Reiki History (Briefly)
We begin with a certain Dr. Mikao Usui was a learned scholar, living in Japan in the mid 1800's. Since he was living in a time and culture where the oral tradition prevailed, and due to the disruption of War, hard evidence of his life has been lost. However, we have the life testimony of other important 'players' in this story.
Dr. Usui studied various Western and Eastern theologies and finally, while meditating at a holy site on Mount Kori-Yama, Reiki was revealed to him. There followed four miraculous healings by Dr. Usui and he decided to dedicate his life to healing the poor of Kyoto. Gradually, through his experiences there, he developed the Reiki Ideals and ethics. He was honoured by the Emporor of Japan. He initiated a Dr. Chujiro Hayashi as his successor. Hayashi set up a clinic in Tokyo and brought more formality to the proceedings (hand positions, Attunements etc). This brings us on to our third big player: Madam Hawayo Takata. Of Japanese descent, she was living in Hawaii but fate brought to Hayashi's clinic for treatment. She was eventually initiated and it was she who took Reiki back to Hawaii and to the U.S.A. as she later spent considerable time doing lecture-tours of Universities etc. She also initiated a number of Reiki Masters. At that time the fee for learning Reiki was very high as it was deemed necessary as a test of candidates commitment and level of respect for the privilege. A Mr. William Rand challenged this idea and brought Reiki to U.K. at an affordable price. Since then, Reiki's popularity has flourished.