The History of Reiki - (according to
Japanese research)
Published in the January 2000 issue of "The
Messenger"
"Someone who studies hard and works assiduously to improve
body and mind for the sake of becoming a better person is called 'a
man of Great Spirit'. People who use that Great Spirit for a social
purpose, that is, to teach the right way to many people and do
collective good, are called 'teachers'. Dr. Usui was one such teacher.
He taught the Reiki of the Universe. Countless people asked him to
teach them the great way of Reiki and to heal them." (Taken from the
memorial to Usui's virtue. Saihoji Temple, Tokyo)
The story begins on
August 15, 1865 with the birth of Mikao Usui (his pen name was Gyoho)
in Taniai-mura (now Miyama-cho) Yamagata-gun Gifu-ken. His father was
Uzaemon Tsunetane (a military commander) and his mother was from the
Kawai family. His ancestor’s name was Tsunetane Chiba (a very famous
Samurai from the 8th century). Note to Reiki students: Usui was born
in the mid-1800’s; Reiki was not re-discovered by him until much
later. In 1869, at the age of 4, it is believed that Usui was sent to
a Tendai monastery, where he remained for a period of years. During
this time he studied Qi Gong (called Ki-Ko in Japan) to a high level
and was able to do projection healing. He also used to meditate
regularly at Kurama Yama Temple (near Kyoto). Historic point: Kurama
Yama: Yama means mountain and Kurama means horse saddle. Mt. Kurama
(570 Meters above sea level) is 12 kilometers due north of Kyoto
Imperial Palace. The Kurama Temple, founded in 770 as ‘the guardian of
the northern quarter of the capital city’ (Heiankyo). Is located
halfway up the mountain. The original buildings have been repeatedly
destroyed by fire and subsequently rebuilt. The Main Hall was last
rebuilt in 1971. The temple formerly belonged to the Tendai sect of
Buddhism, but since 1949, it has been included in the newly founded
Kurama-Kokyo sect as its headquarters. Temple schools were quite
common prior to this time, but were losing popularity. Usui was
extraordinarily gifted academically, but studied under great
adversity. He had a very hard life and often lived in poverty. His
memorial states that "he traveled abroad to China, US and Europe, was
a talented hard-working student who liked to read, and his knowledge
of medicine, history, psychology, Shinsen Jutsu, and the religions of
the world, including the Kyoten (Buddhist Bible), were vast". Before
settling down Usui-San worked as a businessman, missionary, government
officer, journalist, and secretary to a high-ranking politician. He
lived a free man, quite different from the life of a monk (as stated
in Westernized history). Periodically he would visit the prisons
(thought to be part of his missionary work). He married Sadako Suzuki
and they had two children, a son Fuji (1908 - 1946), and a daughter
(unknown name and date). Even with all of his life experiences Usui
still felt unfulfilled. Thus, began his quest for the meaning of life.
In 1919, Usui began training as a Zen Buddhist. In 1922, after
working at Satori for 3 years and not achieving it, he asked his Zen
Master what to do. The answer he received was "Die one time". In
March, distraught with his life, seeking answers, he followed his Zen
Masters advice, he began a fast on Mt. Kurama until he became
enlightened or died. It was not uncommon for Usui to fast as he made
regular trips to the mountain to seek answers. This is a common
practice called ‘shyu gyo’ a spiritual discipline, where the disciple
fasts and meditates for 21 days as part of their strict spiritual
training. His memorial reads that the last morning of his fast 'he
felt one great Reiki over his head'. He became enlightened (or
received Satori) and acquired healing abilities which he called Reiki
Ryoho. This is also when he discovered the purpose of life was 'Anshin
Ritsumei' or "The state of your mind being totally in peace, knowing
what to do with your life, bothered by nothing". He took this gift
home and worked on himself and his family. It is said that his wife
was ill and Reiki cured her. Usui decided not to just keep Reiki for
his family but to make it 'freely available to all of the people' (a
direct quote from the ‘Usui Reiki Hikkei’ - one of his teaching
manuals).
In April 1922, Usui-San founded Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai
(Usui Method of Natural Healing Society) and opened his first clinic
in Aoyama, Tokyo, where he practiced Reiki and gave workshops on the
techniques publicly. After further study in Shinto and Mahayana
(Mikkyo) Buddhism techniques, he discovered Rei-ju (Empowerment
method) and Hatsurei-ho (Cleansing process for body mind and spirit).
The first record of Usui giving was in Harajuku, Tokyo, in 1922. Usui
made the first level teaching (Sho-den) available to anyone who
desired it. It seems Usui taught only 7 hand positions, mostly on the
head, stopping at the midsection of the body. Initially, it is also
possible that he may have only worked on the areas of imbalance
(painful areas).
On September 1, 1923, shortly before noon a great
earthquake hit Tokyo and Yokohama, measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale.
Over 100,000 deaths were reported. The epicenter was about 50 miles
from Tokyo. This is reported to be the greatest natural disaster in
Japanese history. During this emergency Usui Sensei's way of giving
relief was to 'reach out his hands of love to suffering people' and he
helped many of the victims. Soon Usui became quite famous and his
success and reputation with Reiki were known all over Japan. Note to
the Reiki student: The earthquake could be the account Takata was
referring to when she talked about Usui working in the beggar village.
The 7-year time frame is incorrect however.
In February 1925, he
outgrew his center and moved it to larger quarters in Nakano, outside
of Tokyo. His travels with Reiki had taken him all over Japan, often
visiting many naval bases. On March 9, 1926, Usui-San died of a stroke
(one of several he suffered), in a town called Fukuyama in
Hiroshima-Ken. He had been on a tour bringing Reiki to the people of
Kure, Hiroshima and Saga. He was 62. The night before he died, it is
reported that he practiced Reiki.
In February 1927, Usui Sensei’s
students erected a memorial to his memory, located in a graveyard at
the Saihoji Temple, Tokyo, Japan. . Much of the information on his
history was taken from it. Usui Sensei only practiced and taught Reiki
for a total of 4 years, but in that short time, he taught Reiki to
more than 2,000 students
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