the history of reiki
Mikao Usui - the Founder of the System of Reiki
Recorded history about this system is a bit spotty, and the facts differ according to various sources. One of the reasons why I love the system of Reiki so much, is that it is rich with mystery. It invites us to be comfortable with the ‘not knowing’ and rest in a place of openness. If there are any errors in this post, I apologize.
In this blog post, I’ve compiled a brief history that provides a beautiful foundation of information for someone curious about this system. There is so much more to learn! What I’ve shared in this article is primarily based on research by the International House of Reiki , or found in Frans Steine’s books: The Japanese Art of Reiki, and the Way of Reiki -
Legend says that the original school instructing Sensei Mikao Usui's healing system of Reiki - Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai, was officially founded in 1926. However, Mikao Usui began teaching before then. Long before this system was ever referred to as ‘Reiki, ’ students would call it ‘Usui Do,’ which translates to ‘Usui Method.’
Mikao Usui was born on August 15, 1865, in the village of Taniai (now called Miyama cho) in the Yamagata county of the Gifu Prefecture in Japan.
Today in Miyama cho, Mikao Usui's name is carved on a large torii gate at the Amataka shrine close to where his home once stood.
Mikao Usui was born into a society based on a class system. His family was a privileged class; they were hatamoto samurai – a high level within the ranks of samurai. The hatamoto were the shogun’s personal guards.
Mikao Usui, Creator of the System of Reiki
Mikao Usui was born a Tendai Buddhist and, as a young child, studied in a Tendai monastery, according to recent researchers.
Mikao Usui began practicing a martial art called Aiki Jutsu at 12. He also studied an early form of Daito Ryu and gained the highest proficiency in weaponry and grappling in 1889.
Men of Mikao Usui’s social class were taught well in the arts. Funakoshi Gichin, the founder of Karate, wrote that he went to a ‘moon viewing party’ when he was a young karateka. This consisted of martial artists chatting about karate and sharing poetry under the moon. Chris Marsh states that Funakoshi, Kano Jigoro (founder of judo), and Ueshiba Morihei (founder of aikido) knew Usui Mikao.
When we imagine Mikao Usui at a moon poetry party, in company with the founders of some of the most respected modern martial arts practices, it paints a picture of the blossoming cultural and spiritual revolution in Japan at the time. It also gives a clue as to the seriousness of the community Mikao Usui belonged to, a group in the pursuit of self-discipline and enlightenment.
and as the story goes … Mikao Usui had an enlightened experience during a 21-day intense meditation practice on Mount Kurama in Japan.
This enlightened experience did not occur on a whim but was received after intense discipline, fasting, and genuine devotion to the path of enlightenment. Mikao Usui practiced Pure Land Buddhism and was considered a lay Priest, and had been devoting himself to intense spiritual practices for decades.
Mount Kurama is widely known as a sacred site for serious Buddhist practitioners, and is still an active site today. The mountain holds the mystical Buddhist temple Kurama-dera, which houses the revered Shinto Yuki-jinja shrine.
As a practitioner of the system of Reiki, my attempt at interpreting an enlightened experience is: a human, with practice, has the opportunity to reside deep in the center of their being, becoming open space to such a degree that a broadened awareness of life fills the senses. Once this level of awareness is felt and known, the light experienced never leaves. There is a new width and breadth to daily life. There is new information and understanding that one now carries with them. Perhaps an understanding of how to move and dance with the ki (energy) that is all around, and within.
After Mikao Usui had his enlightened experience on Mt. Kurama, he began sharing healing methods with his family, who experienced immediate results.
From there on, he started sharing his healing practices, meditations, mantras, and chants with a broader audience.
The spiritual teachings, including meditations, are his earliest teachings, with palm healing added in his later years. Once Usui began working with lay students, he taught more formally.
In September of 1923, in Tokyo, there was a great earthquake, and a large fire broke out. Many wounded people were in severe pain, so Mikao Usui went out every morning, offering palm healing to numerous people. It was reported that he cured many people, and saved lives.
Approached by Japanese naval officers, he began instructing the use of tenohira as a form of ‘first aid.’ Palm healing initially consisted of using five head positions, and then the practitioner would intuitively place hands elsewhere on the body. Therefore, tenohira was always taught as a way for practitioners to help themselves, and others.
Mikao Usui’s methods were well-received and proven effective for healing. Naturally, people became curious to learn this successful method for themselves.
In his lifetime, it’s said that Mikao Usui ended up having around 2,000 students.
Becoming a Reiki ‘Master’ was a lifelong journey that very few students ever achieved; it's reported that only 21 of his students attained Shinpiden (mastery).
These teachings aimed to provide a method for students to achieve enlightenment. Unlike religion, there was no specific belief system attached. Though enlightenment was the aim, the healing that was taking place for students was a wonderful ‘side effect’. This points to the path of Reiki as an inward journey. Not an external: “I can heal you.” Practitioners commit to seeking their own pure, inner light, and as a result: healing manifests.
Madam Hawayo Takata, Reiki Practitioner and Teacher, student of Dr. Hayashi
The modern method of where to place the hands on the body was formalized by Usui’s student, a naval surgeon, Hayashi Chûjirô. Hayashi began a formal treatment center where clients could visit for healing.
Practitioners worked in pairs on clients, one treating the head and the other the hara: balancing the mind and body at once.
It is said that these formalized methods were introduced as a form of guidance for students who had difficulty choosing intuitive hand positions.
Hayashi continued the teachings after Mikao Usui suddenly passed away in 1926.
Before Hayashi died in 1940, he passed his leadership off to one of his students: Madam Hawayo Takata, who is credited with bringing the system of Reiki to the West, starting with her home of Hawaii. Madam Takata initiated 22 students in Reiki 3- Shinpiden / Mastery level.
Excerpt from Reiki student John Harvey Gray:
“When John studied with Takata, he made over 20 audio tapes of her lectures and classes. On one of the tapes she discusses travelling to Japan in order to teach her approach to Reiki. While there, she met some Japanese citizens actively practicing and preserving Reiki as they understood in Japan. Takata regarded their approach as entirely valid, but inappropriate for the West. It was highly complex, required years of training and was closely intertwined with religious practices. She felt these factors would deter students in the West and hobble the spread of Reiki through the world at a time when, in her view, it was urgently needed.” – Hand to Hand by John Harvey Gray
Many of the original teachings of the Japanese “Usui Do” are not taught in modern Reiki classes, which inspired International House of Reiki founder Frans Steine to return to the source.
He traveled to Japan, met with Mikao Usui's living students, and dove headfirst into learning the original practices taught at the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai. This is the lineage I am trained in and what I teach in my classes, to the best of my ability. I find returning to the system's roots and studying Reiki as a disciplined path to the self extremely rewarding.
We have a beautiful opportunity, provided with abundant information of these practices and their truth: They are a path to discovering your bright, uninhibited soul. Your truest nature, your spiritual essence. Reiki is not an external solution, a means to an end, a straight line from point a to point b. It can’t be given or taken.
Reiki is a circular path spiraling inward to the unconditionally loving, infinite heart of the Universe / the Cosmos / God / Spirit / You.
WELCOME TO THE PATH /
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