Katsusuke Seriwaza

A fundamental oriental physical therapy, amma massage was originally developed in China, later passed to the Korean Peninsula, and from there it has for many ages undergone a porcess of refinement and sophistaication. In brief, the theroy on which it restsis this: organic disturbances may often be traced to nervous disorders. Through long experience and applications of various traditional methods, the peoples of the Orient have learned the places (tsubo) in the skin and musculature where certain nerves produce certain organic disorders. By stimulating these nerves it is possible to treat and cure the illness. Western-style massage, which was introduced into Japan from France, has many points in common with oriental amma massage. Gradually the two fused to produce a new kind of purely Japanese massage that combines the best of the two sysems. In addition to these, in Japan there is a fingertip massage method called shiatsu, by means of which one presses certian points on the body to improve circulation and to stimulate the nerves. The massage presented in this book is an amalgam of al three of these methods.

Using the explanations and photographs in Massage: The Oriental Method, family members can bring each other relief from headaches, stiff shoulders, pains in the hips and back, constipation, upset stomach, chilled feet and hands, numbness, weariness, insomnia, general sluggishness, and other unpleasant physical conditions. Long experience among countless Japanese families has shown that the oriental massage method is extremely effective in relieving most minor ailments.

The author, one of the foremost authorities on the subject in Japan, is a medical doctor with manyyears of clinical experience and an important leader in the movement to modernize oriental medicine and to fuse it with Western medical science. He is in total agreement with the general trend today in both the East and the West to lessen emphasis on medicaments and mechanical aids in treatment and to employ natural therapy whenever possible.

Contents

Preface
1 The philosophy of oriental medicine
The origin
Inernal organs
2 Tsubo on the human body
Keiraku energy systems
Locationsof the tsubo
Relation between tsubo and bodily disorders
3 Why tsubo therapy works
Current experiments on the nature of the tsubo
Surface manifestationi of organic disorders
Stimulating the surface of the body to correct internal organs
Finding the correct tsubo
4 Practical massage techniques
Rubbing and stroking
Circular-motion massage
Kneading massage
Pressure massage
Vibration massage
Tapping massage
Shiatsu
5 Massage treatment
Headaches or heaviness in the head
Neuralgic pains in the rear of the head
Facial pains
Facial cramps
Toothache
Giddiness, riding (ringing) in the ears, dizziness
Poor hearing
Coughs and difficulty in breathing
Colds
Asthma
Whiplash
Pain in the arms
Numbness in the arms
High blood pressure
Low blood pressure
Heart pulpitations
Chronic gastritis
Stomach cramps
Pains in the chest and sides
Backaches
Sharp back pains
Back and leg pains (deformed lumbar vertebrae)
Back and leg pains (sciatica)
Pains in the knee
Cramps in the calves
Rheumatism of the joints
Allergy
Diabetes
Bedwetting
Night weeping
Irritability
6 Massage for general well being
Tired eyes
Insomnia
Pain and numbness in neck, shoulders, and arms
Middle-age shoulders
Poor appetite
Sluggishness in legs and back
Constitpations
Menstual irregularity
Impotence
Improving sexual powers
7 Cosmetic massage
Beautifying the skin
Removal facial wrinkles
Pimples and skin eruptions
Freckles and skin stains
Beautifying the eyes
Beautifying the voice
Losing excess weight
Slenderizing the waist… (plus d'informations)