The words "toyo hari" literally translate as "East Asian Needle Therapy", which is somewhat of an understatement given the skills and techniques in the system of treatment.

In the thirties and forties in Japan, a few acupuncture masters (most notably Keiri Inoue, 1903-1967) found that they were able to achieve remarkable results using specific techniques with gold and silver needles that actually did not involve inserting them through the skin. To my knowledge, these techniques were never widely taught, but formed one specialist part of what is still known as "Meridian Therapy" (or Keiraku Chiryo) in Japan. This is a style of acupuncture based on the study, interpretation and extrapolation of the classic texts of oriental medicine which go back two thousand years.

Subsequently, these non-inserted techniques were painstakingly studied by Kodo Fukushima, the ultimate founder of the Toyo Hari association, who not only formally adopted them into a therapeutic method in its own right, but also slightly but radically re-interpreted some of the classical doctrines in the context of his clinical experience, and in the context of the times in which he lived. In so doing, he was essentially re-creating a "living tradition" from the original theories based on practical contemporary clinical realities.

Fukushima had been blinded in the Sino-Japanese War in 1932 (actually he was denied proper treatment because of his previous anti-war activities - which resulted in his blindness), and originally founded the Toyohari Association in 1959 in Tokyo for blind Japanese practitioners only. Today, however, the association is also open to the sighted and to foreign practitioners, subject to formal training in the theories and techniques.

In essence, Toyohari is a unique therapy, founded and developed on the collective clinical experience of literally hundreds of accomplished (and renowned) clinicians. As such, it is very much a living tradition, continuously being tuned to the times in which we live. What separates it from other styles of acupuncture practised today is not only the fact that treatment is principally formulated on patterns found from pulse and abdominal diagnosis, but also its use of refined non-inserted needle techniques. Additionally its methods are being continuously improved, based on the feedback and consensus policy of the whole association

Because of this, it is particularly effective for "modern type" diseases, caused by our changing relationship with our environment. These include new kinds of illnesses arising from the effects of pollution, and the ever-more-complicated medical conditions arising from the increasing difficulties of human relationships in modern society. Additionally, its regular application has the capacity to generally promote health and prevent disease

Toyohari techniques have been painstakingly developed and refined by research groups within the association, and their correct application is fundamental to the effectiveness of the treatment.

There are over fifty branches of the toyohari association in Japan, four in the US, three in Australia, one in New Zealand, and five in Europe, one of which is in the UK. Currently there are twenty-eight registered members in this country.

I am proud to be one of these, and I am the only one in the West Midlands.