Is there a difference in Chinese and Japanese acupuncture treatment styles?
Yes. The first recorded text on Chinese Medicine is roughly 2000 years old. This volume, The Yellow Emperor’s Canon of Medicine, states that in order for a treatment to be effective ‘the arrival of qi must occur.’ The core difference between Chinese and Japanese treatment styles comes from interpretation of this statement. In China, the interpretation is taken to mean that the patient must feel the Qi. Conversely, in Japan it is thought that the practitioner is meant to feel the Qi arrive. Although both styles of acupuncture treatment are effective, the difference of interpretation means that those treated by Japanese style of acupuncture typically feel the needles less and experience less discomfort throughout the treatment than would be felt with the Chinese acupuncture approach.
