Namikoshi Tokujirō

Namikoshi Tokujirō ( Japanese 浪 越 徳 治郎 ; born November 3, 1905 in Tadotsu , Kagawa Prefecture ; † September 25, 2000 in Bunkyō , Tokyo Prefecture , Japan ) is the founder of Shiatsu therapy, finger pressure massage.

Life

He gave his first massage as a child to his mother, who suffered from rheumatism . In 1925 he opened the first Shiatsu therapy studio in Muroran and went to Tokyo in 1933 . In 1940 he founded the Nihon Shiatsu Gakuin ( 日本 指 圧 学院 ) and in 1946 the Association Nihon Shiatsu Kyōkai ( 日本 指 圧 協会 ), of which he became the first chairman.

He and his method became known when in 1954 he treated Marilyn Monroe , who was honeymooning in Japan with Joe DiMaggio at the time, several times with Shiatsu massages because of stomach cramps. Later he was also the "personal doctor" of Prime Minister Ōhira Masayoshi .

Shiatsu spread all over the world through his students, in particular Shizuto Masunaga , who developed his own style, Zen Shiatsu. His own style is mainly practiced in Japan.

In 1983 he received the Order of the Rising Sun , 4th grade.

He died on 25 September 2000 at a pneumonia .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} 浪 越 徳 治郎 さ ん 肺炎 の た め 死去 . Nikkan Sports , September 26, 2000, archived from the original on December 23, 2008 ; Retrieved September 9, 2010 (Japanese). 

Web links

• Important dates in the History of Shiatsu
• Japan Shiatsu College

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus, Namikoshi is the family name, Tokujirō the first name.