Anma

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.

Many of its techniques were subsumed into shiatsu and Western massage practices, although research into anma for medical purposes continues at Tokyo Kyoiku University.

[9] 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.

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on being made aware of the prohibition, interceded with the United States government; at her urging, the ban was rescinded.

[12][13] 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.

A photograph of a typical Meiji-era anma
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.
The cover of Anma Tebiki