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3
APhysical
Therapy
in
Japan
from
the
An
American
Physical
Therapist
MicheleEisemann
Shimizu
1)
Eyes
of
What
brought
me
to
Japan?
I
attendedthe
University
ofSouthern
California
to
become
aphysical
therapist.
This
universityis
in
Los
Angeles,
California,
U.S.A.
where
many
Japanese
students
attend
to
study
various
subjects
(not
just
physical
therapy).
One
Japanese
womanin
particular
became
a
verygood
friend
of mine.Her
nameis
Ha-chan,
and,
even
after
more
than
4e
years,
we are stil1 verygood
friends.
Ha-chan
alwaystoLd
methat
Japan
is
a veryinteresting
country andthat
I
should visitthere
someday.
That
sounded veryenticing
to
me,especially
as
I
had
aninterest
ifi
Asia
sinceI
was a child.Then,
whenI
was ona
student
affiliation
in
a
hospttal
i'n
San
Francisco,
the
supervisor
there
had
just
comeback
from
Japan.
Her
husband
had
been
in
the
American
Navy
in
Yokosuka,
and
she
had
worked
as
a
consultillg
physical
therapist
in
Yokohama
for
Dr.
Okawa,
adoctor
specializingin
rehabilitation atthe
Yokohama
City
Medical
University
Hospital
She
told
me
that
physical
therapy
and occupationaltherapy
were very new
fields
in
Japan,
that
the
first
schoolshad
just
begun,
andthat
teachers
were neededfor
the
new
schools.
She
gave
methe
namesand
addresses ofthe
two
schools andDr.
Okawa
to
contact.Because
of
my
deep
interest
in
Asian
culture
from
childhood
and
irom
mydear
iriend
Ha-chan,
andbecause
myhospital
affiliation supervisorhad
a stronginfiuence
on
me,I
decided
to
try
to
go
to
Japan.I
wrote
to
al1
the
addresses my supervisorgave
me andD
rpme#l]k\EasiJ
.Nlfi)T--
Y
u tzff:ssge\utza\pt
(T
658-OOOI
ptptrkptasaptjtag6-2-23)
'
Michele
Eisemarm
Shimi.zu,
RPT,
MA,
PbD:
Koi]an
Womens
Universitv
Sr-
v
-
1.'
/Physical
Therapy,
Japan.
American Expericnee inJapan
received answers
irom
all ofthem
Dr.
Okawa
wroteto
me
that
he
wouldlike
meto
come and consurtin
several
hospitals
in
Yokohama.
The
two
schoolsin
Japan
wrotethat
they
had
enoughteachers,
but
they
iniormed
me about abrand
new schoolin
Kochi,
Shikoku.
So,
I
sent aletter
to
that
schooltoo.
That
school was
Kochi
Gakuen,
and
they
a}so
asked
meto
comeand
teach
there.
These
various
communieations
took
abouttwo
years
to
complete, andduring
that
time
I
graduated
from
the
university
and
began
working
in
alarge
general
hospital
in
Los
Angeles.
I
then
toek
a short courseto
learn
Japanese
greetings,
and
my
Japanese
"sansei"friends
taught
me alittle
Japanese
too.
Also
during
that
time,
the
head
of
the
physical
therapy
department
at
Kochi
Gakuen
cameto
Los
Angeles
to
attenda
conference, sohe
arranged ameeting
to
talk
to
me
and
encourage
me
to
cometo
Kochi
Gakuen.
Dr.
Seishi
Sawamura
(Kobe
University>
also cameto
Los
Angeles
to
visit various rehabilitationcenters
andto
gather
information
for
the
newHyogo
Prefectural
Rehabilitation
Center
he
planned
to
build.
While
he
wasthere,
he
visited meto
talk
aboutteaching
atKoehi
Gakuen,
because
he
washelping
to
develop
the
program
atKochi
Gakuen
as well.Both
ofthese
peopLe
were wonderfulgentlemen,
andthey
impressed
mevery
much.It
washard
to
decide
between
workingfor
Dr.
Okawa
as a consultantin
hospitals
in
Yokohama
orto
teach
in
aprofessional
sehoolin
Shikoku.
