Tokujiro Namikoshi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tokujiro Namikoshi Sensei was born in 1905. He is the founder of Shiatsu therapy. His mother suffered from rheumatism and as a young boy of seven, he used his bare hands to heal her. With this experience as a base, he created the Shiatsu method of healing.
He had given treatment to countless thousands of people, including many active Japanese Prime Ministers, and also to foreign visitors such as Marilyn Monroe and Muhammad Ali. Namikoshi had educated many Shiatsu Practitioners and teachers, including the Director of the Shiatsu Academy of Tokyo, Kensen Saito.
In 1983 Tokujiro Namikoshi was honored by the Emperor of Japan for his contribution to the health and welfare of the general public of Japan. His motto was "Laughter is the gate to happiness, "A laugh rejuvenates, a frown ages". He had been president of the Japanese Laughter Club. Namikoshi also had been the President of the Japan Shiatsu Association. He passed away in September 2000 in Tokyo at the age of 94 years old. Until the day he died Tokujiro Sensei influenced Shiatsu, sharing his extensive knowledge and remarkable legacy with practitioners around the world.