Reiki History

“Hands on healing” has been known for many centuries and is an integral part of healing in many indigenous and other cultures. There have been various publications regarding the origin of Reiki and many diverse ideas as to how it was integrated into human societies. Some people claim reiki came from non terrestrial beings (the stars) while others claim it developed in Atlantis, Egypt, India or Tibet. We only know for certain that Reiki was "rediscovered" in Japan by Dr Mikao Usui during the beginning of the 20th century. There are 3 people that played a pivotal role in the history of Reiki: Dr Mikao Usui,
Dr Hayashi, and Mrs Hawayo Takata.

Usui Mikao (1865 –1926) is the founder of Reiki, a form of spiritual practice used as a complementary therapy for the treatment of physical, emotional, and mental diseases. 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.

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. 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.

Since then he has spread Reiki. He founded the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai and initiated various students into Reiki Masters. It wasn't long before he developed a large following of students. At some point in the 1920's, he met the man who would become his principle benefactor and assist him by financing a series of clinics in Japan where people could go to be healed with Reiki, and where documented records could be kept on the client's progress. This benefactor was Dr. Chujiro Hayashi, a retired navy officer. Upon the transition of Dr. Usui, Dr. Hayashi continued the work of spreading Reiki & documenting its effectiveness.
Dr Mikao Usui passed away on March 9th 1926 at the age of 62. He is buried in Saihoji Temple in Suginami-Ku, Tokyo. Later his students created and erected a large memorial stone next to his grave describing his life and work. Much of the new information about Usui Sensei comes from the translation of this memorial.

The clinic that Dr. Hayashi worked in was located in Tokyo. Due to its location and the fact that Dr. Hayashi came from a very prominent family, it attracted clients from the highest ranks of Japanese society, including the royal family.

It was into this clinic that a young woman, Hawayo Takata who would someday be the sole bearer of the Reiki torch, entered in the fall of 1935.

Hawayo Takata was born into a poor, partially Japanese family in Hawaii. Her life included many struggles up to the Fall of 1935 including her husband's death at the young age of thirty-five and severe stress and physical problems which came after it. Family circumstances warranted a trip to Japan, and throughout her stay she sought help with her various physical and emotional issues. During her stay at Dr. Hayashi's clinic, she was amazed at how effective the Reiki treatments were and repeatedly asked to be allowed to become a practitioner. Such a position was hardly a woman's place in the Japan of that era, so she was always flatly turned down. Eventually Takata was intiated and left in 1936 being a full Reiki Master. She initiated hundreds of people in the west until she passed away.

Reiki history is not changing however, the information we obtain about Reiki and its founder Dr Mikao Usui is increasing. A couple of years ago we only had Mrs Takata's version of the development and history of Reiki and its achievements. This version is still widely taught although there appear to be some points in that version of Reiki history that cannot be verified. There is a possibility that Mrs Takata had to adapt and modify Reiki history to the western mind in order to be successful and suit the times. Thanks to the work of Reiki Masters like Frank Arjava Petter, William L. Rand and many others we have more complete and factual information about Reiki and its origins today.

My conclusion concerning the history of Reiki is that Frank Arjava Petter, and William L. Rand further developed Reiki in America. Their system of Reiki and all of the Usui Mikao Reiki is based on Buddhist philosophy, meditations and teachings which in turn have a strong link and connection to the ancient Vedic knowledge and culture. It is hence my understanding that Reiki is deeply rooted and connected to the Vedic culture of India.

Reiki in Japan

It was for many years believed that the practice of Reiki had died out in Japan but now new information about Reiki in Japan is coming to light. The Japanese Reiki system is slightly different from the Reiki that is used in the west. Written and oral information is translated from Japanese as it becomes available, including Dr Usui's manual. There are now some books available that cover these new findings and you can find some of these publications easily on the web.