What does the Jikiden Reiki Institute in Kyoto teach?

The Jikiden Reiki Institute in Kyoto teaches Usui Reiki Ryoho, the healing method passed directly from Usui Mikao through Chujiro Hayashi and Chiyoko Yamaguchi, emphasizing hands-on treatment, specific symbols and mantras, and strict adherence to pre-war Japanese practice. It rejects Western additions like attunement as initiation and spiritual development as a goal, returning instead to a purely physical, practical healing system.

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How Did the Jikiden Reiki Institute Preserve the Original Lineage?

The story begins with Usui Mikao (1865–1926), a Buddhist layman and scholar who, after a profound spiritual experience on Mount Kurama in 1922, developed a system of hand-healing he called Reiki Ryoho. He opened a clinic in Tokyo and taught a small group of students. One of them was Chujiro Hayashi (1880–1940), a retired naval officer who became a master and later ran his own clinic in Tokyo, refining the hand positions and creating a formal training structure.

By the late 1930s, Hayashi had trained a young woman named Chiyoko Yamaguchi (1921–2003). She learned Reiki in 1938, when she was seventeen, as a way to heal her own health problems. She later taught her son, Tadao Yamaguchi (born 1951), who began teaching the method publicly in the 1980s. In 1999, he established the Jikiden Reiki Institute in Kyoto, choosing the name Jikiden – “direct transmission” – to signal that every technique had passed from Usui through Hayashi through his mother to him without interpolation.

The institute’s founding was a deliberate act of preservation. By the 1990s, Reiki in the West had been heavily modified: attunements had become elaborate initiations, symbols had multiplied, and the focus had shifted from physical healing to spiritual awakening. The Yamaguchis saw that the original Japanese practice was being forgotten, even in Japan. Their school was a statement: the lineage itself was the teaching.

What Are the Three Levels of Jikiden Reiki Training?

Jikiden Reiki is organized into three graded steps, each with its own content and requirement. Unlike Western schools, there is no “master” symbol or secret thirteenth level. The system is compact and clinical.

• Shoden (First Degree): The student learns the five Reiki precepts (Gokai) – “Just for today, do not anger, do not worry, be grateful, do your work honestly, be kind to others.” They receive reiju (a purification ceremony, not an initiation) and are taught the basic hand positions for treating the head, torso, and back. The emphasis is on direct touch; no symbols are given at this level.

• Okuden (Second Degree): The student receives three sacred symbols – Cho Ku Rei (the power symbol), Se He Ki (the mental-emotional symbol), and Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen (the distance symbol) – along with their corresponding mantras (jumon). Each symbol is drawn in the air with the hand and the mantras chanted under the breath. The student learns to treat at a distance and to clear mental blocks. But the main focus remains physical: a headache is still a headache, not a spiritual blockage.

• Shinpiden (Third Degree, or Teacher Level): The student learns to transmit reiju to others and how to teach the curriculum. There is no separate “master symbol.” The teacher is a shihan (instructor), not a guru. The goal is not to become a master of energy but to be able to pass the practice on accurately.

How Does Reiju Differ From Western Attunement?

One of the most misunderstood aspects of Jikiden Reiki is reiju. In Western Reiki, the attunement is a formal initiation that “opens” the student to channel energy. In Jikiden practice, reiju is a purification and alignment with the lineage. It is performed at the beginning of each day of class, not just once. The teacher uses the Cho Ku Rei symbol and mantra to harmonize the student’s energy with the Reiki current of Usui, Hayashi, and the Yamaguchis. The student does not become a “conduit” but rather a practitioner who has been trained in a specific technique.

Tadao Yamaguchi writes: “Reiju is the key that unlocks the door, but the door is always there. The student must still practice.”

Jikiden Reiki vs. Western Reiki: What Are the Core Differences?

The sharpest contrast lies in the purpose of practice. Western Reiki, as developed by Hawayo Takata (a student of Hayashi who brought Reiki to Hawaii and later to the mainland), emphasized spiritual growth, self-healing, and later the addition of Reiki as a lifestyle. The Usui Shiki Ryoho system (the most common Western style) uses the same three symbols but treats shinpiden as a fourth level with its own symbol. Attunements are elaborate and once-per-level.

Jikiden Reiki returns to the original clinical model. Healing is physical. The hand positions are precise: a headache is treated with hands on the temples, not by scanning the aura. The precepts are repeated morning and evening as a mental discipline, not as affirmations for the chakras.

Another difference is the treatment of distance healing. Western Reiki often conducts distance healing through visualization and symbol. Jikiden teaches that Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen allows the practitioner to send Reiki to a person anywhere, but the method is still hands-on in the sense that you treat a representation of the person (a pillow, a doll, or a photograph) while focusing the symbol.

There is also a difference in teacher authority. Jikiden teachers (shihan) are trained to replicate the curriculum exactly. They are not encouraged to develop their own methods or add symbols. The institute oversees all certifications, and the lineage is traceable.

What Are the Common Misconceptions About Jikiden Reiki?

“Jikiden Reiki is anti-Western.” Not exactly. The institute teaches that its method is the original preserved form. It does not claim that Western Reiki does not work; it says that the Western version changed important aspects. Many Jikiden practitioners have trained in both.

“Jikiden Reiki has no symbols.” It has the same three symbols as Western Reiki, plus their mantras. It does not use the “master symbol” invented by Takata.

“Reiju is the same as attunement.” No. Attunement is a one-time initiation that “opens” you. Reiju is a repeated purification done at the start of each class. You do not “receive” Reiki from reiju; you are aligning yourself with the lineage.

“You cannot learn Jikiden Reiki outside Japan.” The institute has certified shihan in many countries, and they teach exactly the same curriculum as in Kyoto. The institute also offers seminars abroad.

FAQ

What does “Jikiden” mean? It means “directly taught” or “direct transmission,” indicating that the techniques were passed from master to student without change.

Do Jikiden Reiki classes include attunements? They include reiju, a purification and alignment, performed at the start of each day. It is not an initiation.

What symbols are taught in Jikiden Reiki? Three symbols: Cho Ku Rei, Se He Ki, and Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen, each with a specific mantra.

Can a Western Reiki master train in Jikiden? Yes. The institute welcomes those already trained in other styles; they take Shoden again to learn the proper hand positions and reiju.

What the Dojo Teaches the World

The Jikiden Reiki Institute does not sell a secret. It sells a method, a line of descent, and a discipline. Walking into that Kyoto dojo is not an initiation into a mystery cult. It is an invitation to learn a specific technique developed by a Japanese scholar, refined by a naval officer, preserved by a seventeen-year-old girl, and now taught in the same way it was taught in 1938.

That history is the teaching. And the teaching itself is the transmission.

For deeper exploration of Reiki’s lineage and how energy works in practice, see our guide to Reiki energy and the glossary entry on Reiki. For a breakdown of the three symbols and their use, read our dedicated Jikiden Reiki symbols guide.