Tokujiro Namikoshi treated many high profile persons such as former Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru

Yoshida and other successive prime ministers, the prosecutor for the International Military Tribunal for

the Far East, Prosecutor Keenan, as well as celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Muhammad Ali,

1956: During Marilyn Monroe and Joe Dimaggio's honeymoon in Japan, the couple had intended to take in

the sights and feel of the city. The vigilant crowd outside their hotel made it all but impossible. Marilyn

remained in the hotel for two days, suffering from chronic endometriosis, a condition that would plague her

throughout her life. Seeking relief, a shiatsu massage therapist was called to her room. Tokujiro Namikoshi,

the founding father of modern shiatsu, entered the room to discover Marilyn lying naked on the bed. As he

later recounted to one of his students, she was “wearing nothing but Chanel No. 5.” Namikoshi found it hard

to concentrate on his work, eventually spreading his handkerchief over the more distracting areas. But

within five minutes the pain had dissipated and Monroe was so relaxed that she began to fall asleep. The

shiatsu master would forever remember what it was like to be alone in a room with the naked blonde

bombshell¹.

In 1973, Tokujiro Namikoshi gave therapy treatments to Muhammed Ali.

In 1988, the founder of the Shiatsu Academy of Tokyo, Kensen Saito, accompanied the Canadian Olympic

team to Seoul, Korea and treated many of them so that they could compete more effectively.

Los Angeles Times Obituaries.

Tokujiro Namikoshi: Shiatsu Massage Expert

Tokujiro Namikoshi, 94, a Japanese expert on shiatsu massage whose clients included actress Marilyn

Monroe. A native of Kagawa prefecture in southwestern Japan, Namikoshi became well-known across

Japan in 1954 when he treated Monroe while she was in Japan on her honeymoon with baseball legend Joe

DiMaggio. Namikoshi's clients also included the late prime ministers Shigeru Yoshida and Hayato Ikeda

and other Japanese politicians. Namikoshi was a director of both the Shiatsu Therapy Assn. of Japan

and the Japan Shiatsu College. On Monday in Tokyo of pneumonia.

Tokujiro Namikoshi treating Muhammad Ali with Shiatsu

Shiatsu Yasuragi