Revolutionary Common Sense: The Story of Shizuko Yamamoto

Recently, an old macrobiotic friend and teacher, Shizuko Yamamoto passed away. She was 91. I am posting her inspirational story here today via George Oshawa on Facebook. Shizuko suffered from leukemia when she was young, but turned her health and her life around by discovering shiatsu, yoga and macrobiotics. 

Shizuko's search was for a true way to happiness, that is: what is the body? how does the body work? how can I become strong and independent of sickness? how can I use health to accomplish something good in my life? to achieve my dreams?

Here is her story in her own words -

Shizuko in the Kitchen

Transforming Difficulty Into Happiness --- My Life's Journey


by Shizuko Yamamoto

Each individual must depend on their inner strength and commitment to succeed and achieve their goal of sound health and contentment. The following is my personal story. It is an account of my change to a better, healthier way of living. It's a journey that began many years ago.

At one time I was seriously ill. It was when I was in my twenties in Tokyo. My doctors felt that I was very close to having leukemia. I also had vision and eye troubles. I suffered over ten operations trying to correct my eye problem. Even more than the eye troubles generally I just didn't feel well. I was in and out of hospitals for three years. After my hospital traumas I stayed at home, almost hiding out for more than eight years. Because of these experiences I lost trust in western medicine. From my education and upbringing I grew up with a deep sense of trust and confidence in western ways. After my prolonged experience, I completely lost trust in this approach. Therefore I began looking for some alternative. I was committed to change and I knew what kind of outcome I was looking for. I wanted to be healthy.

While I was living at home with my parents I was introduced to shiatsu (Japanese style of finger-pressure massage). There was an older women, a shiatsu practitioner, who came to the house once a week to give my parents shiatsu treatments. She was an honest and sympathetic person. However at that time I hated the idea of the classical Oriental healing arts. My educational background had trained me to reject such unscientific and primitive nonsense. The problem was that because of my eye trouble and its effect on my neck and shoulder I had a great deal of stiffness and pain. I was deeply uncomfortable and complained to my mother. Finally I relented to my mother's request that I take one of Mrs. Fukumorita's shiatsu treatments. It felt so good! She was a nice person so I could talk to her about what I was going through. From this initial experience I began my study of the Oriental healing arts.

Change Begins -- In Japan

The first step began with my reading a book on yoga that was given to me by my aunt. This led me to attend yoga classes After taking these classes I immediately changed my way of life. I began with my diet. I started by cooking brown rice. I completely stopped eating animal foods, such as meat, chicken, and pork as well as sugar. Not eating sugar was very difficult for me, as I have since discovered is the case for almost everyone. I cooked brown rice, a variety of local vegetables, and seaweed. Everyday I would go out and walk a lot. I would do exercises and I began to meditate. In the morning I would open all the windows to let in the fresh air and perform deep breathing exercises for sometime. I practically changed my life overnight. Within one month I felt different. I felt much better.

From there I began to help out and teach at a Yoga training center. I saw many people guiding them with the Yoga exercises that I had learned. The Yoga style that I know has more movement than regular Hatha Yoga. It also includes individual corrective exercises. As I worked with more and more people I could see that each had variations of the same problems. The symptoms appeared to be different. But really the problems were the same. No one knew how to breathe or to move correctly. Each person improved using correct breathing and movement exercises. It was proven to me that if you make simple lifestyle adjustments you can get results. Sometimes students would need some extra help. They would do the Yoga techniques the best they could by themselves but their healing progressed slowly. At such times I would help them with shiatsu. I had taken beginning studies at the Namikoshi and Nishizawa schools of shiatsu. These shiatsu styles relied on the use of the practitioner's hands to do the treatment. While working at the Yoga dojo (training hall) one of my fellow teachers showed me how to use the foot during a partner exercise. After trying it during a shiatsu session I realized that using the feet was easier than using only the hands. I treated my friends with my feet and gradually developed a barefoot shiatsu style that included this foot technique. I never learned about using the feet in a class or school. It naturally evolved.

I continued my search of alternative healing methods with the study of Seitai. Seitai is a system of guided self-corrective exercises. This study was accomplished with Hidea Noguchi. His techniques are very effective.

