{{Short description|Japanese massage}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Italic title|reason=:Category:Japanese words and phrases}} [[File:Ijl no3 1906 3ed 10 amma-1.jpg|thumb|A photograph of a typical Meiji-era ''anma'']] thumb|A blind practitioner and a woman. As well as musicians, the ''anma'' practitioners were the popular occupation of the blind till the establishment of deaf and blind institutes opened in the 1870s, which granted them wider fields of employment. '''''Anma''''' ({{langx|ja|{{linktext|按|摩}}}}) is a practice of traditional Japanese massage; the word also refers to practitioners of that art. Modern shiatsu is largely derived from ''anma''.
==History== ''Anma'' is thought to be of Chinese origin, developing from ''Tui Na''. ''Tui Na'' techniques arrived in Japan during the Nara period (710–793 CE), along with other techniques of traditional Chinese medicine, and were practiced in government-sponsored hospitals. ''Anma'' as a unique system was founded in 1320 by Akashi Kan Ichi.<ref name=Joya/><ref name="guanInstitute1962">{{cite book|author1=Fu ren da xue (Beijing, China). Ren lei xue bo wu guan|author2=S.V.D. Research Institute|author3=Society of the Divine Word|title=Folklore studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3UwsAQAAIAAJ|year=1962|page=235}}</ref>
thumb|100px|The cover of ''Anma Tebiki''
''Anma'' was popularised in the seventeenth century by acupuncturist Sugiyama Waichi, and around the same time the first books on the subject, including Fujibayashi Ryōhaku's (藤林良伯) ''Anma Tebiki'' (按摩手引 "Manual of Anma"), appeared.<ref name=DoAnn/> The Fujibayashi school is the foundation of modern anma.<ref name="Frédéric2002">{{cite book|author=Louis Frédéric|title=Japan Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=PA28|year=2002|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-01753-5|pages=28–29}}</ref> ''Anma'' (masseurs) were often nomadic, earning their keep in mobile massage capacities, and paying commissions to their referrers. In the nineteenth century, the image of ''anma'' suffered somewhat from an association with the ''ukiyo'' lifestyle of urban Japan, and it was subsequently less well-regarded as a therapy.<ref>{{cite book | title=Fundamentals of complementary and alternative medicine | publisher=Churchill Livingstone | author=Micozzi, Marc S. | year=2001 | pages=120 | isbn=9780443065767}}</ref>
During the Meiji period, the appearance of Western medicine reduced ''anma''{{'s}} prominence still further. Many of its techniques were subsumed into shiatsu and Western massage practices, although research into ''anma'' for medical purposes continues at Tokyo Kyoiku University.<ref name="DoAnn">{{cite book | title=Shiatsu Anma Therapy | publisher=HMAUCHI | author=Kaneko, Dr. DoAnn T. | year=2006 | isbn=9780977212804}}</ref> ''Anma'' is still practiced independently of shiatsu in Japan, with practitioners being certified by the health board of their local prefecture.<ref name="Dalby1984">{{cite book|author=Liza Crihfield Dalby|title=All-Japan: the catalogue of everything Japanese|url=https://archive.org/details/alljapancatalogu00dalb|url-access=registration|accessdate=11 May 2012|year=1984|publisher=Morrow|isbn=978-0-688-02530-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/alljapancatalogu00dalb/page/132 132]}}</ref>
==Blind practitioners==
Since Sugiyama's time, ''anma'' has been strongly associated with the blind.<ref>{{cite book | title=Complementary Medicine For Dummies | publisher=John Wiley & Sons | author=Young, Jacqueline | year=2007 | pages=99 | isbn=9780470519684}}</ref> Sugiyama, blind himself, established a number of medical schools for the blind which taught this practice. During the Tokugawa period, edicts were passed which made the practice of ''anma'' solely the preserve of the blind – sighted people were prohibited from practicing the art.<ref name="Joya">{{cite book | title=Mock Jōya's Things Japanese |work=The Japan Times | author=Jōya, Moku | year=1985 | pages=55}}</ref> As a result, the "blind ''anma''" has become a popular trope in Japanese culture.<ref>{{cite book | title=Shiatsu Theory and Practice | publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences | author=Beresford-Cooke, Carola | year=2010 | isbn=9780080982472}}</ref> This has continued into the modern era, with a large proportion of the Japanese blind community continuing to work in the profession.<ref>{{cite journal | title=The New outlook for the blind | author=American Foundation for the Blind | year=1973 | volume=67 | pages=178}}</ref>
During the occupation of Japan by the Allies after World War II, the practice of ''anma'' was banned (along with other aspects of traditional Japanese culture) by General MacArthur. The ban prevented a large proportion of Japan's blind community from earning a living. Writer and advocate for blind rights Helen Keller, on being made aware of the prohibition, interceded with the United States government; at her urging, the ban was rescinded.<ref>{{cite book | title=Shiatsu Theory and Practice: A Comprehensive Text for the Student and Professional | publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences | author=Beresford-Cooke, Carola | year=2003 | pages=2 | isbn=9780443070594}}</ref>
In recent years the fictional character of Zatoichi, the blind swordsman, has brought the concept of the "blind ''anma''" into the public eye in the West.<ref name="West2006">{{cite book|author=David West|title=Chasing Dragons: An Introduction to the Martial Arts Film|url=https://archive.org/details/chasingdragonsin0000west|url-access=registration|accessdate=11 May 2012|date=26 December 2006|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-1-85043-982-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/chasingdragonsin0000west/page/33 33]–}}</ref> Blind ''anma'' are also commonly used to comedic effect in Japanese cinema.
==Techniques== ''Anma'' practices uses common massage techniques such as kneading, rubbing, tapping and shaking. These activities are directed at specific vital points and meridians on the body.<ref name="DoAnn"/> The seven traditional techniques are: pressing/stroking, grasping/kneading, strengthening, compressing, vibrating, tapping and "hand music". In addition, methods of abdominal palpitation ({{lang|ja|按腹}} ''anpuku''), developed by Shinsai Ota in the seventeenth century, are used.<ref name="MatsumotoBirch1988">{{cite book|author1=Kiiko Matsumoto|author2=Stephen Birch|title=Hara Diagnosis: Reflections on the Sea|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ktO5Atic5u4C&pg=PA315|year=1988|publisher=Paradigm Publications|isbn=978-0-912111-13-1|page=315}}</ref><ref name="Dubitsky1997">{{cite book|author=Carl Dubitsky|title=Bodywork Shiatsu: Bringing the Art of Finger Pressure to the Massage Table|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zRB8DFWf1gQC&pg=PA7|year=1997|publisher=Inner Traditions * Bear & Company|isbn=978-0-89281-526-5|page=7}}</ref> It is considered quite a vigorous form of massage, with gripping movements intended to increase blood flow to the muscles and deep tissues, and forceful acupressure techniques applied with the knuckles. The treatment is usually performed through the clothing, rather than directly on the skin.<ref name="Young2007">{{cite book|author=Jacqueline Young|title=Complementary Medicine For Dummies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pIBKD8wm_Z8C&pg=PA99|year=2007|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-51968-4|page=99}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.aobta.org American Organization for Bodywork Therapies of Asia]
{{Massage types}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Japanese historical terms Category:Massage therapy Category:Traditional medicine Category:Blindness in Japan