THE MEANING OF 'TE-ATE'
Copyright © 2009 James Deacon 

The Japanese word te-ate is formed from two kanji characters:

         and    
     (te)              (ate)

In isolation, te means 'hand'; ate means 'to aim, 'to put', 'to place', 'to apply'

The combined word te-ate:

   
- which can also be written in the phonetic hiragana script also written as:

can mean “apply hands” or “hands-on”; it can also mean, “touching with the hands”, “handwork”, or “put hand (on injury)” and, by extension, has come to mean 'Treatment'*

In a modern medical sense, for example, the phrase "te-ate o suru":

(lit: 'a putting on of hands') can mean 'to treat (an injury)' or 'to nurse' or 'to cure'.

However, the word te-ate has, for centuries been a generic term covering numerous different treatment practices involving the direct-contact application of the hands - whether as manipulative therapy or as 'energetic' laying-on-of-hands type intervention – for the purpose of treating physical injury, trauma, ailment, sickness and disease.

Thus, the pressure-point, energy stimulation/transfer, and manipulative techniques (including: static touch, rubbing, kneading, palpating, tapping, pressing, twisting, pulling, mobilisation of joints, etc.) as practiced within therapeutic arts such as Shiatsu, Amatsu, Seitai, Amma, Shindenjutsu, Ampuku, Seiki Jutsu, Kiatsu, Kuatsu, and even Western-style massage, can all be said to constitute 'te-ate'.

So, what about the art of 'Reiki' – can 'Reiki' be considered a form of te-ate?

Well certainly Reiki Ryoho - when given 'hands-on' – can be.

However, when Reiki Ryoho is given as a 'hands-off' aura-treatment, or when it is given at a distance, technically it does not constitute te-ate.

Likewise, the spiritual teachings and spiritual development (Reiho) aspects of Reiki (and other similar disciplines) cannot be described as te-ate.

Te-ate refers specifically to the hands-on treatment of physical conditions.

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*Just to confuse things a little, in other usage, the same word te-ate -  written using the same kanji - can refer to an allowance, benefit, or compensatory payment, e.g. as in jido te-ate (Child Allowance)