But
I
decided
to
workin
the
schoeLbecause
I
wantedto
try
teaching
physicaL
therapy.
I
also
thought
it
would
be
rnorerisky
to
treat
patients,
as
I
could
not speakJapanese.
In
addition,al1
the
Japanese
students
andother
people
I
met
in
California
could speak verygood
English,
soJapanese Physical Therapy Association
NII-Electronic Library Service
JapanesePhysical Therapy Association
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±th"6zat:H]tsO"M,mamp\fita
students
than
with
the
patients.
Another
thing
that
influenced
me
wasthatIwanted
to
learn
aboutJapanese
cuLture.Yokohama
wasand
still
is
abig
internationat
city withmany
new
Iifestyles
and
probably
alot
like
New
York
City,
whereI
grew
up.
I
thought
that
mostlikely
Kochi
stilLhad
many oithe
old culturaltraditions
that
I
couldlearn.
<I
studiedanthropology
atthe
City
University
ofNew
York
before
attending
the
University
ofSouthern
California
soI
was
veryinterested
in
learning
aboutJapanese
society.)
Aniving
in
Japan
Finally,
I
was oEito
Koehi
in
September
19691
Because
there
were nodirect
flights
from
America
to
Japan
then,
I
flew
from
Los
Angeles
to
Hawaii
and stayed overnight.The
nextday
I
flew
to
Tokyo,
whereI
changedto
apropeller
plane
to
fly
to
Kochi.
0n
the
flight,
the
stewardess was verykind
and showed meMount
Fuji
from
the
plane.
Then,
finaliy.
it
was sobeautiful
and excitingfor
me whenthe
plane
flew
over
Kochi
and
the
Pacific
Ocean,
The
oMcials
and
the
English
teacher
from
Kochi
Gakuen
cameto
meet meat
the
airport,
The
oMcials ofthe
schooLthe
teaching
staif,
and
the
students
all
gave
me
many
welcome
parties,
and
everyone
was
very
warm andkind
to
me.
They
all
introduced
meto
the
Japanese
(
"Kochi")
culture,
Japanese
"sake';and
"umeboshi"!!!BUT
I
had
a
bigger
surprise:
only
the
English
teachers
could
speak
English!
And,
I
realized
that
not
only
did
I
not
understand
the
Japanese
language,
but
I
alsodid
not understandthe
gestures
andthe
culture.Ibecame
veryaware
thatIhadalot
to
learnl
Physical
Therapy
Education
Then
The
first
school
in
Japan
for
physical
therapy
and occupattonaltherapy
began
atthe
Tokyo
National
Chest
Hospital
in
Kiyose,
Tokyo
in
1963.
The
second school wasthe
Kyushu
Rehabilitation
Daigakko
in
Kita
Kyushu.
When
I
first
arriyedin
Japan
in
September
1969,
the
third
schoolto
openin
Japan
wasKochi
Gakuen
(physical
therapy
only),
which
wasin
its
secondyear.
The
fourth
school,Fuchu
Rehabilitation
Gakuin,
had
just
openedin
Tokyo
the
year
I
arrived.All
these
schools
were
professional
schools, set-upby
the
Ministry
of
Hearth
and
Welfare.
There
wereno
junior
colleges
er
universities
in
this
field
yet.
So,
when
the
studentsgraduated,
they
were
considered
503
to
be
atthe
samelevel
as
high
school
graduates,
not
professionals.
This
was
asurprise
for
me,because
physical
therapy
in
America
had
been
on a universitySevel
for
manyyears,
and
I
evengraduated
with aMaster's
degree.
(At
that
time,
there
were
no
PhD
courses
in
physical
therapy
in
America
yet.)
In
Japan,
all
the
teachers
then
were
non-Japanese,because
there
were noJapanese
therapists
quaLified
to
teach
yet.
There
were onlytwo
books
writtenin
Japanese:
one
on
ROM
and
one
on
MMT.
That
meant
that
the
studentshad
lectures
in
English,
andthe
classprints
andtextbooks
were also allin
English.
Of
course.it
washard
for
the
students whohad
little
knowledge
of
English
to
study
and
understand,
but
it
was
also
hard
for
the
teachers
to
teach
suchstudents
who could not
fully
understand whatthe
teachers
were
trying
so
hard
to
teach.
