Kanpó

In Japan, Chinese herbal medicine is called kanpô. A doctor of Chinese style medicine is called kanpô (or kampó). He prescribes herbal medicines and practices some traditional Chinese treatments like the ones listed below.

Anma - Massage treatment. It eases muscle aches, stimulates blood circulation, soothes nervous tension, etc., thus giving relief from fatigue and minor pains.

Shiatsu - Is finger pressure therapy. Using the fingers, especially the thumb, at specific points of the body called tsuba (acupuncture points) to stimulate the circulatory system and nervous system to work better.

Kyu - Moxibustion
A medical treatment in which cones of moxa are placed on acupuncture points and ignited. Moxa is made from the hairs that grow under the leaves of mugwort. This treatment is believed to help cure illness by restoring a proper balance of ki and is very similar to acupuncture.

Hari- acupuncture
Inserting needles into the body to aid the proper balance of ki to ensure good health. Came from China to Japan in the 6th century. They use extremely fine needles several centimeters long. They insert them into the skin and underlying tissues along specific meridians to reach certain points called tsubo connected to the pain. The needles are so fine that they are rarely even felt by the patients. Require a license to practice.

In the Ranma manga Dr Tofu is a kanpó. Many of the traditional Chinese healing techniques mentioned above are seen in the Ranma manga though usually not for healing purposes. Ranma uses massage on Akane when she is angry, offered Nabiki one to repay destroyed ticket, and on the Ashura to relieve her back pain. Happosai used a moxibustion to take away Ranma's strength. Cologne used shiatsu to make Ranma more susceptible to heat, Shampoo used a shiatsu to control Akane, Ranma hit a tsubo point in Ryoga to knock him out, etc.