Toyohari is a method of acupuncture developed in Japan by the pioneering blind acupuncturist Kodo Fukushima, who founded the Toyohari Association in the early 1950s.
Toyohari theory is based on the classical texts of acupuncture but the practice uses innovative new techniques. These include the use of needles made from different metals such as silver, gold, copper and zinc.
The most remarkable distinguishing feature of Toyohari is its use of “touch needling” or “contact needling”, a non-insertive needle technique. A silver needle or a blunt gold probe called a teishin is merely touched to the skin, without piercing it. No insertion takes place. This technique is totally painless and is used not just for treating people nervous of needles, but for all root treatment. Branch treatment consists of a variety of gentle moxa or polarity techniques to relieve the severity of the symptoms.
Toyohari has a high rate of clinical effectiveness and is studied in increasing numbers by people all over the world. The blind Toyohari instructors have developed a unique method for teaching acupuncture and traditional diagnosis called the Kozato method and are probably the finest group of acupuncture teachers in the world. Today there are over 1000 Toyohari practitioners in Japan, mostly blind and nearly 400 in Australia, Europe, New Zealand and the USA.