I began to incorporate martial art principles into my style after my study of Aikido. Aikido was founded by Mr. Ueshiba and is considered a unique martial art. Through this study not only was I exposed to technical skills but also to universal principles of how nature functions. Realities such as the illusion of conflict and the unification of opposite forces deepened my understanding about the nature of reality.

This further helped to develop my shiatsu style. I found the corrective exercises of Yoga particularly useful so I combined them with shiatsu treatment. The two together achieved a much greater response than either one alone.

Fundamentally my initial search in Japan led me to the understanding that the foundation of the macrobiotic diet coupled with corrective exercises and shiatsu had tremendous power to cause change within an individual and the alleviation of suffering. For me this was a revelation. Especially considering my original outlook seeing natural healing techniques as foolish and a waste of time.

The Change Continues -- On To America

For the next ten years I applied myself to understanding traditional healing methods. While I was pursuing my studies of the healing arts in Japan I developed a holistic beauty school. People would come and be introduced to macrobiotic foods, healthful cooking, yoga, and exercise as well as beauty tips such as facial treatments and cosmetics.

The school was developing nicely when my teacher, Mr. George Ohsawa suggested that I could be more useful working in America to spread macrobiotics. I carefully considered Mr. Ohsawa's point of view and decided that he was correct. I would go to America. My purpose for coming to America was, following Mr. Ohsawa's wishes, to help promote macrobiotic activities. At that time I didn't have any plans to do shiatsu treatments. After I arrived in New York there was some legal trouble regarding macrobiotics. Consequently there were not many activities going on. Because of this I decided to work with Gloria Swanson, a famous film star, helping her with macrobiotic cooking. From Gloria Swanson's job I got another job working in a macrobiotic restaurant. While working in the restaurant some employees would complain about stiff neck and shoulders so I would quickly work on them for a few minutes and apparently they felt better because soon I was being asked to do many treatments. The employees would come to me and they told their friends who also would come for treatments. The fact that I was giving shiatsu spread by word of mouth. It was soon after that I began to earn a living from shiatsu.

Developing My Shiatsu Style

My treatment style had developed to include both the skills that I had learned from schools in Japan that primarily used the fingers and hands, plus the foot technique from my time at the Yoga center. These two styles along with the technical additions that I invented while working on the people of New York and the use of the macrobiotic diet became the "Barefoot Shiatsu" style.

New Yorkers are hard working people who tend to eat large amounts of beef, pastrami, hot dogs, eggs, and other animal source foods. This excessive consumption of animal protein together with their stressful mental work and lack of physical exercise produces exceptionally stiff, tight bodies. I developed a technique that is specifically directed toward addressing such inflexible conditions.
Technique wise from the beginning I would put a great deal of energy into giving a treatment. As time has progressed and I have seen tens of thousands of patients, the technique has become simpler and simpler. I have always taught this holistic style of treatment that includes diet, breathing, and corrective exercise with shiatsu. Before there were any macrobiotic training schools many young people would gather at Michio and Aveline Kushi's house in Boston and I would spend time sharing my experience with them. We did this many times. I was always treating patients and teaching students what I had learned. Later as interest grew large seminars were developed to share shiatsu with the public. Now many years later this information is being taught around the United States and in Europe. Shiatsu continues to grow and is sought after by many people.

Though I had many physical and emotional troubles, they were all healed. After I made the profound change to macrobiotic living principles my problems were cured. With these changes I developed more of a positive outlook. It has become easier for me to look on the bright side. When I was sick everything appeared negative to me. As my body healed itself I was able to do more work. I became involved in many interesting activities. I was able to forget my personal troubles. I soon began to feel good about things again.

After 40 years of living in Tokyo with my parents and friends, life gave me an opportunity to start over. It started with my practice of yoga and macrobiotics. It has continued with my move to the United States. This process initiated my new life. Before that time I had hardships with my illnesses but I never really had to work hard nor to depend on myself. To break away from my old ways and start a new life really felt good to me.

