{"id":109,"date":"2026-02-22T04:28:51","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T04:28:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wholeness.nz\/?page_id=109"},"modified":"2026-02-22T04:30:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T04:30:04","slug":"the-complete-reiki-story","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wholeness.nz\/index.php\/the-complete-reiki-story\/","title":{"rendered":"The Complete Reiki Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The story of Reiki goes back millennia. There have been discoveries of techniques and symbols similar to Reiki as we know it today in Tibet, Egypt, China and significantly Southern India. No one knows for certain when Reiki was first channelled to heal self and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

USUI Mikao Sensei (1865-1926)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Reiki story we know today starts with a man called Mikao Usui in Japan in the late 1800\u2019s. It is thanks to his research and discoveries that Reiki has found its way to the western world. Reiki was originally passed down in oral tradition. The story is still told to classes and each Reiki master\/teacher still relates in turn the story they have been taught. It is due to this oral tradition that there are variations in the story of Reiki, but it does not matter if we do not know the exact details of Usui Sensei\u2019s quest for Reiki or the exact circumstances in which Reiki reappeared to the world. Reiki\u2019s story has symbolic value \u2013 above all, it tells of a quest from the heart and that is always relevant today more than ever. Mikao Usui, or Usui Sensei (teacher) as he is called by Reiki students in Japan, was born August 15, 1865 in the village of Taniai in the Yamagata district of Gifu prefecture, which is located near present-day Nagoya, Japan. He was married and had two children \u2013 a son, who died and a daughter who later became a Reiki practitioner. Mikao had an avid interest in learning and worked hard at his studies. Some Reiki stories say that Mikao Usui was a Christian minister holding his PhD at the University of Chicago and president of a Christian based Doshisa University in Kyoto. This story is incorrect as he was in fact a lay Buddhist. The depth and breadth of his experiences inspired him to direct his attention toward discovering enlightenment, and the purpose of life. This special state is called An-shin Ritus-mei (pronounced on sheen dit sue may). In this special state, one is always at peace regardless of what is taking place in the outer world. And it is from this place of peace that one completes one\u2019s life purpose. One of the special features of this state is that it maintains itself without any effort on the part of the individual; the experience of peace simply wells up spontaneously from within and is a type of enlightenment. Usui Sensei understood this concept on an intellectual level and dedicated his life to achieving it; this is considered to be an important step on Usui Sensei\u2019s spiritual path. In March 1922, Mikao was 57 years old. He went to the sacred Mt Kurama in Kyoto, to fast and meditate. On his 21st day on the mountain, it is said that he received a giant Reiki over his third eye, gained enlightenment and a healing ability. He named this healing art \u201cUsui Reiki Ryoho, to improve the mind and body\u201d. Usui Sensei practiced this new ability with his family and developed his healing system through experimentation and by using skills and information based on his previous study of religious practices, philosophy and spiritual disciplines. He called his system of healing Shin-Shin Kai-Zen Usui Reiki Ryo-Ho (The Usui Reiki Treatment Method for Improvement of Body and Mind) or in its simplified form Usui Reiki Ryoho (Usui Reiki Healing Method). It is important to know that Usui Sensei didn\u2019t create Reiki as there were other methods of Reiki healing in Japan prior to Usui Sensei creating his method and in fact one was called Reiki Ryoho. In April 1922, he moved to Tokyo and started a healing society that he named Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai (Usui Reiki Healing Method Society). He also opened a Reiki clinic in Harajuku, Aoyama, and Tokyo. There he taught classes and gave treatments, In 1923, the great Kanto earthquake devastated Tokyo. More than 140,000 people died and over half of the houses and buildings were shaken down or burned. An overwhelming number of people were left homeless, injured, sick and grieving. Usui Sensei felt great compassion for the people and began treating as many as he could with Reiki. This was a tremendous amount of work, and it was at this time that he began training other Shihan (teachers) so that they could help him more quickly train others to be Reiki practitioners and help the sick and injured. Usui Sensei created the Five Reiki Principles or so-called Five Precepts to help guide and remind us on our path of enlightenment. He also further developed his system of Reiki, including adding the three symbols and devising a more formal Reiju (attunement) process. The Reiju process was different than the method used now in that Usui Sensei had just one type of Reiju that was given over and over. In Japan, the attunement is called a Reiju, which can be translated as “spiritual blessing or offering.” He didn\u2019t have a different Reiju for each level and there was no Reiju to activate the symbols. It was taught that it is important for the student to get as many Reiju as possible as this was an important way to increase and refine the quality of one\u2019s Reiki energy. Demand for Reiki became so great that he outgrew his clinic, so in 1925 he built a bigger one in Nakano, Tokyo. Because of this, Usui Sensei\u2019s reputation as a healer spread all over Japan. He began to travel so he could teach and treat more people. During his travels across Japan he directly taught more than 2,000 students and initiated twenty Shihan (teachers), each being given the same understanding of Reiki and approved to teach and give Reiju in the same way he did. The Japanese government issued him an award for doing honourable work to help others. While travelling to Fukuyama to teach, he suffered a stroke and died on March 9, 1926. His grave is at Saihoji Temple, in Suginami, Tokyo, although some claim that his ashes are located elsewhere. After Usui Sensei died, his students erected a memorial stone next to his gravestone. Many Reiki practitioners worldwide make a pilgrimage to visit this gravestone. Before meditation on the mountain, Dr Usui made a calendar of 21 stones to mark the days. After attunements, Reiki takes three days to rise up through each of our seven energy centres or chakras.