Brief History of Reiki
Dr. Mikao Usui lived in Kyoto in Japan in the mid-19th century. He converted to Christianity by missionaries, becoming a minister as well as a teacher of the faith. He was the dean of a small Christian university and regularly taught the students. During one of his lessons one of them asked if he believed that the stories in the Bible were accurate. The students continued with their questioning, enquiring if he believed in the healing miracles of Christ. For this reason, Dr. Usui began studying the healing methods of Christ. This research became his life's quest.
He decided to do research in a Christian country, so he went to the USA and enrolled at the University of Chicago. During this time, he received a doctorate in theology, but still did not succeed in finding out how Jesus had managed to heal people. He then returned to Japan to study Buddhist scriptures, still not finding the answers he was looking for. He also studied Sanskrit (an ancient Indian language) so that he could also read the Tibetan sutras. Dr. Usui returned to the Zen monastery, where he discussed the situation with the abbot. They decided that he should go on a 21-day retreat in the mountains (Mt. Kuri Yama) where he would fast and meditate to seek enlightenment. He collected 21 stones so he could keep track of the days by throwing away a stone a day. For 20 days, he did not experience anything out of the ordinary. On the 21st day, as Dr. Usui prayed for a sign, he saw a light appear in the darkness. As the light came closer, it hit him in the middle of his forehead. It was then that he saw Sanskrit characters ( Reiki symbols) in gold - the same ones he had discovered in Tibetan scripts. Each appeared before him one at a time, so that he could study each one and how it could be used to stimulate healing energy. This was the answer to his prayer.
Upon his return from his retreat, Dr. Usui talked to the abbot about how he could best use his new-found healing skill. He began training other men as masters, and one of these was Dr. Chujiro Hayashi, a retired naval officer. The two men worked together for many years developing the teaching system. Dr. Hayashi in turn appointed Mrs. Takata as his successor. Mrs. Takata was responsible for bringing Reiki to the USA and Europe. At the time of her death on December 11, 1980, she had initiated 22 masters to spread Reiki. Mrs. Takata's granddaughter, Lei Furumoto, then worked to create the Reiki Alliance to preserve the Reiki tradition and to standardize its teaching practices.