Reiki
History of Reiki
Reiki was developed by a man called Mikao Usui. Usui grew up at a time when Japanese society and
culture was going through a period of rapid change. It was not until the 1850s that Japan opened itself
up to the Western world; for two centuries starting in 1641, all Europeans except the Dutch had been
expelled from Japan. Those Chinese and Dutch that remained were confined in special trading centres in
Nagasaki, and no Japanese were allowed to leave the country. Christianity was declared illegal and all
Japanese were forced to register at Shinto temples. Those Japanese who refused to renounce
Christianity were executed, and so were a few Christian missionaries who refused to leave the country.
This ban on Christianity was not lifted until 1873. It was the United States that finally forced Japan to
open its borders, and open its economy, to the outside world, and this event led to a great flood of new
ideas and esoteric systems coming into Japan from all over the world.
The Roots of Reiki
The system was rooted in Tendai Buddhism and Shintoism. Tendai Buddhism (a form of mystical
Buddhism) provided spiritual teachings, and Shintoism contributed methods of controlling and working
with the energies. Usui had a strong background in both kiko (energy cultivation) and a martial art with a
strong Zen flavour (Yagyu Shinkage Ryu), and he also took Zen training, and these studies may have
contributed in some way to the system that he developed. There also seems to be a strong connection
between Usui’s system and Shugendo (mountain asceticism). Shugendo was a blend of pre-Buddhist
folk traditions of Sangaku Shinko and Shinto, Tantric Buddhism, Chinese Yin-Yang magic and Taoism.
History of Reiki
Reiki was developed by a man called Mikao Usui. Usui grew up at a time when Japanese society and
culture was going through a period of rapid change. It was not until the 1850s that Japan opened itself
up to the Western world; for two centuries starting in 1641, all Europeans except the Dutch had been
expelled from Japan. Those Chinese and Dutch that remained were confined in special trading centres in
Nagasaki, and no Japanese were allowed to leave the country. Christianity was declared illegal and all
Japanese were forced to register at Shinto temples. Those Japanese who refused to renounce
Christianity were executed, and so were a few Christian missionaries who refused to leave the country.
This ban on Christianity was not lifted until 1873. It was the United States that finally forced Japan to
open its borders, and open its economy, to the outside world, and this event led to a great flood of new
ideas and esoteric systems coming into Japan from all over the world.
The Roots of Reiki
The system was rooted in Tendai Buddhism and Shintoism. Tendai Buddhism (a form of mystical
Buddhism) provided spiritual teachings, and Shintoism contributed methods of controlling and working
with the energies. Usui had a strong background in both kiko (energy cultivation) and a martial art with a
strong Zen flavour (Yagyu Shinkage Ryu), and he also took Zen training, and these studies may have
contributed in some way to the system that he developed. There also seems to be a strong connection
between Usui’s system and Shugendo (mountain asceticism). Shugendo was a blend of pre-Buddhist
folk traditions of Sangaku Shinko and Shinto, Tantric Buddhism, Chinese Yin-Yang magic and Taoism.
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