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HAYASHI Chujiro Sensei (1879-1940)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Hayashi was a captain of the then Imperial Navy of Japan. He was initiated into Shinpiden (Teacher\u2019s Degree) in 1925 after his retirement from the Navy. Before his passing, Usui Sensei had asked Hayashi Sensei to expand and develop Reiki Ryoho. Some stories state that Chujiro Hayashi was a Naval medical doctor but there is no evidence that he was ever enrolled in the Naval Academy of Medicine. He was one of the directors of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai. His wife, Mrs Hayashi Chie, was also a member of Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai. He opened his Reiki clinic at Higashi-shinano-cho, Tokyo. In 1931 he left the Gakkai and set up Hayashi Reiki Kenkyu Kai (Institute). Dr Hayashi supervised 16 practitioners who gave sessions at his clinic and he formalised the practice of Reiki. He kept records of all the illnesses and conditions patients who came to see him had and detailed records of the sessions. This enabled him to determine the best way to treat clients. Based on these records he created the Reiki Ryoho Shinshin (Guidelines for Reiki Healing Method). This healing guide was part of a class manual he gave to his students. Many of his students received their Reiki training in return for working in his clinic. He devised the hand positions, the three degrees for teaching Reiki and the attunements given at each degree. He also added the use of a treatment table for giving sessions and used several practitioners at a time. In addition, he developed a new method of teaching Reiki that he used when he travelled. In this method, he taught both Shoden and Okuden (Reiki I&II) together in one five-day seminar. Each day included two to three hours of instruction and one Reiju. Dr Hayashi attuned 13 Reiki Teachers including his wife and Mrs Hawayo Takata who brought Reiki to the West. In 1940 he passed away by committing suicide. The reason remains a mystery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hawayo TAKATA Sensei (1900-1980)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hawayo Takata was a Japanese- American born on December 24th, 1900, on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. Her parents were Japanese immigrants and her father worked in the sugar cane fields. She eventually married the bookkeeper of the plantation where she was employed. His name was Saichi Takata and they had two daughters. In October 1930 Saichi died at the age of 34, leaving Mrs. Takata to raise their two children She was diagnosed with a serious gall bladder disease and made a trip back to Japan where she was guided to Hayashi Sensei\u2019s clinic in Tokyo and was treated with Reiki healing by Hayashi Sensei. She began receiving regular treatments. Two Reiki practitioners would treat her each day. The heat from their hands was so strong, she said, that she thought they were secretly using some kind of equipment. Seeing the large sleeves of the Japanese kimono worn by one, she thought she had found the secret place of concealment. Grabbing his sleeves one day she startled the practitioner, but, of course, found nothing. When she explained what she was doing, he began to laugh and then told her about Reiki and how it worked. Mrs. Takata got progressively better and in four months was completely healed. She wanted to learn Reiki for herself. In the spring of 1936 she received First Degree Reiki from Dr. Hayashi. She then worked with him for a year and received Second Degree Reiki. Mrs. Takata returned to Hawaii in 1937, followed shortly thereafter by Hayashi Sensei and his daughter who came to help her establish Reiki there. In February of 1938 Hayashi Sensei initiated Hawayo Takata as a Reiki Master. Takata Sensei practiced Reiki in Hawaii, establishing several clinics, one of which was located in Hilo on the Big Island. She gave treatments and initiated students up to Reiki II. She became a well-known healer and travelled to the U.S. mainland and other parts of the world teaching and giving treatments. She was a powerful healer who attributed her success to the fact that she did a lot of Reiki on each client. She would often do multiple treatments, each sometimes lasting hours, and she often initiated members of a client\u2019s family so they could give Reiki to the client as well. It was not until after 1970 that Takata Sensei began initiating Reiki Masters. She charged a fee of $10,000 for Mastership even though the training took only a 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 should never do treatments or provide training for free, but should always charge a fee or get something in return. She also said that one must study with just one Reiki teacher and stay with that teacher the rest of one\u2019s life. In addition, she said that she did not provide written instruction or allow her students to take notes or to tape record the classes and students were not allowed to make any written copies of the Reiki symbols. She said that this was because Reiki is an oral tradition and that everything had to be memorized. While this is generally true, she didn\u2019t always teach the same way and in at least one class she allowed her students to take notes and gave them handouts. It is not certain why she said Reiki is an oral tradition or why she taught Reiki this way. What we do know from our research in Japan and the research of others is that these rules are not part of the way Usui Sensei or Hayashi Sensei practiced Reiki. In fact, Takata Sensei received a Reiki manual from Hayashi Sensei indicating that the oral tradition was not how Hayashi Sensei taught. In addition, Takata Sensei taught Reiki differently from how she had been taught. She simplified and standardized the hand positions so that every treatment would be the same. She called this the \u201cfoundation treatment,\u201d containing just eight hand positions. She also eliminated the Japanese Reiki