HISTORY

Reiki has a somewhat unique history. Many books on reiki gives similar histories of reiki.It was discovered by Dr.Mikao Usui in late 1800's & was later passed to Dr. Chujiro Hayashi Neither Dr. Usui nor Dr. Hayashi left any written instruction about reiki, the only source of information on reiki comes from Mrs. Takata which was later passed to her students(before world warII)

With roots in Japan prior to World War II, it is not surprising that some documentation was lost.  Apparently the survivors of Dr. Hayashi lost to the war the resources allowing them to continue the clinic he founded and perhaps stopped practicing Reiki.  If it were not for Mrs. Takata learning Reiki before the war and bringing it to America, this healing technique could well have been lost to the world.  Such a skin of the teeth saving of Reiki perhaps lost some valuable memories, knowledge and continuity had the lineage not been squeezed through one person.  We can only hope that practice, study and intuition will bring back any lost knowledge and practices.

Dr.Mikao Usui:- Dr. Usui was a Christian minister in Japan , though Japanese.  He was the head of a Christian Boys School in Japan.  One day some of the students asked him if he believed in the miracles which Jesus did (healing, etc). Being a Christian minister he answered "Yes". They asked if he knew how Jesus had done this, "No" he said. With this he resolved to find the way in which Jesus had healed. This immidiately set him on a journey of many years. Studying first at christian schools in the US for where else to learn of Jesus, but with no results. In the christian schools the method was not known.

It was suggested he study Buddhist writings since the Buddha had also healed. This took more years studying at a monastary in the Orient. Nowhere could he find the answers. In Japan he toured many temples asking for knowledge of how the Buddha had healed.  At each one the priests said they were more concerned with spiritual than physical well being.  In one small monastary he found some ancient Sanskrit writings from India (or perhaps Tibet).  [Diane Stein's research suggests he found the sutras to invoke the Medicine Buddha, the invoking of this Buddha is a common practice in Tibetan Buddhism]  After a few more years of study, he felt he had come to an understanding and that to go further required in depth meditation.  He declared to the monks of this monastary his intention to fast and meditate for 21 days at a nearby mountain and that if he did not come back they should come and get his body.
He went to the mountain and gathered 21 stones with which to count the days.  Each day he would throw away a stone and in this way count the time.  On the 20th day nothing had come as yet and he threw away the last stone saying "Well, this is it, either I get the answer tonight or I do not".  In the night on the horizon he could see a ball of light coming towards him. The first instinct was to get out of the way, but he realized this might just be what he was waiting for, so allowed it to hit him right in the forehead. As it struck him he was taken on a journey and shown bubbles of all the colors of the rainbow in which were the symbols of Reiki, the very same symbols in the Tibetan writings he was studying but had been unable to understand. Now as he looked at them again, there was total understanding.
After returning from this experience he began back down the mountain and was, from this moment on, able to heal. This first day alone he healed a broken toe-nail, his own starvation, an ailing tooth and the Abbots sickness which was keeping him bedridden.  These are known as the first four miracles.

Dr.Chujiro Hayashi:-During these travels he met Dr. Chujiro Hayashi, a Naval Commander in the Naval Reserve.  He came from a well educated and well to do family.  He met Dr. Usui in the marketplace holding a lit torch announcing his lecture at a nearby temple. Dr. Hayashi was very impressed with the sincerity and conviction of Dr. Usui.  When asked by Usui to accompany him in his travels, Dr. Hayashi agreed.  And they traveled around teaching and healing.  After Dr. Usui passed on, Dr. Hayashi became the leader of Reiki. Dr. Hayashi opened a clinic in Tokyo near the Imperial Palace.  It consisted of eight beds in a large room, two practitioners per patient. One would treat the head & the other would treat the stomach area, then both treat the patient back. The practitioners

all worked here doing healings. they would also go to the homes of sick people for house callsTo become a Reiki Practitioner in that time one had to be accepted by the masters in the Reiki organization, and second had to promise to use Reiki daily and volunteer some hours to practice Reiki regularly in the clinic.
Dr. Hayashi passed on Tuesday, May 10, 1940.  This was just prior to World War II and it was clear that Japan would enter the war.  Being a Reserve Officer, Dr. Hayashi knew he would be recalled to duty and therefore become responsible for killing many people.  This he did not want to do, and so determined to end his life.  In addition he wished to, and did, pass leadership over to Reiki to Mrs. Takata (perhaps because she would not be in Japan and therefore relatively safe and able to continue the practice).

Mrs. Hawayo Takata :-  Mrs. Hawayo Takata was born in Hawaii, on Kauai, on Christmas Eve 1900 of Japanese descent.  In the 1930's she went to Japan to visit her family there, and inform them of the death of her sister.  While there she became very sick and was in the hospital.  The doctors were going to operate, and as she was being prepared she kept hearing a voice saying "Operation not necessary".  Eventually she jumped off the table asking "Is there another way?".  The doctor had a sister who had been cured of dysentery at Dr. Hayashi's clinic and suggested to Mrs. Takata she talk with his sister.  The sister brought Mrs. Takata to the clinic and her treatments there began. After Mrs. Takata became well she wanted to learn this for herself.  However Dr. Hayashi was not willing to teach her

because she was a foreigner.Through the good graces of her doctor, Mrs. Takata was able to pursuade Dr. Hayashi to train her in Reiki.  This training took a year and brought her to what we would now call Reiki Level II (she could do everything but train other practitioners).
In November 1936 Dr. Hayashi came to Hawaii for a speaking tour to promote Reiki.  During this time he trained Mrs. Takata to teach Reiki, thus making her what we now would call a Reiki Master.  As he left Hawaii he asked her to come to see him when he summoned her.

After some more time it was nearing when World War II would start, the part in Europe already having begun.  Dr. Hayashi appeared to Mrs. Takata in a dream asking her to come to Japan.  She did this and found Dr. Hayashi having his Naval Uniform out of storage and fretful.  With the coming war he knew it was a matter of time before the Navy would call him out of retirement and he would be asked to perform actions he was not capable of doing due to his spiritual development.  At this time he passed to Mrs. Takata the leadership of Reiki.  He gathered all the Reiki Masters to a gathering, announced Mrs. Takata to be the leader of Reiki, and then announced he would kill his physical body through bursting three blood vessels.  And as he continued speaking and lecturing those blood vessels burst and he died.

Mrs. Takata returned to Hawaii and continued using and teaching Reiki.  Eventually she moved to California, using and teaching Reiki there as well.   She did not teach other masters until 1975, and before her own death in 1980 she trained 22 Reiki Masters.