While shiatsu, a type of Japanese massage often performed by blind masseuses, is a relatively modern massage technique, it has roots that stretch back thousands of years to China’s tui na style. Tui na was introduced to Japan around AD700. Its impact was immediate, with the study of massage becoming part of the core curriculum for all medical students in Japan in AD702.
In the early 14th century, doctor and therapist Akashi Kan Ichi developed a practice based on tui na called anma that involved more recreational and relaxing massage techniques, as opposed to the therapeutic approach of tui na. Some 300 years later, in the 1600s, acupuncturist and doctor Sugiyama Waichi further popularised anma , tailoring it towards pain relief. Since Sugiyama was blind, blind massage therapists became the preferred practitioners of the technique for the next few hundred years – in fact, for a long time, sighted people were not allowed to practice it.
Shiatsu, which means “finger pressure” in Japanese, developed in the early 20th century. Based on the principles of anma , it also incorporates other practices, including Western massage techniques. While being blind is no longer a prerequisite to practise shiatsu, this form of massage is highly regulated to preserve the purity of this cultural heritage.
Practitioners need to be fully licenced to conduct shiatsu massages on clients, says Masako Kasahara, spa manager at The Tokyo Edition Toranomon hotel. “It is not permitted to use the .