In Japanese, there are numerable phrases that carry the word “Ki.” This word is written in kanji or Chinese character “気.” Let me give a few examples: “Genki” meaning good health, “Byouki” meaning sickness, “Kiraku” meaning being relaxed, “Kibun” meaning the mood, “Ki ga mijikai” meaning short-tempered, “Kiga nagai” meaning patient, “Yuuki” meaning courage, “Ki ga meiru” meaning depressed, “Ki ga hareru” meaning
refreshed, “Tsuyoki” meaning confidence, “Yowaki” meaning lacking in courage, “Yaruki” meaning enthusiasm, “Uchiki” meaning diffident, “Konki” meaning perseverance, and so forth. As you can see, all these expressions are related to the state of one’s mind and spirit. In Oriental medicine, this word “Ki” carries great significance and is used as a matter of course every day.

The “Ki” Refers to the State of the Mind:
Byouki, which means sickness, carries the Ki in it but it does not mean a problem only of the mind. Oriental medicine attaches much importance to the relationship between the state of the mind resulting from the character and lifestyle of a person and his/her physical problems. Thus, in Oriental medicine the two cannot be considered separately, detached from each other. For instance, a spiritual shock often causes an ulcer in the stomach; an unpleasant happening may cause diarrhea; tension may cause coughing, as proven by different people in different cases.

As I interview my patients, these things clearly come to light in each case. Not a few people are suffering from such psychological problems as protracted stress, a sudden occurrence of a shocking event, exhausting work schedule, or stress-caused overeating, giving rise to various physical problems.

What Is “Ki”? Does It Really Exist? Can It Be Seen?
It is an intangible entity. The interactive principles of yin and yang put it in the yang category, which means it is something light in weight and is likely to “rise high,” as the case may be, when some abnormality occurs. Feeling cold in the feet, or feeling hot in the head means that the cold falls down and heat goes up in the body together with the “Ki” under abnormal circumstances. To give some familiar example, an angry cat’s back rises mountain-shaped with bristling hair. The “Ki” of the cat is up, as described in Japanese. The point of the body, which is called “Hyakue” in oriental medicine, is on the top of the head of a human, but its comparable point in a quadruped animal exists in the middle of its back. Unlike in the case of a cat, the anger in a human is not so apparent in “bristling hair,” but a close look may detect some baby hairs actually bristling. Also, we see people whose eyes undergo conspicuous changes of expression in anger such as turning up or getting bloodshot, or people who complain of smarting or itchiness in the scalp. These symptoms prove that the “Ki” has risen to the head together with the heat.

As I say, the “Ki” really exists as a motivating factor behind all our conduct and emotions. In our daily lives, we make rough observations of ourselves or others psychologically and use such expressions as “one is tensed up, depressed, or relaxed, etc.” All these expressions, as it happens, carry the kanji “Ki” in them in Japanese as I said at the beginning of this column. Oriental medicine bases its diagnosis and treatment on the observation of our body surface in terms of the presence, absence or lopsidedness of the “Ki” in our body. More to follow in Part II.