SHIZUTO MASUNAGA (1925-1981) President and founder of the Iokai Shiatsu Clinic in Tokyo. His interest in shiatsu began at a young age when his parents had encounters with great Japanese Shiatsu masters. After his study in psychology at the University of Kyoto, he taught for five years on the staff of the Nippon Shiatsu School. He became a great innovator in the shiatsu world. He returned to the original premises of the traditional Oriental medicine: that is to say, the classical idea about Ki, the vital energy behind every life form, the ancient teachings over the meridians, and the spiritual basis of medicine and healing. In his clinics in Tokyo he led extensive research in the working of shiatsu. He gave training for professionals in the United States, Canada, and France. He is the author of seminal works about meridian shiatsu. His vision has had a great influence on the development of shiatsu in the twentieth century. IOKAI MERIDIAN SHIATSU™ The legacy of Masunaga Sensei is distinguished by insight in meridian function and meridian treatment. Oriental diagnosis Shin dan and the arts of diagnosis of the back and abdomen (Hara). Iokai Shiatsu has a wide range of techniques. Less noticeable at first sight but nonetheless more crucial is the approach of the practitioner. Transcending the execution of technical tricks to leave space for a deep recognition and human communication which is considered to be the basis of healing.