also: やいと
noun
moxibustion
Traditional East Asian medical practice of burning dried mugwort (moxa) on or near the skin. Often used in phrases like 灸を据える (to apply moxa; also figuratively 'to give a scolding').
肩こりに灸を据えてもらった。
I had moxibustion applied for my stiff shoulders.
灸は東洋医学の治療法の一つだ。
Moxibustion is one of the treatments in traditional Eastern medicine.
Archaic or dialectal reading; rarely used in modern standard Japanese.
鍼 (acupuncture) uses needles, while 灸 (moxibustion) uses burning moxa. They are often combined as 鍼灸 (しんきゅう).
The kanji 灸 is composed of 火 (fire) and 久 (long time), reflecting the slow burning of moxa. The reading きゅう is the Sino-Japanese on'yomi; やいと is a native Japanese reading now largely obsolete.