How Japanese acupuncture techniques differ from 
Traditional Chinese Medicine practices

Although Japanese acupuncture has its roots in Chinese Medicine;
There are distinct ways in which the Japanese method differs:

• Japanese acupuncture uses thinner needles and shallower insertions with little or no pain (using needles barely thicker than a human hair and insertion often barely deeper than 1 or 2mm)

• The practitioner stimulates the needle painlessly until he/she feels the “qi” or energy. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the practitioner stimulates the needle until the patient feels the “Qi”.

• Acupuncturists using the Japanese method palpate the abdomen. The practitioner is gathering information about the body’s organ systems in order to adjust the treatment to fit the patient’s needs.

• Japanese acupuncture makes extensive use of moxibustion to heighten the effectiveness of the acupuncture treatment. Moxa is a plant whose dried leaves are burned on needles or held just above the skin. The pleasant, therapeutic heat is a powerful tonic and improves circulation. 

• Japanese acupuncture does not only treat locally, but also palpates areas along the involved meridians to treat distally. For example, for low back pain treatment may be points on the low back but also, and possibly only, points on the ankles and feet or hands.

These techniques demand far greater precision and care than normal acupuncture. While this is a challenge for the practitioner, it is a welcome bonus for the recipient - for its methods of needling are basically painless!

As with all of acupuncture, there are differing styles within Japanese practice. The methods, which have influenced my practice, are the Japanese acupuncture techniques taught by Dr. Miki Shima who is my ongoing mentor and with whom I completed a 2-year Japanese Acupuncture Certification. I have also studied the teachings of Dr. Manaka who was a surgeon in Japan that developed a fascination with the traditional theories of acupuncture. After years of 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.