English
language
education
was
even
poorer
then
than
it
is
today.
Before
I
arrivedin
Japan,
I
had
manyletters
fi11ed
with
information.
(There
wereno
e-mails
in
those
clays,
andinternational
telephone
calls
were very, veryexpensive).
I
was sent alist
of alLthe
teachers
in
Kochi
Gakuen
and wastold
that
the
students werediligently
studying
English,
And,
so,I
wastold
there
was noneed
to
worry
about
the
fact
that
I
could
notspeak
Japanese!
Well,
the
list
of
teachers
was
veryextensive,
but
I
did
not
know
till
Later
that
none
of
these
teachers
were
physical
therapists.
The
head
of
the
physical
therapy
department
was
a
biologist,
who
did
not
have
a medical
background.
So
I
wasthe
onlyteacher
of
physical
therapy
there,
otherthan
onepart-tirne
teacher
whotaught
physical
modalitles oncea
weekand another
part-time
teacher
whotaught
stroketherapy
one session aweek.The
schoo] was small andonly
had
a
few
rooms.
There
was onelarge
roomfor
therapeutic
exercise,
prosthetics
and orthotics, etc.(Fig.
1).
AND
the
students
did
not
speak or understandEnglish.
Shocking,
iust
shocking
U!
So,
wehad
classes everyday,
Monday
to
Saturday,
with
lots
of
demonstrations
andpractice.
Praetical
examinations weredone
reguaarlyto
keep
the
studentsstudying
and
to
help
the
teacher
know
how
muchthe
students were understanding(Fig.
2).
Hospital
aenliations werefor
nine rnonths,three
months
each
504
-#twta\
Fig.
1
Classroom
studyA
classsession aboutto
begin
in
Kochi
Gakuen,
]969-70,
supervisors were not
licensed
professionals
yet
so
they
had
ahard
time
trying
to
teach
the
students.
Even
though
wehad
supervisor meetings atthe
sehooLto
try
to
coordinate
the
affiliations
andinstruct
the
hospital
therapists
on
how
to
educate
the
students,it
was not enoughto
help
the
supervisorstrain
the
students
as
wasdone
in
the
United
States.
All
in
al]
the
level
of school andhospital
educatioil was wellbe}ow
that
ofthe
United
States
then.
National
Licensing
Examination
Then
Then
the
Japanese
nationallicense
examination
consisted of a
paper
test
and apractical
test
whereas
in
America,
there
was only along
paper
test.
In
Japan,
graduazing
students
of
course
took
the
exarnination,
but
the
people
whohad
workedin
the
hospitals
doing
massage
and
exercises
for
many
years
before
the
schools were established also
took
the
examination.The
examinations were veryhard
for
the
studentsand
for
these
people,
and
many
of
them
failed
the
examination.
But
these
examinations were especiallyhard
for
the
peopLe
whodid
not attend a school.Not
passing
the
examination meantthat
these
people
would
notbecome
licensed
therapists
and wouldlose
their
livelihood.
This
procedure
wasdifferent
from
the
United
States.
If
the
law
for
Iicensing
changed
in
America,
the
people
who
had
worked underthe
previous
law
would receive special!icenses
to
be
ableto
continue
working,
but
allthe
people
startlngin
the
newfield
afterthe
law
changed wouldhave
to
'fol!ow
the
new rules setin
the
newlaw.
The
Japanese
system ofhaving
these
people
whohad
workedin
the
hospitals
previeusly
follow
the
rules ofthe
newLaw
seemed a
liule
severeto
me.ee37tseg7-V
Fig.
2
Koehi
Gakuen's
First
Physical
Therapy
Graduating
Class,
The
photograph
showsthe
graduating
students andteaching
sLafr,
The
teacher
in
the
front
withthe
whitelaboratory
coatis
Professor
Kamimura
the
head
otthe
department
atthat
time,
The
photo
wastaken
in
the
enclosedgarden
ofKoehi
Gakuell.
Hospitals,
Patients,
and
People
with
Disahilities
Then
I
visited severalhospitals
in
different
areas.
They
were allvery
dark
andgloomy.
