The term “shonishin” () is a Japanese rendering of the older Chinese term “erzhen” (). It literally means “children’s needle” or “children’s needling.” Acupuncture has been used for a long time on both adults and children, hence we find the term erzhen in the early Chinese literature. However, today, the Japanese term shonishin refers to a tradition that dates from the 17th century. While there is speculation about its precise origins and its development, its more widespread use appears to have started in the late 20th century in Japan. A number of practitioners such as Yoneyama and Mori, who wrote a text entitled Shonishin Ho—Acupuncture Treatment for Children (1964), and Shimizu, who wrote an extended section on shonishin in a well-known Japanese acupuncture journal, Ido no Nippon (Journal of Japanese Acupuncture and Moxibustion) (1975), helped set the stage for a more widespread adoption of this method within the acupuncture community in Japan. This was further reinforced by the publication of articles about shonishin, pediatric acupuncture, by various other authors. Today, many acupuncturists treating children use these or variations of them in Japan. These methods started spreading outside Japan to the West by the 1980s, where further modifications began to appear.

I have used these methods in the treatment of children since 1982 and have played a role in introducing these methods in different regions in the United States, Europe, and Australasia over the last 15 years. This book is a culmination of having used and adapted these methods to a modern Western-based acupuncture practice over the past 25 years or so. While the book is primarily a practical guide on how to use these methods in the treatment of children, it also briefly covers the history of and theoretical justifications for these methods.

In the West, the common styles of acupuncture are Chinese and Western anatomically based. Both styles consider acupuncture to involve only the use of inserted needles. I have found that since the methods of shonishin often do not involve the use of inserted needles, it is conceptually foreign to the acupuncturist trained in both Chinese and Western styles, thus, it is not yet well known among the acupuncture community in the West. I have also found that many acupuncturists in the West are afraid to treat babies and small children because they have to insert needles, which makes pediatric acupuncture less popular overall than it could be. This is a pity, because it is very effective, and children generally respond more quickly to treatment than adults. After teaching shonishin