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Mikao Usui (臼井甕男, 15 August 1865 – 9 March 1926, commonly ''Usui Mikao'' in Japanese) was the father of a form of energy medicine and spiritual practice known as
Reiki Reiki is a pseudoscientific form of energy healing, a type of alternative medicine originating in Japan. Reiki practitioners use a technique called ''palm healing'' or ''hands-on healing'' through which, according to practitioners, a " unive ...
, used as an alternative therapy for the treatment of physical, emotional, and mental diseases. According to the inscription on his memorial stone, Usui taught Reiki to over 2,000 people during his lifetime. Eleven of these students continued their training to reach the ''Shinpiden'' level, a level equivalent to the Western third degree, or Master level.


Early life, family and education

Usui was born on 15 August 1865 in the village of Taniai (now called Miyama cho) in the Yamagata district of the
Gifu Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,910,511 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture ...
, Japan, which is now located near present-day
Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...
. Usui's father's common name was Uzaemon, and his mother was from the Kawai family. His brothers, Sanya and Kuniji, became a doctor and a policeman, respectively. He also had an older sister called Tsuru. Usui's ancestors were the once influential Chiba clan and were
Hatamoto A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the Shōgun, shogunates in History of Japan, Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred ...
samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...
. According to the inscription on his memorial, Tsunetane Chiba,Inscription on Usui's memorial a military commander during the end of the
Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...
and the start of the
Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...
(1180–1230), was one of Usui's ancestors. In 1551, Toshitane Chiba conquered the city Usui and thereafter all family members acquired that name. Usui was raised as a samurai from childhood, specifically in the martial arts techniques of aiki (合氣術). Although there are many stories extant in the United States that Mikao Usui earned a doctorate of theology at the theological seminary of the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
, it is evident from further research that he never attended, let alone received any degree from the University of Chicago under that name.


Career and activities

As an adult, it is believed that he traveled to several Western countries, including the Americas, Europe, and China as a part of his continued study. His studies included history, medicine,
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, Christianity, psychology, and
Taoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...
. It is believed that the aim of Usui's teachings was to provide a method for students to achieve connection with the "universal life force" energy that would help them in their self-development. What sets Usui's teachings apart from other hands-on healing methods is his use of reiju or attunement to remind students of their spiritual connection. It seems that all students of Usui received five principles to live by and those with a further interest in the teachings became dedicated students. There does not appear to have been a distinction between clients and students in the beginning though this may have changed at some point. People began coming to Usui Mikao possibly for different purposes – some for healing and others for the spiritual teachings.
Shugendō is a syncretic Esoteric Buddhist religion, a body of ascetic practices that originated in the Nara Period of Japan having evolved during the 7th century from an amalgamation of beliefs, philosophies, doctrines and ritual systems drawn prim ...
is a Japanese mountain
ascetic Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...
shamanism Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...
, which incorporates
Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...
and
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
practices. The roles of Shugendō practitioners include offering religious services such as
fortune telling Fortune telling is the spiritual practice of prediction, predicting information about a person's life.J. Gordon Melton, Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115–116. The scope of for ...
,
divination Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...
, channelling, prayer, ritual incantations and
exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be do ...
. Shugendo was often used by family clans to heal disease or to avoid misfortune.


Claims of Reiki's Christian origins

Hawayo Takata, a Reiki Master under the tutelage of
Chujiro Hayashi , a disciple of Mikao Usui, played a major role in the transmission of Reiki out of Japan. Hayashi was a naval physician and employed Reiki to treat his patients. He began studying with Usui in the early 1920s. He made his branch, Hayashi Reiki ...
(林 忠次郎, 1880–1940), added in Christian themes into Reiki's history of development to make Reiki more appealing to the West. To this end she made a relation of Reiki with
Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
and not with Buddhism. She also falsely presented Usui as the dean of a Christian school. While he had obtained the knowledge of Reiki from Buddhist roots, Takata claimed that he had been inspired from the story of Jesus Christ, who had healed with the touch of his hand, and so had come to America to learn Reiki. She told this to spread Reiki among Christians too, believing it would otherwise be extinct. However, Reiki originated from
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
. In a schema that gained commitment (and propagation of Reiki throughout the world, Takata charged $150 (a day's pay) for level I; $500 for level II (a week's pay) and $10,000 for level III (a year's pay).


Activity in the 1920s

During the early 1920s, Usui did a 21-day practice on
Mount Kurama is a mountain to the north of the Japanese city of Kyoto. It is the birthplace of the Reiki practice, and is said to be the home of Sōjōbō, King of the Tengu. Kurama is also the location of the annual , which takes place every October. i ...
called discipline of prayer and fasting, according to translator Hyakuten Inamoto. Common belief dictates that it was during these 21 days that Usui developed Reiki. As Mount Hiei is the main Tendai complex in Japan, and is very close to Kyoto, it has been surmised that Usui would also have practiced there if he had been a lay priest. This teaching included self-discipline, fasting and prayer.


Personal life and death

Usui married Sadako Suzuki, who bore children by the names of Fuji and Toshiko. Fuji (1908–1946) became a teacher at
Tokyo University The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...
. Toshiko died at age 22 in 1935. While traveling to Fukuyama to teach, he suffered a stroke and died on March 9, 1926.(22) His grave is at Saihoji Temple, in Suginami, Tokyo The family's ashes are buried at the grave site at the Saihō-ji Temple in Tokyo.


See also

*
Glossary of alternative medicine A glossary (from , ''glossa''; language, speech, wording), also known as a vocabulary or clavis, is an alphabetical list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms. Traditionally, a glossary appears at ...
*
Laying on of hands The laying on of hands is a religious practice. In Judaism, ''semikhah'' (, "leaning f the hands) accompanies the conferring of a blessing or authority. In Christianity, Christian churches, chirotony. is used as both a symbolic and formal met ...


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Usui Mikao 1865 births 1926 deaths Japanese Buddhists Reiki practitioners