HIDESHI TAKESAKO
Hidesh Takesako is a Japanese acupuncturist, moxicauterist and shiatsu practitioner. He attended one of Japan’s progressive and leading eastern medicine colleges, Eisei Gakuen, in Tokyo. Additional studies and practice were done with leading Japanese practitioners Takeda sensei and Ikeda sensei who have underpinned his current methodology.
Hideshi has conducted shiatsu massage workshops in Japan, and collaborated on acupuncture and moxibustion seminars in Sydney over the past 20 years. He worked at the luxury resort of Parrot Cay in the Caribbean Turks and Caicos Islands treating world renown movies stars, millionaires and royalty.
He has had clinics in Dee Why and Manly Vale on Sydney’s Northern Beaches as well as Willoughby on Sydney’s North Shore. He now operates from his clinic in Palm Cove.
He is a registered practitioner with the Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association (AACMA), and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (APHRA).
About Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a traditional method of healing based on interaction with acupoints along meridian (energy) lines in the body (Latin acu = with a needle). It is a whole body treatment to treat the underlying cause of disease.
Traditional medicine was brought to Japan from China by a Japanese monk 1400 years ago. It was considered the foremost healing method by the Japanese government, declaring that all medical and acupuncture education and training consider acupuncture as important medicine. Due to Japan’s period of isolation, acupuncture and moxibustion continued in popularity and developed a uniqueness in conjunction with the later influence of Western medicine even until today, from the enterprising work of the practitioners. “Scientific studies are now in the process of establishing a firm evidence base for over a millennium of clinical use, respecting the classic ideas of the traditional treatment” (Kobayashi, Uefuji, & Yasumo, 2010, para.1). The constant evolution and development of new and improved methods of healing within Japanese acupuncture are at the forefront of traditional medicine.
Japanese acupuncture involves a variety of techniques. It includes the skill of moxibustion; the application of burning moxa (mugwort) to the acupoints in a variety of ways. Additionally, abdominal palpitation is an important diagnostic method for Japanese acupuncturists along with the use of pulse diagnosis. From the 17thcentury onwards, Japanese practitioners have found acupoints on the surface of the skin using their fingers. Inserting fine needles to slightly stimulate an acupoint was originally done with both hands.
However, a thin guide tube was developed to facilitate needle insertion without pain, promoting the use of thinner, sharper needles all characteristic of Japanese acupuncture. Later, according to Kobayashi, Uefuji, and Yasumo, (2010, para. 26) the method of “inserting the tip of a needle a few millimetres into the skin and fixing it with tape so that it would not move for a certain period of time” was developed. Interestingly, because of these methods, Japanese acupuncture is encouraged as a profession for the blind.
Since 1948, in Japan, laws have been enacted to keep acupuncture as a viable treatment, thereby making licences to practise the same as those for doctors and dentists. Japanese acupuncture is a complementary, alternative, integrative care system for a variety of fields: sports, beauty and welfare to name a few.
Kobayashi, A., Uefuji, M., & Yasumo, W. (2010). History and progress of Japanese acupuncture. Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 7(3), 359-365. doi: 10.1093/ecam/nem155
Japanese Acupuncture
Japanese acupuncture treats the cause of the problems as well as the symptoms. The needle size is smaller, thinner, and are more sensitive and less painful than typical Chinese needles. They are used with a guide tube. The needles are placed along meridian (energy) lines at various acupoints. As a result, more needles are used depending on the treatment.
Moxa (mogusa or yomugi ), from the mugwort plant, is used in conjunction with acupuncture needles to stimulate the body points. As fluffy as candy floss, a tiny amount the size of half a rice grain of superior quality moxa, can be burnt directly on the skin for a couple of seconds with the help of an incense stick (direct method). Alternatively, a long moxa roll can be handheld and burnt above the skin (indirect). Other indirect methods include attaching a ball of moxa to the top of an acupuncture needle and letting the moxa heat the needle (acumoxa).
Another method is the use of stick-on small cardboard cones where the moxa sits above the skin and slowly burns down without directly contacting the skin. The heat penetrates below the surface, stimulating the flow of blood and ki (energy) assisting the healing process. Moxa is claimed to assist in healing dampness in the body and mitigating cold. It is also believed to relieve menstrual cramps, digestive problems and many more concerns.
Shiatsu massage is also integrated into Japanese traditional medicine and used in conjunction with acupuncture. It has developed from traditional Japanese anma massage. Using fingers, palms, thumbs or elbow pressure is applied along the meridians to stimulate the flow of energy through the body assisting healing. Techniques used include holding, stretching, pummelling, and the most common, pressing of key points. Abdominal palpitation was adopted into Japanese acupuncture methodology.