I
was
very
surprised
to
hear
that
manypatients
receiveddifferent
medicationsfrom
diiferent
hospitals,
and
the
doctors
did
not
askthe
patients
what medicationsthey
received atthe
other
hospitals,
which couldlead
to
very seriouscompiications.
The
patients
would
not
ask
the
doetors
about
their
medications ortreatments,
because
the
doctors
would
get
angry
and
tell
the
patients
to
do
just
whatthey
weretold
to
do.
So,
patients
just
kept
quiet
and
did
whatthey
weretold
to
do,
because
they
wereafraid
of
not
getting
the
proper
treatment
if
they
did
not.The
waiting rooms were alwaysfil!ed
withpeople
waitinghours
to
be
seenby
the
doctor;
there
wereno
appointments
like
there
were
in
America.
Even
the
patients
in
the
physicaL
therapy
departments
had
to
waitto
be
seen
by
the
t.herapists,
and
most
patients
did
the
exercise
programs
by
themselves.
Individual
therapy
sessions were rare.Hot
packs
and other
physicaL
modalities were appliedby
non-professionat
workers, which surprised me,because
physical
modalities canbe
dangerous
and are strictlyregtilated
in
America.
Only
licensed
physieal
therapists
wereabowed
to
ap,
ply
physical
modalitiesin
America.
Hospitalizations
were
very
long.
Whcn
hospitalized,
there
wasno
total
nursing care, sothe
patients
had
to
arrange
for
sorneoneto
take
care ofthem.
As
you
can see,the
hospitals
were not verypatient-centered
then.
The
situai.ion
was verydifferent
in
America
eventhen
Japanese Physical Therapy Association
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JapanesePhysical Therapy Association
XNA"eputzad:th,6nkHJtsiO*AUramp4utza
Fig.
3
Patient
Observation
Students
andI
observing apaLient
at alocal
rehabi]itationeenter
in
Kochi,
l969-7e.
It
wasthe
first
time
for
the
students toobserve and evaluate apatient,
When
I
was
told
tha,t
there
was a new rehabilitation centerin
Kochi,
I
askedif
I
couldgo
and seeit
andalso
bring
the
students
to
praetice
with
the
patients
there.
Again,
this
was another shoeking experiencefor
this
newphysical
therapist
from
the
United
States.
In
this
center,
there
was
a
very,
very
large
room
with
rows of
beds,
eachwith
alittle
dresser
and a screellnext
to
it,
This
wasthe
room whore allthe
patients
spent
day
and
night
just
waiting
for
the
"end".It
wasdark
and
verygloorny,
and
it
wassituated
in
a
veryrural area near
the
sea with nothing aroundthe
centerbut
farms
and sea.The
patients
seemedto
have
nohope
or
dreams
andseemed
to
have
given
up onlife.
So,
everytime
I
brought
studentsto
practice
withthe
patients,
the
patients
were very cooperative and veryhappy
to
work
with
the
students
(Fig,
3),
If
t.hese
patients
had
lived
in
America,
their
homes
would
be
renovated sothey
couldgo
home
andlive
with
their
families.
It
washard
for
this
therapist
to
see such
poor
conditionsfor
disabled
peopte
here.
When
this
therapist
askedthe
head
ofthe
hospital
why something could not
be
done
for
these
people
to
go
home,
the
doctor
got
very angryand
yelled
at me, "Thisis
Japan,
and we are not richlike
Americans
!I!-.
(Now,
it
is
wellknown
that
hospitalization
costs much morethan
enablingpatients
to
go
back
home
to
live,
but,
atthat
time,
people
were unaware ofit.)
People
withdisabilities
were not seenin
public.
There
were notransportation
accommedations, noaccess
accommodations,
and notoilets
for
handicapped
peopLe.
There
were
no
fitted
wheelchairs;patients
whoneeded wheelchairs
were
just
given
standardtypes,
whetherthe
wheelchairs
fitted
them
or not.Children
with
disabilities
were eitherhidden
in
dark,
back
505
rooms
in
the
home
or
placed
permanently
in
facilities
where no one could see
them
I
wastotd
that
if
other
people
knew
aboutthe
handicapped
child,the
siblings would notbe
ableto
get
married.This
was anothershock
for
aioreign
therapist.
