Traditional Chinese Medicine (T.C.M.) and shiatsu in dates

8000 BC- 2000 BC  During the Palaeolithic and Neolithic age, stone objects are used for opening abscesses.

2000BC- 476 BC Appearance of the first steel needles. The philosophical base of the T.C.M. is created: yin-yang theory and the theory of the five elements.

476BC- 24 AD The use of metallic needles is established. More healing methods are developed like moxa thermotherapy, massage and herbal teas. The meridians and the concept of chi (vital energy) are first described. Diagnostic methods, physiology and pathology are recorded and appear in the early medical literature.

25 AD- 581 AD  Acupuncture and moxa thermotherapy are widely used. Indications and function of each point are recorded and the relevant terminology is developed. The T.C.M. and pharmacology are systematized.

581 AD- 1368 The first acupuncture school is founded. Expertise in diagnosis and cure of diseases is developed. Medical literature is evolved. During this period, acupuncture and Chinese massage become known in Japan. The techniques are performed by women and blind men.

1368-1644 Medicine is evolved at all levels. 50 volumes of Chinese pharmacology are written bearing the title "General Degree of medical material in China".

1644- 1840  Opium war. The Chinese pharmacology becomes superior to acupuncture and moxa thermotherapy.

1894-1895 1st Sino-Japan war. In China acupuncture is persecuted. People turn to the medical schools created by the European Christian missions.

1928  The Chinese Communist Party is founded. T.C.M. and acupuncture are promoted again, as they are cheap, understandable and use materials available in the Chinese provinces.

1937-1945 1st Sino-Japan war. In 1912, the first treatment using finger pressure on specific points is recorded in Japan. It is called shiatsu (1919).

1925 The first shiatsu clinic is founded in Japan

1940 A form of treatment based on the principles of western anatomy and physiology is systematized by Τοkyiro Namikoshi who founds the first shiatsu educational school. This system is nowadays recognized by the Ministry of Health of Japan.

1940-1957 Introduction of the basic concepts of T.C.M. into the theory of shiatsu by Shizuto Masunaga. He also inserts psychology in order to create the most  popular form of shiatsu,  Zen Shiatsu. The Ministry of Health of Japan recognizes Zen Shiatsu as a separate distinct treatment.

In Japan, anyone practicing shiatsu, should be authorized by the Ministry of Health and should have completed at least three years (2500 hours) of training, after having passed the national examinations.