Reiki is believed to have originated in Tibet well over 2500 years ago. Dr. Mikao Usui is credited with rediscovering it in Japan in the early 1900’s. Dr. Usui had an interest in medicine, psychology, and theology. It was this interest that prompted him to find a way to heal himself and others that was not attached to a specific religious belief, so it would be accessible to everyone.
During his years of training in the monastery, Dr. Usui began his own rediscovery on Mount Kurama. For a period of 21 days, he fasted, meditated and prayed. On the twenty-first day, he had an amazing experience that would change
his life forever. He saw ancient Sanskrit symbols that aided him in developing the system of healing he had been trying to create. This was the beginning of Usui Reiki.
Other healing modalities depleted the practitioner’s energy. He realized Reiki did not deplete his own and began sharing it with family. He later created a clinic for healing and teaching in Kyoto. As word of his practice spread, he became known for his healing practice.
Reiki was brought to the western world by Mrs. Hawayo Takata. Her story goes that after her husband died, she was left to raise two children on her own. While she was attending her sister’s funeral in Japan, she became very ill and was hospitalized. She was told surgery was required, however, she instead visited a Reiki clinic. She received two Reiki treatments a day, and after doing this for four months, her health was restored. She then became a Reiki practitioner and after returning to her home in Hawaii in 1938, she began teaching it in the United States.
Her training was quite expensive. It wasn’t until after her death that Reiki Masters who studied under her began to offer training at reasonable prices. This then allowed a greater number of people to be initiated into Reiki. There are now estimated more than 600,000 people initiated into Reiki throughout the world.
For additional information, please check out https://www.reiki.org/faq/historyofreiki.html
Mikao Usui founded his first Reiki clinic and school in Tokyo in 1922. Before he died, Dr. Usui taught several Reiki Masters to ensure that his system would not be forgotten. Among them was Dr. Chujiro Hayashi, a former naval officer who set up a Reiki clinic in Tokyo.
Dr. Hayashi is credited with further developing the Usui system of Reiki by adding hand positions to more thoroughly cover the body. Dr. Hayashi also changed and refined the attunement process. Using his improved system, Dr. Hayashi trained several more Reiki Masters, including a woman named Hawayo Takata. Mrs. Takata was a Japanese-American woman who originally went to Dr. Hayashi for healing. Upon learning the system herself, Mrs. Takata took Reiki home to the United States.
