Dr. Mikao Usui vs. other Reiki founders: key differences

Dr. Mikao Usui founded Reiki in 1922 after a spiritual revelation on Mount Kurama, but his original system differs significantly from what most Western practitioners learn today. Usui emphasized self-healing and spiritual growth over clinical treatment, charged only nominal fees, and taught intuitive hand placement rather than standardized positions. His successors — Chujiro Hayashi, Hawayo Takata, and later teachers — progressively streamlined, commercialized, and expanded the method.

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What Was Dr. Mikao Usui’s Original Reiki System?

Mikao Usui was born August 15, 1865, in Taniai, Japan. He studied Tendai Buddhism, Shinto, and Chinese meditative disciplines including qigong and Taoist breathing techniques. In March 1922, after a 21-day fast and meditation on Mount Kurama (a holy mountain north of Kyoto), he described experiencing a reiryaku (spiritual revelation) in which a light struck his crown and he received the healing ability.

Usui founded the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai (the Usui Spiritual Energy Method Association) and opened a clinic in Harajuku, Tokyo. The 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake tested his method: the clinic could not keep up with demand, so Usui began teaching others. His original system had no fixed hand positions — practitioners followed intuitive guidance. The Gokai (Five Principles) were recited daily as a spiritual practice, not merely a code of conduct.

How Did Chujiro Hayashi Change the System?

Chujiro Hayashi, a retired naval commander trained by Usui in 1925, became a key successor. After Usui’s death on March 9, 1926, Hayashi ran the clinic and modified the training structure. He reduced the number of levels from Usui’s five (plus a master level) to three: Shoden (first level), Okuden (second level), and Shinpiden (teacher level).

Hayashi introduced standardized hand positions for treatment, a departure from Usui’s intuitive scanning method. He also developed a clinical schedule: six to eight hour-long treatments daily with a team of practitioners. His attunements were performed in groups, and he used symbols as visual teaching aids for students who were patients seeking healing rather than spiritual seekers.

The Hayashi system preserved the core energy transmission but shifted emphasis from personal spiritual cultivation to professional therapeutic practice. This restructuring made Reiki teachable in a structured timeframe but removed the open-ended meditative exploration that characterized Usui’s original method.

What Did Hawayo Takata Change When She Brought Reiki to the West?

Hawayo Takata, a Japanese-American woman from Hawaii, traveled to Japan in 1935 for surgery for a gall bladder tumor. After the operation, she claimed the tumor was still present. She sought out the Hayashi clinic, received Reiki, and recovered without further surgery. Hayashi then trained her as a teacher.

By 1938, Takata had returned to Hawaii and begun teaching. She charged a $10,000 fee for master-level training, a decision that continues to spark controversy. Takata further streamlined the system to four levels (Reiki I, II, III, and Mastership) and introduced the practice of charging minimum fees for sessions and classes to “maintain the value” of the energy.

Takata insisted that Reiki not be taught in writing; only oral transmission was allowed. Her lineage maintains the symbols as secret, though they have since been published in books since the mid-1990s. She also adapted the origin story, presenting Usui as a Christian monk to make Reiki acceptable in post-WWII Hawaii, a claim that contradicts Usui’s documented Buddhist and Shinto background.

How Did Later Founders Further Modify Reiki?

After Takata’s death on December 11, 1980, her granddaughter Phyllis Furumoto became the first Grandmaster of the Usui Shiki Ryoho (the Western Usui system). A schism in the late 1980s created the Radiance Technique Association (led by Barbara Ray) and later William Lee Rand’s Karuna Reiki, introduced in the 1990s.

Rand removed the secrecy entirely, posted symbols online, and added new ones for “emotional cleansing” and “ancestral healing.” His Karuna Reiki, founded in 1993, uses two sets of additional symbols and requires pre-requisite training in Usui Reiki. Unlike Usui’s method, which required a minimum of 21 days of study for each level with daily self-treatments and meditation, modern systems often compress training into weekend workshops.

What Were the Key Differences in Attunement and Transmission?

The original Usui method (as practiced by the Gakkai) requires a minimum of 21 days of study for each level, with daily self-treatments and meditation. The attunement is called reiju, and the teacher channels the energy through silent intention and a series of breaths. No symbols are drawn on the student’s body; they are placed in the hara (lower abdomen) through the teacher’s hands.

Usui’s attunement process involved a period of purification and study. He did not charge thousands of dollars; he asked an en (a small coin) for a treatment. The Gakkai still holds that the reiju is a transfer of spiritual energy, not a technical certification.

In contrast, Hayashi and Takata introduced the concept of “hand positions” as a systematic protocol. Takata’s students memorized 12 to 14 positions for the front and back of the body. The Western system also emphasized external use of symbols and long-distance attunements, Usui never taught distance attunements; he taught distance healing.

What Symbols Did Usui Actually Use?

Usui likely knew three symbols: the power symbol (Cho Ku Rei), the mental/emotional symbol (Sei He Ki), and the distance symbol (Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen). He may have also used the master symbol (Dai Ko Myo). The exact number is debated because the Gakkai kept its symbols secret. What we know comes from the Hayashi-Takata transmission.

Where Usui differed is in emphasis. His original practice placed self-healing and spiritual growth above treating others. The Gokai were recited daily: Just for today, do not be angry, do not worry, be grateful, do your work diligently, be kind to every living thing. Hayashi kept the Gokai but added a clinical focus. Takata folded the Gokai into an oral tradition but did not stress them as a daily meditation.

For a complete breakdown of each symbol and its traditional uses, see our glossary of Reiki symbols.

Common Misconceptions About the Founders

That Usui was a Christian monk. Usui was Buddhist and Shinto. He studied Tendai, followed Taoist breathing techniques, and incorporated Japanese Shugendō mountain asceticism.

That Usui charged enormous fees. He charged an en for a session. The $10,000 master-level fee is a Takata invention.

That all Reiki comes from the same lineage. Karuna Reiki, Holy Fire Reiki, and other modern variants are independent additions channeled from spiritual guides, not from Usui or Hayashi.

That the symbols must remain secret. The symbols were kept confidential in the Takata lineage, but Usui wrote them in documents that Gakkai members still possess.

FAQ

Did Dr. Usui practice distance healing? Yes. He taught the distance symbol (Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen) for sending Reiki across time and space. However, he did not give distance attunements, those were introduced later by Western teachers.

Why did Hayashi and Takata change the system? Hayashi was a doctor who sought efficiency and clinical standardization. Takata adapted the method for a Western audience that expected structured training and clear pricing. Both preserved the core energy but altered the container.

Are the symbols used today the same as Usui’s? The three core symbols (Cho Ku Rei, Sei He Ki, Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen) likely existed in Usui’s time. The master symbol Dai Ko Myo may have been added later. There is no scholarly consensus.

Closing

The differences between Usui and his successors are not merely historical details, they shape how a practitioner holds the energy: as a daily spiritual discipline or as a professional tool. To explore the full lineage, start with our guide to Reiki energy. For the original Japanese practice as close to Usui as possible, read our article on Usui Reiki Ryoho.