Origins and Contemporary Practice
Therapeutic Anma Healing Arts reached Japan from China over 2000 years ago. Augmented and updated by Japanese Shiatsu therapy to the present day, it is a synthesis that operates according to concepts of self-healing embodied in the Chinese art of Doin, also known as Chi Gong.

Massage therapy, as well as acupuncture, moxibustion, diet, exercise and herbal therapy heal the body naturally. Eastern medicine, such as Shiatsu-Anma, work to enhance the body's healing power. It has no significant side effects compared with modern drug remedies and the surgically invasive techniques of Western medicine.

Western science successfully addresses many questions of illness, but is often reactive, expensive, and disregards numerous aspects of the body's natural healing processes. Holistic care is grounded in the Eastern principle of integrating body, mind, spirit and environment. It is believed that psychological imbalances engender physiological complaints, hence the art of healing is considered a form of communication and not simply the applications of techniques. These ideas form the guiding spirit of Eastern medicine.

DoAnn T. Kaneko has developed one of the most simple, yet effective, forms of continuing these healing arts while carrying his family's traditional practice of Anma Massage and Meridian Massage. He developed Short Form a contemporary Shiatsu massage (based on Dr. Serizawa's definition of Shiatsu) and "Long Form", a three basic posture technique.

(Serizawa Sensei is a well-known authority of Oriental Medicine in Japan. He has published many books on Acupuncture, Moxibustion, and Shiatsu-Anma.)