A Brief History of Reiki

Reiki is an ancient healing art that was rediscovered in the 1920s by a Japanese monk named Dr. Mikao Usui. Dr. Usui was a life-long scholar with an endless search for knowledge of medicine, psychology, religion and spirituality. In 1922, he went on a three-week retreat to the top of Mt. Kurama in Japan. As the story goes, during a meditation on the 21st day, he had a vision of an ancient healing system, and was attuned to be a healer himself. On the way down from the mountain he injured himself and was amazed that he could heal his own injuries with amazing speed. He soon discovered that he could heal others as well. He immediately began a clinic in Tokyo, treated many clients, and trained others to be Reiki practitioners. Reiki proved to be a valuable healing art after the devastating earthquake in Kanto in 1923. Dr. Usui worked hard to spread the word and share this wonderful healing system and was given an award by the Japanese government for meritorious service to others (Lubeck et al. 2000, pp. 13-16).

Later, a woman named Hawayo Takata developed Reiki in the United States. She was a Hawaiian woman of Japanese descent who went back to live in Japan in the early 1930s to gain relief from many health problems. She went to a Reiki clinic and received many treatments. After several months she was completely healed and became convinced that she needed to learn Reiki to not only maintain her own health, but to help others as well. She eventually began teaching Reiki herself in Hawaii. She taught for many years until her death in 1980. Gradually the teaching of Reiki spread to the mainland and to other countries. Now there are Reiki Masters and Reiki clinics all over the world. (Honervogt, 1998, pp. 32-36; Lubeck et al, 2000, pp. 24-35).

As Reiki has gained acceptance and recognition, the ancient traditions have evolved into many different Reiki techniques. There may be slight differences in training and treatments among various Reiki techniques. The Reiki treatment you receive in your city may be slightly different from another part of the country, but they are all forms of healing Reiki energy. Currently there is an International Reiki Organization headquartered in Michigan. They publish a wonderful newsletter and manage a very useful website at www.reiki.org. Please feel free to peruse their website or contact them for more information if you are interested.