Following Nature

I feel that human beings who are in really good condition, those who are healthy in body and mind, will naturally have a positive outlook. Even if the environment is difficult and there are many hardships we can have a positive outlook. When your body and mind become weak everything looks bad, even if you are in a great environment. Everything is in a moving balance in nature. As we all belong to nature we aren't supposed to have many troubles. If we are healthy, we are able to cope and adjust to the challenges that inevitably affect us all. We have to follow nature's order to survive. When we violated nature's order trouble is sure to come. Most people however, never realize we are part of nature. My experience has proven the truth of this to me. To fundamentally change for the better we must learn from nature. We have no choice. If you don't have the will to change, your life is finished. You won't die right away but you will never change and your physical and emotional miseries will remain. Is this the life you were born to experience? If we as human beings cannot understand the simple message that we belong to nature we will be incapable of curing physical or emotional troubles. Nature created us. We cannot control nature. The key here is "how to discover what is nature's order." As humans, we have lost this sense. We must be able to feel it. If we can practice self-reflection, meditation, and even honest talking to ourselves, we will discover that we are part of nature. Nature is in us.

Much of the illness that exists today can be traced back to lifestyle. The number one cause of death is heart and vessel disease. This illness is practically 100% avoidable with dietary modifications. Although all scientific evidence points out this fact it has not been acted on by either the medical nor lay communities. I suggest that common sense action be taken immediately. This stance appears to be revolutionary. It may be revolutionary as it meets the current needs of a serious problem in an innovative, untried manner. It is my desire that individuals within society take it upon themselves to make appropriate changes. To take a stance individually and act upon it with logic and reason, particularly when it is outside the norm, takes courage. If society is to continue without extreme financial and emotional burdens, significant change must occur. The numbers of people afflicted with serious illnesses are ever increasing. A fundamental and rapid change to preventive health care and holistic techniques is essential to turn around human kind's race toward degeneration. The solution is simple and it can be done.

In one of his poems American poet Robert Frost said, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference".



Lima Ohsawa (left) and Shizuko Yamamoto on the occasion of Lima's 88th birthday

You may remember Lima Ohsawa from my previous post These Are My Mothers. 

I would also like to post the following poem about Lima Ohsawa, "Mother of a Revolution," from my poetry book Atlantis, about the United States possibly being another Atlantis. 

Mother of a Revolution

(for Lima Ohsawa)

Catholic children are afraid

of the dark

after they say their prayers

and turn out the light,

they lie with one eye open

terrified

that the night will assemble itself

into a shape

that a sliver of light will grow

and grow

until it becomes an angel

or worse, Jesus

kind and sorrowful

or, most undeniable, His Mother

giving, her palms outward

these horror-struck

children, know,

they will be touched, no longer, innocent

if they see a vision

they must cast away their toys

leave cartoons behind forever

to fast and walk the earth barefoot

they might suffer torturous deaths

from which terror they must not cry out

or deny God, ever

so was I in awe when I was introduced to my Mother

she didn’t speak a word of English

she came all the way from Japan

and it was a big deal that she had stopped walking by

when she saw me

that she was being introduced

in hushed, hurried tones

by her little translator

to this thin, Catholic child

Now, I had spoken to her many times before this

in my heart,

asking, “Mother, you are far from me, but

I need help. What should I do for this ailment, or that?”

And, I could see her, as plainly as I did in front of me,

she held her hands across her lap, and said,

almost before I’d finished my prayer,

“Eat more brown rice.”

And, her r’s would roll like l’s, ever so gently

Now, she took both my hands and stepped toward me! Unheard of!

She was the Mother of a Revolution!

I was a nothing

the translator was silent

I waited for her to speak

I smiled, uneasily

My Mother held my hands

I tried to pull them away!

(I didn’t want to give up my toys! My pretty things!)

She pulled my hands back to herself!

to her hara

she looked, determined, into my eyes

What I would have given for the little translator to speak!

My home is in the eyes of my Mother

not a day goes by I do not visit them

and ask, “Mother, what would you have me do?”

What were you telling me? small brown eyes

most unremarkable 

elegant Western dress from fifty years ago

nylons, shoes

not even a kimono to help me

was I supposed to teach?