A
Few
Yliars
Later
Ihad
the
opportunity
to
work
at
the
two
schooLs
in
Tokyo
after
working
for
two
and
a
half
years
in
Kochi,
These
schools
had
full
staffs
of
teachers,
andwhen
I
arrived
there,
manyof
the
teachers
werenot
just
foreign
teachers
but
alsoJapanese
licensed
therapists.
The
schools
had
moreclassrooms.
So
the
situation
had
changed since
I
first
arrived, andthe
level
of educationhad
improved,
A
few
moretextbooks
werepublished
in
Japanese.
But
the
level
ofphysical
therapy
wasstill
lower
than
in
America
andEurope.
Many
people
wantedto
raisethe
educationlevel
to
ajunior
collegeLevcL
but
the
Japanese
Ministry
ofEducation
wouldnot
recognizephysical
therapy
and
occupatjonal
therapy
as
scholarlyprofessions
yet.
For
a
therapist
coming
from
a country wherephysical
therapy
andoccupational
therapy
were already ona
master'sdegree
level,
it
was veryhard
to
understandthe
Ministry
ofEducation's
stance.Physical
Therapy
Now
Finally,
the
Ministry
ofEducation
permitted
ajunior
collegeto
openin
Kanazawa.
Then
the
first
Eour-year
universitybegan
in
Hiroshima.
But
there
are still manyprofessional
schools,junior
colleges,
and
university
programs,
all
training
students
to
become
professional
therapists.
This
situationis
unheard
of
in
America
Since
2002
in
America,
to
be
eligibleto
take
the
ticense
examination,
an
entry-level
graduate
musthave
aMaster's
degree,
and,
from
2020,
aPhD
willbe
required.And
the
license
can onlybe
usedin
the
state
in
which
the
examination
is
taken.
In
Japan,
the
license
is
a
natienalljcense,
which canbe
usedin
any
Japanese
prefecture.
Also
in
Japan,
it
is
possible
ior
aperson
graduating
from
either aprofessional
schoolor
a
junior
college or a universityto
be
eligibleto
sit
for
the
examination,
whichis
also
unheard ofin
America
because
the
entry-level
standardis
rigid.Physical
Therapy
for
the
Future
The
level
ofJapanese
education andtherapeutic
506
理学療法学 第
37
巻
第7
号years
,
andI
hope
that
it
increases
to
grow
in
scopeand
depth.
However
.
the
level
of
education
shouldbe
standardized
to
at
least
the
universitylevel
.
Teachers
may
need
to
expect morethorough
andindependent
study
from
their
students
,
which maybe
difficult
in
the
currentJapanese
culture,
BUT
it
is
necessaryto
keep
up withthe
global
development
ofphysical
therapy
.
Perhaps
four
years
ofhigher
univers
童ty
level
education
is
not enough.
In
the
future
,
morepost
−
graduate
programs
maybe
necessaryto
upgrade
the
level
of
Japanese
physical
therapy
,
Teach
三ngaccurate
and
necessary
research
techniques
(EBPT
)and
in
−depth
knowledge
is
difficult
to
do
adequatelyln
abaccalaureate
program
,
because
there
is
just
not enough
time
.
Moreover
,
usefuland
meaningful
research
is
better
done
after
graduatiol1
,
whenthe
student
has
obtainedsubstantial
clinical
experience
.
In
addition
,
requ 三red 三n
−depth
postgraduate
(continuing)
education
is
absolutely
necessary
for
therapists to
keep
up
with
all
the
newtechn
三ques
andinformation
constantly
arislng
in
the
medicalfield
andto
stirnulateclinical
research
.
Ihope
wekeep
going
forward
and upward,
andI
hope
we
all
continue
to
striveto
be
responsible and accountabletherapists
alwayslThis
ig
.
the
development
ofJapanese
therapy
as
seen
from
the
eyes of anAmerican
physical
therapist
.
