AGeniusontheShouldersofGiants

Ascholar,thinker,moderniser,innovatorandcreatorofsystems

AboutfifteenyearsagoIbecameawareofhearingpeopleclaimingtorepresentthe
trueMasunagastyle.TherewereevenattemptstorepresentMasunaga'ssystemasa
completeonewithnoneedofadditionaltheoryortechnique.Thesloganarose
spontaneouslyfromwithinme:deconstructMasunaga.

Cluestohisinfluences:
TheMubunharadiagnosischartshowsmanysimilaritieswiththe
oneMasunagaputtogether;useofthedictumtreatmentis
diagnosisanddiagnosisistreatmentwasalreadycommonamong
traditionallyorientedJapaneseacupuncturists;extensivequotes
fromtheYellowEmperorscanonofinternalmedicineunderline
keyelementsinhisrevitalisingofshiatsuviatherootsof
traditionalorientalmedicine.

Amanofhistime:
Masunagalivedinatimeofrejuvenation,revitalisationandevenreconstructionof
traditionalJapaneseculturefollowingdevastationandhumiliationduringWWII.The
keycommonelementwasreinventionofJapanesemethodswithmodern(western)
touches.OtherinnovatorsatthistimeincludeUeshiba(aikido),Osawa(macrobiotics),
Nakatani(ryodorakuacupuncture)aswellasthinkersandcreatorswithinkeiraku
acupuncture(Denmeietal),toyohariacupuncture(Fukushimaetal),Noguchitaiso,
ShintaidoandSotai.Itismorethanlikelythatsomeorallofthesemoversand
movementswerewellknowntoMasunaga.

Whatwashereactingagainst?
Inparticular:hisownteacher,Namikoshiandthemechanisticapproachespousedatthe
schoolwherehehadtaught.Ingeneral:westernmaterialismandculturaldomination.

Whatdidheinclude?
Centralconceptofqiflow,yinandyang,12meridians,kyoandjitsuasdiagnostic
indicators,haradiagnosis.

Whatdidheexclude?
Amongotherthings:sixdivisions,5elements,5shen(shen,hun,po,yi,zhi),certain
traditionalzangfuorganfunctions,jaki,8extraordinaryvessels,6extraordinaryorgans,
andfacialdiagnosis.

Whatdidheinvent,reinventorregenerate?
Naturalpressureandform,backzones,extendedmeridians(someadoptedfrom
traditionalinternalbranches),equalitybetweenyinandyangmeridians,elevated
importanceofkyomeridian(previouslyestablishedinNanJingandcommonlyusedin
keirakuacupunctureaswellasJiGenRyushiatsu),diagnosticinputfrompsychology.

Whatdidhecopyandincorporate?
Makkahostretchingexercisesandvariousyogaasana.
 TheElaborationofaSystemin4steps


1.Totalsumofavailableknowledgeonhealthanddisease


2.Creationofworkable,shorthandsystemforhealing

Whattoinclude? Whattoexclude?

Simpleitems Therest,including:
Favouriteitems 5elements
Popularitems 6divisions
Compatibleitems Shen,hun,yi,po,zhi
Availableitems 3treaures:jing,qi,shen
Effectiveitems 8extraordinaryvesselsetc.

3.Systemcompleted/lifelived


















4.Legacyandinheritance

Solidification& Interpretation& Selection&Reaction&
preservation developmentadaptationRejection

SasakiK. Suzuki Ohashi Kishi
Kimura Endo SasakiP.

Chris McAlister 2013