I taught, I kept my toys few,

my heart pure, my eyes and ears open

I embraced poverty

I know, my great sin,

I kept myself hidden from the world

“Mother, what would you have me do?”

only one thing remains

only one thing

the baby that was inside me

was that all you were trying to tell me?

that she would return to God?

am I that small?

is that all, when the personal life is dead?

when the axis will shift

and we will perish,

gasping mouthfuls of earth like the dinosaurs

tell me it was bigger, tell me I was bigger!

and I will be more comforted

the sucking up of oceans, the cracking of glaciers

tell me it was planetary, tell me it was destiny

the explosive creation of a star, no, a galaxy!

easily mistaken for

an embryo

a grain of golden grain

©PatriciaGoodwin, 2015

Patricia Goodwin is the author of When Two Women Die, about Marblehead legends and true crime and its sequel, Dreamwater, about the Salem witch trials and the vicious 11-year-old pirate Ned Low. Holy Days is her third novel, about the sexual, psychological seduction of Gloria Wisher and her subsequent transformation. Her newest poetry books are Telling Time By Apples, And Other Poems About Life On The Remnants of Olde Humphrey Farme, illustrated by the author, and Java Love: Poems of a Coffeehouse.

Patricia Goodwin has also written many articles about organic foods, macrobiotics and the dangers of GMOs, which can be found on her website patriciagoodwin.com.

Crime & Diet

          I have seen the power of diet. I can almost tell you that I have witnessed the lame walk and the blind see.

            I was a young woman, waitressing in a natural food restaurant in the early 1970’s. I opened the door many nights for a very crippled young man in a wheelchair who came there to enjoy the absolutely marvelous food we served in the elegant Seventh Inn Restaurant in Boston. The Seventh Inn was indeed like seventh heaven to us with its cornucopia of fresh whole grains, vegetables, soups, fish, desserts, teas, wine, and beer.  The atmosphere of light bamboo wood, rice paper screens and beautiful music and art was truly an oasis in bustling, dirty old Boston. The young man in the wheelchair had a twisted body, even in the wheelchair. His appearance was weak with a slightly greyish complexion. Over and over again, I opened the door, until one afternoon, he walked. He used two canes, and his body was still somewhat twisted to one side, but he walked.

            I cannot tell you if this young man was having successive operations on his spine or if he ate macrobiotically at home. I was too immature to follow his progress as I wish I had now. I wish I had a  documented case history to tell you, but even then it would only be considered what Western medicine calls an “anecdote.” To the young man who got up out of his wheelchair, his story would be far more than an anecdote.

Another time, I was serving Michio Kushi and another young man who was trying to change his condition through the macrobiotic diet. He had been blind, but was starting to improve. He said he was doing everything according to what he had been told by his advisor, but his progress had plateaued and he wanted to do better.

Michio nodded as he listened, the he asked, “What kind of cooking oil do you use?”

I don’t recall the exact kind of oil, but I do remember that it was a more yin oil like peanut or olive oil, not bad oils, but just not good for what this man was trying to achieve. (Yin force would spiral outward, releasing energy. Yang force spirals inward, tightening energy. Yin and yang represent the way all energy moves in the universe. Western medicine does not recognize the forces of yin and yang, but macrobiotics is based on balancing these forces.)

As I cleared the table, I learned something I have never forgotten.

Michio advised using sesame oil, a more yang oil, instead of a more yin oil, which, he said, would inform his eyes to create a more yang condition which he needed to improve his eyesight. “Cooking oil, very important, because we use every day, many times a day.” Michio said with his broken English. “Cooking oil can create yin condition or can create yang condition.”

I cannot tell you if the young man succeeded to improve his eyesight further. I don’t have any documented experimental data, but I do know from my own experience and my faith in what I have achieved on a personal level, that I believe his eyesight could have improved further by making that simple alteration in his cooking - changing his cooking oil. For another person, a different alteration might have been necessary. Every person is unique, and every person is in a constant state of change as our bodies respond to changes in life. In macrobiotics, we pay attention to the conditions of our health, and make alterations in diet and lifestyle as needed.

Macrobiotic people recognize many truths about diet in the Bible and in literature.

One example is the advice given to the mother of Samson in the Old Testament, Judges 13:

"There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son…Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean…She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing.”

