“A Speech by David Burmeister Given in Many Locations”  –  from The Main Central Jin Shin Jyutsu Newsletter, issue Number 79, Winter 2013:

It was a full 34 years from the time of his initial discovery of Jin Shin Jyutsu in 1912 before Jiro Murai began to teach others. Realizing that he would not be around forever, Jiro Murai began standardizing the complicated information he had compiled through the years into basic, understandable principles for those interested in learning them. In his early years, when he practiced on his clients, there were no established routines and no Safety Energy Lock locations. Basically, he would work on the left and right supervisory pathways Kamurogi and Kamuroni, in accordance with the needs for that particular body, utilizing the left and right mediators, Izanagi and Izanami, whenever he wished to guide the flow of energy to the opposite side. Each Jin Shin Jyutsu session was customized and unique for that one individual.

Jiro Murai began teaching in the homes of his students, to small groups in Tokyo and Oiso, a small town to the west of Kamakura. The lectures would be held once a month and would take about three years to complete one full series. After each lecture, he would leave a copy of his illustrations that would be hand copied by one student and then passed along to the others for them to copy as well. This process would be completed during the subsequent month, in time for the next lecture.

For various reasons, these lectures were a well-kept secret. Only a small number of students were allowed to attend. The prize at the end of each lecture was to be treated by Jiro Murai. No one wanted to share what precious little time they had with Murai Sensei. It was said that many of his students endured his complicated lectures just so they could receive his powerful touch at the end. His entire teaching career spanned on the final 14 years of his life.

It was late in 1946 at the home of a Mrs. Sato that Jiro Murai met one of his most prominent students, Mary Mariko Iino, later to become Mary Burmeister. While Mary was at the Sato home teaching English to a group of students, she was told that Sensei was coming. Mary recalled that there was great excitement in the home because this was an unexpected visit. She had heard her English students speak of their mysterious Sensei with reverence but didn’t know much about him. She asked to excuse herself but was told that Sensei knew she was there and wanted to meet her. When Jiro Murai arrived and first met Mary, he said that he had a gift for her and asked if she would bring it back to America. Not knowing what was being offered, and without hesitation, Mary said, “Yes.” And thus began the journey that Mary would embark upon and cherish for the rest of her life.

Mary soon joined the Jin Shin Jyutsu lecture series that was about to begin. And with the same commitment, love and excellence that were the hallmark of her life, she studied and embodied the teachings of Jin Shin Jyutsu over the next 6 years. Not long after Mary began to study with Jiro Murai, her father, Uhachi Iino, who had been detained in a U.S. internment camp during the war, returned to Japan. And he also became a student of Jin Shin Jyutsu. Together, Mary and Uhachi Iino developed a deep and lasting friendship with Jiro Murai.

In 1953 Mary Iino returned to the U.S. to marry Gilbert Burmeister, a man she had worked with during her years in Japan following WWII. Mary had not planned to leave her teacher as long as he was living, wishing to learn all that he had to share, but one day she mentioned to Jiro Murai that Gilbert had proposed marriage to her. Jiro had met Gilbert a few years before when he treated him for a serious illness. Jiro asked Mary if she loved him and the answer was yes. The advice that Jiro then gave to Mary came as quite a surprise. He said that the life of a mother and householder was of great importance and would help to complete her training. Jiro also said that he would stay in correspondence with Mary and that she could continue her studies of Jin Shin Jyutsu.

To be continued…