REIKI HISTORY

Reiki In Japan
The Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai

Dr. Usui started a Reiki organization in Japan soon after discovering Reiki. He was the
first president. After he died, he was followed by a succession of presidents: Mr. Ushida,
Mr. Iichi Taketome, Mr. Yoshiharu Watanabe, Mr. Toyoichi Wanami, Ms. Kimiko
Koyama and the current successor to Dr. Usui as of 1998 is Mr. Kondo. Contrary to what
has been said by some in the west, there is no "lineage bearer" or "Grandmaster" in the
system of healing started by Dr. Usui, only the succession of presidents listed above.
While Dr. Hayashi was a respected Reiki master, he was never in charge of the Usui
system of Reiki.

Reiki is a generic word in Japan, and is used to describe many types of healing and
spiritual work. It is not exclusive to the system of healing based on Dr. Usui's method.
The system of healing that evolved from Dr. Usui's method is called the Usui System of
Natural Healing or Usui Reiki Ryoho.

Origins
There has been a lot of speculation about where Reiki came from, but there has been little
confirmation of most of these theories. Some say that Reiki originated from Buddhism or
that it contains Buddhist concepts or techniques. I spoke with a Japanese Reiki master
who is also a Buddhist and has done a lot of his own historical research into Reiki in
Japan. He said that he could see no connection between Reiki and Buddhism and that he
felt that Reiki is religiously neutral. While Dr. Usui may have been a Buddhist, he had
also studied Christianity and had lived with a Christian family for a time. It is clear he
had a very broad background in many religious teachings and philosophies

The clearest and most authentic understanding we have been able to discover is that Dr.
Usui originated the system of healing he taught and practiced based on his mystical
experience on Mt. Kurama and by making use of his studies in many different areas of
knowledge. It has no connection to Buddhism, nor is it connected to Tibetan Buddhism or
Tibetan shamanism or any other religion. One of the stories says Dr. Usui discovered the
Reiki symbols in a Tibetan sutra, but even though people have carefully looked, no one
has been able to find a Tibetan sutra with Reiki symbols in it. This is further validated by
Dr. Usui’s own writing in which he says, "Our Reiki Ryoho is something absolutely
original and cannot be compared with any other (spiritual) path in the world." (Taken
from his Reiki Ryoho Handbook)

Reiki in the West

After coming to the west, the Usui System of Natural Healing has evolved over time. In
its current state, it is much more organized and structured than the simple, flexible,
intuitive method practiced by Dr. Usui. The following is a description of the evolution of
the Usui System of Reiki.
During his mystical experience on Mt. Kurama, Dr. Usui received the ability to do Reiki
treatments. Later he added the Reiki Ideals, the three Reiki II symbols, hand positions
and the attunement process. Dr. Hayashi developed a complex hand position system
based on his experience as a medical doctor and from his experience working in his Reiki
clinic. He also further developed the attunement process and may have been the one to
add the master symbol. (Note that Dr. Usui and his organization the Usui Reiki Ryoho
Gakkai did not use a master symbol) Mrs. Takata added the foundation treatment which is
a simplified version of what she learned from Dr. Hayashi. The foundation treatment
consists of 4 hand positions on the abdomen area and 3 or 4 hand positions for the head.
She also decided not to teach most of the techniques (now called Japanese Reiki
techniques) she learned from Dr. Hayashi, thus simplifying the system for Westerners.
(see How Mrs. Takata Practiced and Taught Reiki in the Spring 07 issue of Reiki News
Magazine) She also added the fee structure previously mentioned. So while the lineage
and is the same, going back to Dr. Usui, and the 3 symbols from Reiki II are the same as
Dr. Usui taught, in many ways, the system of Reiki she taught was different than what Dr.
Usui had originally created. The important thing is that her system is effective with the
addition of the foundation treatment being her most important contribution to Reiki.

The required waiting periods between classes were added by several of Mrs. Takata's
Masters after she passed on. Actually according to Mrs. Yamaguchi who became a Reiki
teacher under Dr. Hayashi, Dr. Hayashi taught that Reiki treatments should be given for
free. This is why he taught mostly to wealthy students who could afford to practice
without charging money. So, while some say payment must be received, we know that
this is not a requirement and that it is really up to the practitioner to decide if they want to
charge a fee or not for Reiki treatments.