In the Bible “unclean” refers to meat and animal fats, including dairy, which, according to macrobiotics, can clog the fallopian tubes and interfere with the natural process of egg production. Another cause of what we consider infertility now is miscarriage, which according to macrobiotics, can be caused by the consumption of too yin foods, such as grapes and tropical fruits which cause the energy spiral to literally un-wind.

I can tell you the story of my friend Tanya who had been sent home by fertility doctors as hopeless for childbirth. After eating the macrobiotic diet, she had four children when I knew her in Boston in the 70’s.

In her book Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism, Jenny McCarthy talks about diet and its effects on autism: “A lot of people, including me, will tell you that it’s important to look into the foods you feed your kids and how they react to them. I know many other parents and doctors will agree that with autistic kids, you should go for an organic and clean diet. It worked for me to feed Evan food that is without additives, preservatives or dyes.” She also talks about the elimination of dairy, and the addition of cod liver oil, and vitamin B 12 supplements which brought back eye contact and speech in her son.

Jenny McCarthy’s success reinforces the idea of the power of diet, but it also tells me how the human race is starving for real food. Perhaps illnesses like autism would not exist if we ate real, natural food rich in vitamins and minerals as our ancestors did.

Why am I talking now of the power of diet? Because I want to tell you about Crime & Diet.

Crime & Diet: The Macrobiotic Approach (Japan Publications, 1987) is a little known book by Michio Kushi & Associates.

Like everyone else, I was horrified by the killings in Sandy Hook, CT. I was horrified before that by Columbine. Just a few days ago, on Christmas Day, I was horrified that a disturbed man, who had served 17 years previously for killing his own grandmother with a hammer, had actually shot and killed two firefighters after killing his sister and setting fire to his house. Seven houses burned from this crime on Christmas Eve.

What can we do about violence? What can we do about mental illness? Can the solution be as simple as changing diet?

One of the most direct and amazing results discussed in the book Crime & Diet came from the study done at the Tidewater Virginia Detention Home for Boys, which under the direction of Frank Kern and Stephen J. Schoenthaler, in 1981, took sugar out of the diet of the boys in the home for three months. The boys, ages 12-18, were in detention for crimes including alcohol and narcotic violations, disorderly conduct, larceny and burglary. During the time sugar was not in their diets, the boys’ incidents of violence decreased by 45%.

The results of the Tidewater experiment exploded on the media and medical scene. Criticism abounded about non-scientific results. However, we now realize the connection between sugar and violent behavior.

One of the simplest truths about diet we find in the Dickens’ novel, Oliver Twist. In the scene when Oliver gets into a fight at the undertakers where he is apprenticed, he gets trapped in the coffin, but he is not afraid of the officer who comes to arrest him. In fact, he shouts at the officer from inside the coffin. The undertaker’s wife says he must be mad to speak to an official that way, and the officer says, “It’s not madness, mum, it’s meat! If you had kept him on a diet of gruel, this never would have happened.”

I’m not suggesting that people eat gruel to keep from being violent. In fact, gruel, or oatmeal, in the Oliver Twist story was watered down and not very life-sustaining.  A vivid example of the power of diet as the idea was to keep the children weak and docile. However, cereal made from whole grain is extremely powerful and life sustaining, traditionally a peasant food. The peasants, of course, were a lot stronger and healthier than the noblemen who ate as much meat and sugar and drank as much wine and brandy as they pleased.

In macrobiotics, we learn about the affects of diet on physical health, but also on mental health, behavior and violence. Crime & Diet tells many stories of people who found relief from the violent thoughts that tormented them by discovering macrobiotics.

I can only tell a few details here, but you can read all their stories, told in their own words, in Crime & Diet.

Peter, a 28-year-old artist was institutionalized with symptoms of schizophrenia. “Mental illness,” he said in Crime & Diet, "is like cancer; it’s a life growing inside your head that is alien to your own life.” Peter started taking drugs after high school, LSD, mescaline, marijuana to stop his feelings of alienation. The drugs didn’t work; they only made his feelings more intense and chaotic. He had the chance to begin macrobiotics while in the hospital. Slowly, he began to feel stronger physically and mentally. At the time of publication, he had been well for many years, while continuing macrobiotics, and in his words, “taking on bigger challenges in life.”