Thank
you
for
your
attentionl
米 国 人 理 学 療 法
士 か ら
見
た
日
本
の
草創
期
理
学療
法
清水
ミ シ
ェル
ア
イ ズ
マ ン(
学術誌 部和
訳
)
日
本
への
き
っか け
私
は 理学
療 法
士 を 目指
し て 南 カリフ ォルニ ア大学
で学
ん だ。
この大 学
はロサンゼル スに あり
,
多
く
の 囗本
人学
苑 が様
々な専 攻 (
理学 療 法
では なく)
で学
んでいた。
あ
る 日本 人 女 子 学
生と
たいへ ん親 し
い友 人
とな
っ た。彼 女
の名 前
は「
は一
ち
ゃん」
と言
い,40
年 以
上経
っ た今
でも親 友
であ
る。は
一
ち
ゃん は常
々,
日本
はた
い へ ん面 白
い国 な
の で い つ の 日か 必 ず 訪 れ
るべきだ と言
っ ていた。幼 少 期 か ら
ア ジア に興
味の あっ た私
に とっ て,
そ れは た いへ ん魅 惑 的
な こと
であ
っ た。
その
後
,
私
が臨 床 実 習 を行
った
サン フラン シス コ のあ
る病 院
の実 習 指 導 者
が 日本
か ら帰 国
し た ば かり
で あっ た。
彼 女
の夫
は横
須賀
の海
軍基 地
に勤 務
し て おり
,
彼 女
は横 浜
市
立大 学
リハ ビ リテー
シ ョ ン科
の大 川 医 師
の下
で 理学 療 法
の コ ンサル タン ト と し て働
いて い た のだっ た。
彼女
は 私 に,
日本
で は理 学 療 法
と作 業 療 法
は新 し
い領 域
で,
最 初
の養 成 学 校
が始 ま
っ た ばか り
であ り
,
新
しい学
校
が教 員 を必 要
と してい る こと を教
えてく
れ た。
そ して2
ヵ所
の学 校
の名 前
と住 所
.
大 川 先
生の連 絡 先
を教
えてくれ
たのだっ た。
幼 少 期
か らの アジア文化
へ の深い 関 心,
親 友のは一
ちゃ ん,
そ し て臨床 実
習指
導
者
が 私 に 大 き な影
響
を与 え
,
私
はH
本へ 行 くこと を決 心 した。
実 習 指導者
が 教 えて く れ た 住所
のす
べ てに手 紙
を書
き,
そのす
べてか ら 返事
が あっ た。
大
川医 師
か ら は横 浜
の いく
つ かの病 院
でコンサル タント を してほ しい との手紙
をいた だいた。
ふ たつ の学校
か ら は教
員
が足 り
ている との ことであ
っ た が,
四 国
の高 知
の新
しい学 校
の情 報
をいた だいた。私
はそ
の学 校
へも手 紙
を送
っ た。
その学校
は高 知学 園
であり
,
私
に来
日して教
えて ほし い と要 請 し
てき
た。 これ
らのやり
とりが す
べ て終
わる の に2
年 近 くか か
っ た。そ
の間
,
私
は大 学
を卒 業
しロサンゼル ス の大 き
な総合 病 院
で働
き始
め て いた。
その後
私
は 日本
語
の挨 拶 な ど を学
ぷ短期
コー
スを履 修 し
たり
.
日系
3
世
の友 人 か
ら口本 語 を学
ん だり
してい た。その
時期
に,
高 知 学
園の理学 療 法 学 科
の主任 教 員
が学
会 参 加
のた
め にロサ
ンゼル スを 訪 れ
た際
に私
と而 会
し,
高 知 学 園
へ来
るよう
に薦
めてい た だい た。
澤村 誠
志医 師
(
神 戸 大 学 ) も
ロサンゼル ス を訪
れ,
計
画 中の兵 庫県
立 リハ ビリテー
シ ョ ンセ ン ター
のた め に,
多
くの リハ ビ リ テー
ショ ン施 設
を 見学
して 情 報 を収集
さ れ た。 その滞 在
中
に私
を 訪 ねて高 知 学 園で教育
す るこ と につ いて話
をし てく
れ た。
という
のも澤 村 先
生は高 知 学 園
の理学 療 法 教
育 を支 援
し ていた
のだ
った
。 こ のお
ふ たり
はす
ば ら しい 紳 士で あ り,
私は たい へ ん よい印 象
を受 け
た。
Japanese Physical Therapy Association
NII-Electronic Library Service
Japanese Physioal Therapy Assooiation