Shiatsu (指圧) (“shi” meaning finger and “atsu” meaning pressure.) is an eastern (oriental) born therapy that uses pressure applied with thumbs, fingers and palms to the same energy meridians as acupressure and incorporates stretching. It also uses techniques such as rolling, brushing, vibrating, grasping and in one particular technique developed by Suzuki Yamamoto, pressure is applied with the feet on the persons back, legs and feet (special set up is required for the “foot” shiatsu).

The characteristic of shiatsu as defined by Namikoshi is to apply pressure using only the fingers, palms and especially the thumbs on points that have been related to the central and autonomic nervous systems. Masanuga, who identified reflections of the acupuncture channels in the arms and legs, considered that a shiatsu treatment should a) involve the whole body, b) require a focused practitioner sensitive to the energy distributions of the body, and c) provide an extra dimension of connection and support (using both hands where one ‘listens’ and the other acts). In both styles, however, the essence of shiatsu is “Diagnosis and Therapy combined.”

Artery: Shiatsu
Latin	A. Radialis

“Diagnosis and Therapy combined” is the ability of the practitioners to use their sensory organs (palms, fingers, and thumbs) to detect disharmonies in the energetic components of the body, (such as stiffness or slackness at or within its surface), and to perform empirically established routines to correct these problems. To acquire this skill takes considerable experience. The defining difference between shiatsu therapy and modern and Kampo medicine (also known as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), such as acupuncture and moxibustion) is this “Diagnosis and Therapy combined”.