David was a lazy college student who recalled, “hating life” the day his friend left a pile of cookbooks for him outside his door. He was intrigued by one of them, called "Zen Macrobiotic Cooking." David describes walking the streets at night in a Thorazine haze. One day he wandered into a health food store. He tried cooking brown rice and failed miserably. He went back to his old diet but became more depressed and bored with life. By chance, he saw an ad for macrobiotic cooking classes and began cooking again. Gradually, he was able to stop Thorazine completely. David said, “After showing me the need for good food, macrobiotics has brought me to an understanding of the spirit of life. I have been shown how to express my thanks and the importance of this expression every day. I have learned to pray. And for those who suffer from frustrating and confused states of mind, I pray every day.”

I don’t wonder at the depression, confusion, rage and violence that accompany the Western diet of junk food and processed foods devoid of true nutritional value. Artificial vitamins added back into processed foods cannot sustain human life. Wheat, for instance, loses its nutritional value one hour after it is ground from the whole grain into flour. That makes bread, breakfast cereal, crackers, bagels, muffins, pizza dough, etc. empty of anything but added salt, added sugar, artificial vitamins, preservatives, artificial coloring and flavor enhancers. Dehydration is another insidious condition that arises from reliance on meat, designer coffees and flour products plus the intake of excessive, hidden salt in processed foods. Because of heavy salt content in our food and other factors, such as air conditioning in buildings and cars, we have actually started to carry water bottles with us wherever we go. Dehydration causes many symptoms, including depression and quickness to anger. Add alcohol and inhibitions disappear while dehydration increases. Add drugs, and behavior goes off the charts.

In Crime & Diet, in the chapter titled "A Crime-Free World", Michio and Aveline talk about visiting Linhó Prison in Portugal. There they met many prisoners who had begun macrobiotics. Michio and Aveline were stunned by their enthusiasm and by their questions, which were about spirituality and philosophy rather than questions about their personal conditions. Aveline said, “Before I went to Linhó, I was a little scared, as I had never been in a prison…But once there, everyone was so eager to study, asking questions with shining eyes…”

People who begin macrobiotics tell us that one of the most important lessons they learn is to appreciate the simple, most wonderful things in life. If you can’t appreciate simplicity, you will never be happy. When I was little, my mother and I used to watch the sparrows play in the sand lighted by the twilight sun. We were mesmerized by their joy. I still love to watch the birds play. I also enjoy washing dishes, seeing the water sparkle and the dishes come clean. If you can’t enjoy the simple moments of life, if you want an expensive car or a huge TV or diamonds or gold and the latest designer clothes, you will never be satisfied. You will always want more and you will resent people who have those things. It’s a dead end. The only freedom is in simplicity.

As I pray for the souls of the murdered children from Sandy Hook, I find that I also want to pray for the hearts and minds of those who are violent now, that they may find peace. It may be difficult to feel compassion for criminals, but they, and the world, need our prayers.


**UPDATE: Obviously, I don't need to list the additional school shootings we've suffered since Sandy Hook, nor the acts of terrorism, nor the other horrors of crime. My hope is that this article, never more relevant, will help people. To clear their minds and hearts from the despair and the rage that comes with despair. You may say that victims and criminals eat the same foods, but I can assure you, they don't. Neither do they start at the same level playing field. Everyone must decide if they are going to be a giver or a taker in life. Good or evil. Macrobiotics can help people be stronger and happier. I know this to be true.

***Note: If you wish to begin the macrobiotic diet, please consult with a physician. I recommend starting slowly, by adding brown rice to your diet and taking away all land salt (substitute sea salt). Take away sugars, chemicals, preservatives, dyes and processed foods. You may even take them away gradually, which will be easy, for you will find that after eating brown rice, all unhealthy foods will become unappetizing to you. Also I highly recommend beginning the diet and lifestyle under the supervision of an experienced macrobiotic cook and advisor who can guide you through any questions or problems. 

Here is a list of macrobiotic sources:

Denny Waxman - https://www.facebook.com/dennywaxman/

or https://dennywaxman.com

https://www.facebook.com/VeganNatural/

Susan Krieger - http://www.susankriegerhealth.com

©Patricia Goodwin, 2013