As a Reiki teacher, I believe it is very important to accurately relay the facts we know about the history and development of the system of Reiki (Usui Reiki Ryoho.) The founder of Komyo Reiki Kai and my teacher, Hyakuten Inamoto, continually stressed in his training that we should only provide information we know to be true about Reiki history and practice. That means saying, “I don’t know” when confronted with a question about the history that is, as of yet, unanswerable.
It is not necessary to know the history in order to technically perform hands-on healing or other spiritual practices associated with the system of Reiki. It is simply a matter of respect for its founder and to have proper historical and spiritual context where these practices originally derived. To do any less is a disservice to Mikao Usui and other influential teachers – Chujiro Hayashi, Hawayo Takata and Chiyoko Yamaguchi - responsible for furthering the system of Reiki and making it more widely available.
Just recently, I opened up a copy of a local wellness magazine and saw a featured promotion for a Reiki class being taught by a colleague. It contained the following description: “Reiki is an ancient Japanese science, documented in 2,500-year-old Sanskrit sutras.” With all due respect to my colleague, this is not correct. Reiki is a modern practice. Usui Reiki Ryoho was developed roughly a century ago by Mikao Usui. He synthesized a number of different spiritual practices derived from Japanese Buddhist, Shinto and related folk/esoteric traditions well-known in his day, combined with his own mystical experience on Kurama-yama (Mt. Kurama) in 1922.
There is no evidence to support that Usui “re-discovered” the system of Reiki from other ancient spiritual traditions. There is also no evidence to support if Usui was intimately familiar with other spiritual practices outside of Japan. To be specific, the modality of hands-on healing is an ancient practice present within many cultures and religious traditions. However, Usui Reiki Ryoho is a relatively new practice, and one inspired by a profound spiritual event.
In the Reiki Ryoho Hikkei (workbook given by Usui to his students), there is a Q&A section with statements made by Usui regarding how his practice works. He emphasizes:
I have not been taught this art of healing by anyone under the heavens, not have I studied in order to obtain this mysterious ability to heal. I accidentally realized that I was given this mysterious healing ability when I felt the great power and was inspired by the mystery during a period of fasting. Therefore, even as the founder, I find it difficult to give a sure explanation.
It should also be noted that chakras, meridians, crystals, angels or other practices, including the addition of symbols/mantras are also not traditionally associated with the practice of Usui Reiki Ryoho. They were added in during the past few decades by practitioners from the West who were familiar with other “New Age” spiritual/energetic practices. Use of any of these additional practices is a personal choice, but reputable Reiki teachers should be sure to let their students know that they are not part of the original system taught by Mikao Usui, Chujiro Hayashi or Hawayo Takata.
There are still many things we do not know about the history of Reiki. Scant written evidence exists, aside from the Reiki Ryoho Hikkei and the Reiho Choso Usui Sensei Kudoko No Hi (Memorial of the merits of Usui Sensei.) A number of Reiki teachers, including Frank Arjava Petter, William Lee Rand, and particularly Bronwen and Frans Stiene, have done an incredible job of unearthing and verifying facts and information from a few remaining students and practitioners taught by Usui and Hyashi in Japan. Their efforts have helped us bridge the gap between what Usui originally taught and how the system evolved with Hayashi’s and Takata’s teachings.
We may never know everything with regard to Usui’s spiritual practices and motivation, and we have to be able to sit with not knowing by maintaining a degree of equanimity and acceptance. Adding in unverifiable “facts” does not help us understand the practice. It only occludes what we do know and makes it harder for new practitioners to synthesize basic concepts. A practice does not have to be “ancient” to be valuable. It just has to be of benefit to others and able to adapt to changing times. Usui Reiki Ryoho has done both.
For more information on Reiki history and practice, see the International House of Reiki’s article, “What is (and isn’t) Reiki?“