Author Biographies

Miki Shima

Born in 1946 in war-ravaged Tokyo, I grew up under 11 years of American occupation, starving most of my early childhood. I went to Waseda University and got a BA in French Linguistics but I didn't do much with it. I became interested in Chinese medicine when I was 21 and went all over Japan and Taiwan to study with many old masters of acupuncture, herbal medicine, and the I Ching. The major subjects I was interested in were pediatric medicine, internal medicine, cancer treatment, gynecology, immunology, just to name a few. My study of Chinese medicine was done "on the job", so to speak. My sister is also an acupuncturist.

I came to America in 1974 and taught a course on Chinese medicine at the University of Michigan for two years, where I also got my master's degree in linguistics with an emphasis on classical Chinese language and literature. I passed the California Board Exam in 1979 and began private practice in Los Angeles. Then I moved to Marin County in northern California in 1980 with an MD general practitioner and started an integrated practice of Chinese and Western medicine. In 1981 I was appointed to the California State Examination Committee for seven years by Governor Jerry Brown and worked as Chairman of the Education Subcommittee, establishing guidelines for school approval. I began teaching continuing education workshops in 1987 by establishing the Japanese-American Acupuncture Foundation, Inc. This foundation invited masters of Chinese medicine to the United States. Now, I'm in private practice five days a week and teach 15 workshops a year. I have published eight sets of clinical videotapes on different subjects and the book, The Medical I Ching from Blue Poppy Press. I am currently finishing a new book called Deeper Pathways of the Web, to be available by the end of 1999.