What is, "Japanese Meridian Therapy?"

SYSTEMS OF CHINESE MEDICINE PART 3  𖦹  Japanese Meridian Therapy

By Liana Russo, L. Ac

Japanese Meridian Therapy (JMT) is a style of acupuncture that developed in Japan after trade with China in the 6th century. Japan synthesized the meridian system that the Chinese had mapped onto the human body with their more aesthetic and animistic praxis of engaging with life. 

Japanese culture is intricately imbued into this variation of how acupuncture is practiced. Most needles are only inserted about 1-2mm into the skin, and instead of getting a strong “Qi reaction” that is palpable to the patient (which is more common in Chinese styles of acupuncture), needles are stimulated very gently and almost imperceptibly to the patient. 

JMT’s focus is on strengthening core underlying deficiencies that serve as the root cause of illness and ailment. The idea is that once the deficiency is made replete, the body will have enough energy to repair the physical, emotional, and spiritual imbalances that are causing symptoms and feeding disease.

There is a similarity between a Classical Chinese Medicine approach and Japanese Meridian Therapy in that there is a heavy emphasis on classification and within the the five element schematic (also called the five movements/phases) - Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal. 

Japanese Meridian Therapy sessions usually involve a “root treatment” applied to the front of the body, and a clearing treatment applied to the back of the body.

I had the pleasure of studying Japanese Meridian Therapy in my acupuncture program from 2012 to 2015, and then apprentice under an excellent JMT teacher for a few years outside of my school’s curriculum. A lot of my continuing education has involved JMT, I even went to Japan for a few weeks to study an intensive course at a medical college there.

There is a similarity between a Classical Chinese Medicine approach and Japanese Meridian Therapy in that there is a heavy emphasis on classification within the five element schematic (also called the five movements/phases) - Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal. 

In my next post I’m going to get more into 5 Element Acupuncture, which in relatively recent years has been systematized into its own distinct practice.