Anma is a practice of traditional Japanese massage; the word also refers to practitioners of that art. Modern shiatsu is largely derived from anma.
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
Massage is the rubbing or kneading of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. In European countries, a person professionally trained to give massages is traditionally known as a masseur (male) or masseuse (female). In the United States, these individuals are often referred to as "massage therapists". In some provinces of Canada, they are called "registered massage therapists."
Massage
Drawings of acupressure points on Sen lines at Wat Pho temple in Thailand
Akmanthor
Massage room in Shanghai, China