Shiatsu is a form of bodywork therapy that originated in Japan in 1912. In Japanese, "shi" means "finger" and "atsu" means "pressure", so "shiatsu" means "finger pressure". The purpose of shiatsu is to balance the flow of Ki (life force) of the body. The primary function of Zen Shiatsu is to nourish kyo (weak Ki) areas and to disperse jitsu (excess Ki) areas, using a two-handed technique. Zen Shiatsu uses both pressure and stretching to achieve balanced Ki.