Takata said Reiki is an oral tradition and because of this didn’t allow her students to take
notes or to tape record and she had no written handouts; neither did she write anything
about how Reiki is to be taught. Because of this it became difficult to verify exactly how
Reiki is to be practiced. This became especially problematic after she passed on. After
Mrs. Takata's transition, a few teachers began making changes in the way they taught
Reiki. Most of the changes were beneficial, and included the addition of knowledge and
healing skills the teachers had learned from other systems or had acquired from inner
guidance. However, some changes were restrictive, making it more difficult for students
to progress. Some took the Third Degree and divided it into several small parts, calling
each new part a new Degree and charging additional money. Often, the fact that they had
modified the Takata system was not mentioned and when their students became teachers,
they began teaching what they thought was pure Takata style Reiki and even calling it
pure Usui Reiki when in fact it was not. In this way, many varieties of Reiki have
developed with some thinking they have the only authentic version of Reiki when
actually what they are teaching is a modified form. Much of the information on the web
about the history of Usui Reiki and how it is taught and practiced has not been well
researched and people are simply publishing anything they have heard without attempting
to find the source or check references.
The editors of this FAQ and The International Center for Reiki Training which provided
much of the source material for this FAQ support all Reiki schools which adhere to the
original spirit of Reiki. See our Purpose and Philosophy and The Reiki Ideals - The
Ethical Principles of Reiki. At the same time, we encourage all those researching Reiki to
understand that not everything published on the web about Reiki has been researched and
one needs to find authentic sources if one is to gain a clear understanding of the Usui
Reiki Ryoho.

The Development of Usui Reiki

The following three passages trace the story of Reiki as researched by William Lee
Rand. A more detailed explanation can be found in his book, Reiki, The Healing Touch.

Dr. Mikao Usui

Dr. Mikao Usui, or Usui Sensei as he is called by his students in Japan, is the founder of
the Usui System of Reiki. He was born August 15, 1865 in the village of Yago in the
Yamagata district of Gifu prefecture, Japan. Usui Sensei had an avid interest in learning
and worked hard at his studies. He traveled to Europe and China to further his education.
His curriculum included medicine, psychology, and religion. It is thought that he was
from a wealthy family, as in Japan only the wealthy could afford to send their children to
school. Eventually he became the secretary to Pei Gotoushin, head of the department of
health and welfare who later became the Mayor of Tokyo. The connections Usui Sensei
made at this job helped him to become a successful businessman.

In 1914 Usui's personal and business life was failing. As a sensitive spiritualist, Usui
Sensei had previously spent much time meditating at power spots on Mt. Kurama. So he
decided to travel to this holy mountain, where he enrolled in Isyu Guo, a twenty-one-day
training course. We do not know for certain what he was required to do during this
training, but it is likely that fasting, meditation, chanting and prayers were part of the
practice. In addition, we know there is a small waterfall on Mt. Kurama where even today
people go to meditate. This meditation involves standing under the waterfall and allowing
the waters to strike and flow over the top of the head, a practice which is said to activate
the crown chakra. Japanese Reiki Masters think that Usui Sensei may have used this
meditation as part of his practice. In any case, it was during the Isyu Guo training that the
great Reiki energy entered his crown chakra. This greatly enhanced his healing abilities
and he realized he had received a wonderful new gift - the ability to give healing to others
without depleting his own energy!

Please refer to Reiki, The Healing Touch, by William Lee Rand for a detailed description
of Reiki and how Dr. Usui rediscovered it.

Dr. Chujiro Hayashi

Dr. Hayashi was a retired naval officer. He received the Reiki Master initiation from Dr.
Usui about 1925 at the age of 47.

Up to this point, the Usui system of healing consisted of the energy itself, the 3 Reiki II
symbols, the Usui hand positions, the attunement process and the Reiki ideals. After
being asked to do so by Usui sensei, Dr. Hayashi went on to develop the Usui system of
healing. He opened a Reiki clinic in Tokyo and kept detailed records of the treatments
given. He used this information to create the Hayashi Healing Guide that included
detailed hand positions for specific illnesses and conditions. He simplified the attunement
process and is likely the one to add the master symbol, thus increasing the effectiveness
of the attunements. This may be why Takata only give a limited number of attunements
for each level, whereas Dr. Usui recommended the student receive as many attunements
or reiju’s as possible.
 Hawayo Takata
Takata photo taken June 11, 1979, Penticton, British Columbia, Canada.
Used with permission from the estate of Gunter and Ursula Baylow

Reiki comes to the West

Hawayo Takata was born at dawn on December 24th, 1900, on the island of Kauai,
Hawaii. Her parents were Japanese immigrants and her father worked in the sugar cane
fields. She worked very hard as she was growing up. She eventually married the
bookkeeper of the plantation where she was employed. His name was Saichi Takata and
they had two daughters. In October of 1930, Saichi died at the age of thirty-four leaving
Mrs. Takata to raise their two children.
In order to provide for her family, she had to work very hard with little rest. After five
years she developed severe abdominal pain, a lung condition and had a nervous
breakdown.

