In this compact, exhaustive, scientifically oriented text and guidebook, Toru Namikoshi for once and all discredits erroneous interpretations that confuse shiatsu therapy with traditional Japanese amma massage or categorize it as limited within the framework of ancient oriental medical thought and unrelated to modern medical science. By proving that shiatsu rests firmly on a medical scientific basis and on thorough physiological and somatological understanding, he sets it completely apart from the many superficial health regimens currently popular in many parts of the world.
Shiatsu occupies a point between the mysticism of acupuncture and moxa-combustion therapies, with their reliance on the theory of vital points (tsubo), and the excessive mechanization of Western medical science. In other words, shiatsu concentrates on the human element of cure and strives to evoke the self-healing powers inherent in the human body.
