the massage therapy a friend and practitioner recommended. Hands-on muscle manipulation at a Toronto clinic over three months was easier to take than an earlier deep-muscle cortisone injection.
I was also taught by a chiropractor to use my fingers and thumbs to work on my ex-wife's neck, which eased her bound muscles, tension and -- sometimes -- headaches.
Years later, I sometimes offer to use two of the five "manipulations" on friends with tense shoulders. But since my training was limited, great care must be taken.
Namikoshi and her team went much further. Shiatsu practitioners learn 620 pressure points to check and work on along the length and breadth of a person's body.
Born in 1905, the founder of the world-wide practice joined his siblings to help ease their mother's rheumatoid arthritis. At the age of 7, after pressing on the painful areas instead of just rubbing or stroking, his talent for giving relief eventually led to her being cured, his daughter-in-law said.
She said Tokujiro Namikoshi, who died last year at age 100, soon "realized a desire to help people with this treatment" and formally launched his therapy at a clinic in 1925. He also opened a teaching college.
In 1953, the Shiatsu master demonstrated his therapy at the Palmer Chiropractic School in Iowa. Word spread quickly. Among his patients were several prime ministers of Japan, plus foreigner visitors like film legend Marilyn Monroe and American boxer Muhammad Ali.
A son, Toru Namikoshi, now 75, expanded the procedures based on modern anatomy and physiology. His Shiatsu books are available in several languages overseas.
Sanctioned by Japan's health ministry for "maintaining and promoting health," it's ability to heal "specific illnesses" has been officially backed since 1957.
The tourism ministry promotes Shiatsu as an attraction for visitors seeking alternative health solutions. Health officials authorize other Asian non-medicinal therapies, including acupuncture and various forms of Shiatsu that are offered in Japan and elsewhere, including Ontario and B.C. But with a smile, Toru Namikoshi's wife insisted her family's version is the truest and purest.
All smiles, with a little bow of the head to her guests, our nimble-fingered teacher-hostess bade us farewell.
Other patients had been kept away for her eye-opening, skin-tingling demonstration of the not-so-gentle art -- which left my companions smiling with obvious relief.
"Domo arigato," Matsuko Namikoshi said softly, "thank you" for coming and listening to the explanation, plus a proud, brief history of her family's life work.
"Domo," we replied, before the elevator door opened.
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To learn more about travel in Japan, contact the Japan National Tourist Organization at 416-366-7140. To learn more here, contact the Shiatsu Diffusion Society at 822 Broadview Ave., or call 416-406-5493.