Soon after this, one of her sisters died and it was the responsibility of Hawayo to travel to
Japan where her parents had moved to deliver the news. She also felt she could receive
help for her health in Japan.
She took a steamship and was accompanied by her sister-in-law. After informing her
parents of the death of her sister, she entered a hospital. It was found that she had a tumor,
gallstones, and emphysema. She rested for several weeks to prepare for the operation.

On the operating table, just before the surgery was to begin, Hawayo heard a voice. The
voice said, "The operation is not necessary. The operation is not necessary." She had
never heard a voice speak to her like this before. She wondered what it meant. The voice
repeated the message a third time even louder. She knew she was wide awake and had not
imagined the voice. It was so unusual, yet so compelling that she decided to ask the
doctor. She got off the operating table, wrapped a sheet around herself and asked to
speak to the doctor.
When the doctor finally came, she asked if he knew of any other way that her problems
could be helped. The doctor knew of Dr. Hayashi's Reiki clinic and told Hawayo about it.
This was something she wanted to try.

At the Reiki clinic, she began receiving treatments. She had never heard of Reiki before
and did not know what it was. Using their Reiki hands the practitioners could sense what
was wrong with Mrs. Takata. Their diagnosis very closely matched the doctor's at the
hospital. This impressed her and gave her confidence in what they were doing.

Two Reiki practitioners would treat her each day. The heat from their hands was so strong
that she thought they were using some kind of equipment. She looked around, but saw
none. Seeing the large sleeves of the Japanese kimono one of the practitioners was
wearing, she thought she had found the location of the equipment. She grabbed the
sleeves, but found nothing. The startled practitioner wanted to know what she was doing
and when she explained, he began to laugh. Then he told her about Reiki and how it
worked.

Mrs. Takata received daily treatments and got progressively better. In four months, she
was completely healed. Impressed with the results, she wanted to learn Reiki. However, it
was explained that Reiki was Japanese and that it was intended to stay in Japan. It could
not be taught to an outsider.

Mrs. Takata talked to the surgeon at the hospital and convinced him to ask Dr. Hayashi to
allow her to learn Reiki. Since Dr. Hayashi wanted to teach Reiki to another woman
besides his wife, and since Mrs. Takata was so persistent, he decided that she should be
the one. In the Spring of 1936, Mrs. Takata received First Degree Reiki. She worked with
Dr. Hayashi for one year and then received Second Degree Reiki.

Mrs. Takata returned to Hawaii in 1937. She was soon followed by Dr. Hayashi and his
daughter who came to help establish Reiki in Hawaii. In the Winter of 1938, Dr. Hayashi
initiated Hawayo Takata as a Reiki Master. She was the thirteenth and last Reiki Master
Dr. Hayashi initiated.

Between 1970 and her transition on December 11, 1980, Mrs. Takata initiated twenty-two
Reiki Masters. Below is a list of the Reiki Masters she initiated. This is the list she gave
to her sister before she passed through transition.

George Araki
Barbara McCullough
Beth Grey
Ursula Baylow (deceased)
Paul Mitchell
Iris Ishikura (deceased)
Fran Brown
Barbara Weber Ray
Ethel Lombardi
Wanja Twan
Virginia Samdahl (deceased)
Phyllis Lei Furumoto
Dorothy Baba (deceased)
Mary McFaden
John Gray
Rick Bockner
Bethel Phaigh (deceased)
Harry Kuboi
Patricia Ewing
Shinobu Saito
Kay Yamashita (Takata's Sister)
Barbara Brown

The original twenty-two teachers have taught others. In the decade since Mrs. Takata
experienced transition, Reiki has spread rapidly in the West. It is now practiced
throughout North and South America, Europe, New Zealand, Australia and other parts of
the world. There are now an estimated 500,000 Reiki Masters with as many as 3,000,000
people having been initiated into Reiki throughout the world.