Acupuncture
Japanese acupuncture significantly differs from other styles in its delicacy. This is principally because of the fact that, for the last three hundred and fifty years, the leading figures in its development have been blind. (In fact, even today, 40% of acupuncturists in Japan are blind).
The obvious differences between Japanese and, say, Chinese practice, are that the needles are far finer (using needles barely thicker than a human hair), and that they are inserted often barely deeper than 1 or 2mm, with an absolute minimum of manipulation. In some instances, they are not inserted at all!
These techniques demand far greater precision and care than normal acupuncture. Whilst this is a challenge for the practitioner, it is a welcome bonus for the recipient - for its methods of needling are, to all intents and purposes, painless!
Even moxibustion is done differently. In the tradition of the minimalism and elegance which is characteristic of Japanese culture, when moxa is burnt on the points themselves, it is of the highest refinement, and is rarely larger than pieces the size of sesame seeds.
As with all of acupuncture, there are differing styles within Japanese practice. The methods which inform my practice more than any other are ones that were developed by three of the greats of twentieth century acupuncture, Dr Yoshio Manaka, Kobe Akabane and Kodo Fukushima.
Manaka was a surgeon, who developed a fascination with the traditional theories of acupuncture. After years of private research and practice, he developed an effective and versatile form of Japanese acupuncture therapy - which is especially suited to the culture and times in which we live. He was the first Japanese to introduce Japanese methods to the world outside of Japan
Akabane was also influential in the dissemination of acupuncture out of the Far East in the fifties, influencing both German and English practitioners. He was both a modifier of traditional theory and an innovator in his own right.
Fukushima was an active pacifist in the thirties, who was enlisted and lost his sight in the Sino-Japanese war. Subsequently, he studied acupuncture under the most gifted masters of the day, and through the sixties and seventies refined and formalized the most delicate non-inserted needling techniques which have become known as Toyo Hari.
I utilize an extremely gentle style of Japanese Acupuncture to encourage pain relief and healing in patients suffering from a myriad of health problems including:

• Repetitive Strain Injury
• Stress
• Anxiety
• Headaches and migraines
• Sciatica or lower back problems
• Neck and shoulder pain
• Sports injuries
• Many types of gynecological and menstrual disorders
• Sleep Disorders - Insomnia
• Arthritis
• Asthma and other respiratory disorders
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome