Mikao Usui

• Born: August 15, 1865; Taniani, Japan
• Died: March 9, 1929; Fukuyama, Japan

Overview

Mikao Usui, a Japanese Buddhist, developed Reiki. This spiritual and medicinal practice involves using palm healing as a form of complementary and alternative medicine to treat physical and mental ailments. Practitioners claim that using this technique can transfer healing energy to their patients.

Many of Usui’s teachings reportedly sought to achieve enlightenment. However, no belief system or religion was particularly associated with his practices or teachings.

As a child, Usui was sent to a monastery for his primary education. He continued his higher education and eventually received a doctorate in literature. He studied diverse subjects, including history, medicine, Buddhism, Christianity, and psychology, even later in life.

Usui’s teachings were influenced by Shintoism, the traditional faith of the Japanese people rooted in the presence of spirits that take the form of people, animals, mountains, and trees. During its early practice, Usui’s method was known by another name (likely Usui do, or “the way of Usui”), and it was later changed to Reiki when it reached the Western world.

In 1922, Usui opened his first Reiki clinic in Harajuku, near Tokyo. Here, he began teaching classes about his system of healing. A couple of years later, in direct response to a devastating earthquake that hit parts of Japan, he opened a new clinic in Nakano, also near Tokyo. By this time, Usui had acquired some fame for his efforts throughout Japan, and the Japanese emperor even gave him an award. Because of his distinction and reported successes in practice, many physicians and other healers sought Usui out for teaching sessions. As a result, Usui began teaching the public a simplified version of his principles to meet the growing demand.

After developing and refining Reiki for many years, he founded a society of Japanese Reiki masters, which included a group of his many disciples. Many of Usui’s disciples made significant contributions to the field and continued to practice this system. According to the inscription on his memorial stone, Usui taught Reiki to more than two thousand people during his lifetime.

Usui’s popularity led him to travel extensively, which affected his health. He is said to have fallen ill late in his life, possibly as a consequence of the stress of his position. Mikao Usui died of a stroke in 1929. His legacy continues in the ongoing promotion of Reiki, although the practice has been widely criticized as pseudoscience. 

Bibliography

Beckett, Don. Reiki, the True Story: An Exploration of Usui Reiki. Frog, 2009.

"Exploring Mikao Usui Reiki Teachings Part I." International Association of Reiki Professionals, iarp.org/exploring-mikao-usui-reiki-teachings-part-1. Accessed 9 Sept. 2024.

Petter, Frank Arjava. Reiki: The Legacy of Dr. Usui (Shangri-La). 3rd English ed., Lotus Light Press, 2005.

Stiene, Bronwen, and Frans Stiene. The Japanese Art of Reiki: A Practical Guide to Self-Healing. O Books, 2005.

Usui, Mikao, and Christine M. Grimm. The Original Reiki Handbook of Dr. Mikao Usui. 5th English ed., Lotus Press, 2011.

"Where Does Reiki Come From?" Taking Charge of Your Wellbeing, www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/where-reiki-from. Accessed 9 Sept. 2024.

Wilson, Debra Rose. "What Are the Benefits of Reiki and How Does It Work?" Healthline, 13 Sept. 2024, www.healthline.com/health/reiki#TOC_TITLE_HDR_2. Accessed 8 Dec. 2025.