Techniques. Before Mrs. Takata made her transition on December 11, 1980, she had initiated twenty-two Reiki Masters. These twenty-two Masters began teaching others. However, Mrs. Takata had made each one take a sacred oath to teach Reiki exactly as she had taught. This made it difficult for most of them to change, even though some of her rules made it more difficult to learn, which seemed to go against the nature of Reiki. This version of the history of Reiki from Usui Sensei to Mrs. Takata relies on verifiable information that has taken a long time to reach the West. (William Lee Rand) Reiki since Mrs. Takata<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reiki energy is very flexible and creative, treating each unique situation with a unique response and working freely with all other forms of healing. The Reiki energy itself provides a wonderful model for the practice of Reiki. This began to be acknowledged gradually after Takata Sensei passed on. In the mid-1980s, Iris Ishikura, one of Takata\u2019s Masters, trained two Reiki Masters at a more reasonable fee and made them promise they would also charge a reasonable fee. The Masters trained by Ishikura at this lower fee began training many other Masters in turn. Out of this group, many were open to change and began allowing the wisdom of the Reiki energy to guide them in the way they should practice and teach Reiki. Because of this, restrictive rules began to fall away. Reiki classes became more open and more supportive of the learning process. Workbooks were created, notes and tape recordings were allowed, reasonable fees were charged, and many began studying with more than one teacher. All this generated greater respect for Reiki. It also increased people\u2019s understanding of Reiki and improved their healing skills. With lower fees, the practice of Reiki began to grow quickly and spread all over the world. It is estimated that there are at least 1,000,000 Reiki Masters in the world today with well over 4,000,000 practitioners, and the numbers continue to grow!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Evolution of Reiki<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The practice of Reiki has gone through a process of evolution since it was brought to the western world by Mrs. Takata in 1938. After World War II, Mrs. Takata was the only practicing Reiki master in the world. As more people were trained and began using Reiki, the nature of the energy itself began to influence how it was practiced. Reiki energy, being very flexible and creative, treating each unique situation with a unique response and working freely with all other forms of healing, inspired those same qualities in its students and teachers. Many, trusting in their inner promptings, began to break away from the rigid way they had been taught and tried new things. By developing new Reiki techniques, depth was added to their understanding and they developed their own style thus improving the effectiveness of their healing abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through innovative, intuitive development, deeper levels of Reiki guidance were uncovered bringing to the surface the understanding that Reiki can guide your whole life, creating beauty, abundance and health on every level. When these teachers taught, they passed on their new information and skills to their students. Because they had the courage to follow their inner guidance, vitality has been added to the system of Reiki, which allows it to remain healthy, grow and develop. In this way, the practice of Reiki is evolving as the Reiki energies heal and guide those who practice it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As reality continues to unfold, created by the combined intention of the world mind reflecting on its nature, it is fascinating to observe the many varieties of spiritual practice that are becoming available to the aspiring student. Let us be ever mindful of the increased freedom the changing nature of our choices brings to usand call on inner wisdom to guide us to ever deeper levels of joy and peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of your Reiki training, Caterina also includes training in Holy Fire\u00ae Reiki. Below is more information on Holy Fire\u00ae Reiki.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Birth of Holy Fire<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reiki Holy Fire\u00ae Reiki is a new form of Reikireligious combined ,a natural evolution of Reiki.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The word holy in the name “Holy Fire” is not religiousbeen combinedhave traditional, butintroduced into the Reiki community by William Lee Rand and the International Centre for Reiki Training (ICRT) in notice 2014. The Usui Holy Fire\u00ae Reiki classes I teach are a combination of traditional Usui Reiki and the Holy Fire Reiki, which is a natural evolution of Reiki The word holy in the name “Holy Fire” is not religious in nature but instead means wholeness. Holy Fire\u00ae Reiki is a spiritual energy that creates wholeness within one through purification, healing, empowerment and guidance. This Universal life force energy flows through us, helping us heal in all areas of our lives. This new energy has empowered all levels of Reiki training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The nature of Holy Fire Reiki energy is that it is continually evolving and developing. This takes place within each student after the training. In addition, as our Holy Fire Reiki energy develops, we become ready for major upgrades that are transmitted during a Holy Fire class.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please note, that all of the Usui teachings and Japanese techniques in these classes are the same. It is the energy that has been empowered with the Holy Fire, and meditations called “Holy Love Experiences” which have been added to the Reiki classes, as well as “ignitions” in place of master attunements.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The story of Reiki goes back millennia. There have been discoveries of techniques and symbols similar to Reiki as we know it today in Tibet, Egypt, China and significantly Southern India. No one knows for certain when Reiki was first channelled to heal self and others. USUI Mikao Sensei (1865-1926) The Reiki story we know…
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