Reiki History

Usui Reiki is a spiritual discipline developed around 100 years ago by Mikao Usui, a Shinto lay preacher in Kyoto, Japan. There is currently some speculation that this is a very ancient system which was lost and was subsequently re-discovered by Usui but this seems to be unlikely in the light of recent research into the subject.

Dr Usui was born in Japan in the mid 1800s and was interested in healing and in the life of Buddha.

He wondered why Buddha and his disciples could heal physical illnesses and why this power had been lost.

Usui was fascinated by healing and devoted his life to trying to discover as much as he could about it, studying both on his own and also with many different groups.

Having spent many years in research and meditation he adopted the practice of the Lotus Repentance Meditation which incorporated a 21 day fasting meditation on Mount Kurama, a nearby mountain which was used for meditative retreats.

On the morning of the 21st day of one of these fasts he had a satori, or enlightening experience, in which he gained the ability to heal others and to pass this ability on to other people.

Legend attributes the following ‘four miracles’ to the story. On the way back down the mountain Usui stumbled and stubbed his toe causing it to bleed heavily. He instinctively grasped the painful toe in his hands and instantly felt a great heat there and when he looked, he found that his toe was healing very quickly. He continued on down the mountain and suddenly felt very hungry. He stopped at an inn and ate a full meal which is not easily done after a 21 day fast. After his meal he noted that the girl who had been serving him had a severe toothache. Usui placed his hands over the girl’s jaw for a few minutes and the pain left her. When he finally arrived back at the monastery he found that the abbot was ill in bed with severe arthritis. Usui went to visit the abbot and was able to effect a cure for the arthritis by laying his hands on the abbot.

Usui started to devote his time to healing others and teaching his discoveries and this teaching became known as the Usui Shiki Ryoho or the Usui system of Natural Healing.

"All the universe has come from love and to love – all things return. For from joy all beings have come – by joy they all live – and unto joy they all return"

The Taittiriya Upanishad