History of Reiki
Dr. Mikao Usui
The history of Reiki begins with Dr. Mikao Usui who re-discovered it in Japan in the early 1900s after years of concerted effort. Dr. Mikao Usui (or Usui Sensei as he is called by his students in Japan) was born on August 15, 1865 in a village called Yago of Yamagata district of Japan. It is thought that ... read more
Dr. Chujiro Hayashi
Dr. Hayashi was one of the sixteen teachers training by Usui Sensei. He was a retired naval officer and a medical doctor, still on reserve status. Dr. Hayashi received his Reiki Master’s training in 1925 and became Dr. Mikao Usui’s successor, the second Reiki Grand Master in the line of ... read more
Mrs. Hawayo Takata
Mrs. Hawayo Takata was born on December 24, 1900, on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. Her parents were Japanese immigrants, having citizenship of United States. She got married with Saichi Takata but became a widow at the age of 34 with two small children. At this time she was suffering from ... read more
Traditional Reiki History: Mrs. Takata's Version
Reiki history, which we find in most of the books written earlier on, was narrated by Mrs. Hawayo Takata. Since at one time, she was the only known Reiki Master in America, her version of the history was accepted as she mentioned it without feeling the need of any research. Mrs. Hawayo Takata's version of Reiki history ... read more
New Research in Reiki History
After 1998 (about 18 years after the death of Mrs. Takata), some keen researchers dug out more details about Dr. Mikao Usui and found that what Mrs. Takata had narrated was much different to the actual information. Names of Reiki Masters like Frank Arjava Peter, Dave King, Hiroshi Doi, Andrew Bowling, William Lee Rand and Rick Rivard are on ... read more
Reiki Since Mrs. Takata
Mrs. Takata began initiating Reiki Masters in 1970. She charged a fee of $10,000 for Mastership even though the training took only one weekend. This high fee was not part of the Usui system, and she may have charged this fee as her way of creating a feeling of respect for Reiki. She said that one ... read more
