Mikao Usui: The Life of Reiki's Founder (1865–1926)

I'm Bronwyn Ayla, L.Ac. — a licensed acupuncturist and Reiki Master Teacher who has trained over 1,000 practitioners since 1998.

Mikao Usui was a Japanese Buddhist monk and professor of theology, born in 1865, who coined Reiki as a tradition at the end of the 19th century after a lifelong search for ancient healing wisdom. After years of study across Japan, China, and Europe, he underwent a 21-day retreat on Mt. Kurama, during which he experienced what is described as the first Reiki attunement. He went on to form a healing society, open clinics, teach over 2,000 students, and train 16 teachers before his death in 1926.

Who Was Mikao Usui?

Much of Dr. Usui's life remains a mystery. What is known is that he was a Japanese Buddhist monk, though not much is known about his family of origin.

At a young age, he studied Kiko, a Japanese version of Qi Gong. In this practice, one does exercises that generate the storing up of power that can be utilized for healing oneself and others. Perhaps this experience planted a seed within him to wonder whether there was a way to heal with hands without needing to perform these exercises.

Mikao traveled all over Japan, China, and Europe seeking knowledge, studying medicine, psychology, religion, and spiritual development, and he joined a metaphysical group named the Rei Jyotu Ka to help develop his psychic talents. He was also a successful businessman, serving as secretary to Shinpei Goto, who later became the mayor of Tokyo. In 1914, however, his business failed, and he began a new chapter in his life.

The Roots Reiki Grew From

Reiki did not appear without context. The energy that naturally comes out of our hands has been tapped into for thousands of years. Doctors have been practicing energetic medicine all over the world, from Amazonian jungles to ancient Egypt and Asia. Medical Qi Gong practices steeped in Buddhism created fertile ground for a lineage such as Reiki to spring up into an organized system.

Reiki is a Buddhist offspring of Qi Gong, with Shintoist influences, and can be traced back to ancient Tibetan practices. Usui's early study of Kiko sits squarely within this longer history of energetic medicine.

Using hands to heal has been a part of our innate ability for as long as humans have existed. It is common to observe children doing this when they hurt themselves — when a child hurts her knee, she will naturally put her hands there. When one has a headache, it is common to put one's hands on one's head. This is something that transcends cultures and geographical lines.

The Retreat on Mt. Kurama and the First Attunement

Dr. Usui began to delve deeper into the esoteric arts after his business failed in 1914. This eventually led him to a 21-day retreat on Mt. Kurama. Though there is no historical data of what actually occurred on his retreat, there is an artificial waterfall there which one can sit under for meditation.

It is said that he gathered 21 stones at the start of his contemplation and each day threw one of them off the mountain to help track the passage of time. He fasted, chanted, prayed, and meditated. Legend has it that nothing significant happened until the last day when he threw his final stone off the mountain. At this moment he experienced a great light in the crown of his head and Reiki symbols entering his aura. It was "Satori" — enlightenment — or what could be referred to as the first Reiki attunement.

From this day forward, he could facilitate the healing of others without his own energy being depleted and without needing to do esoteric exercises to build up this mysterious energy. This is a meaningful distinction from the Kiko practice he had studied as a young man: the formalization of Reiki created a method where energy does not need to be built up through prior exercises but can be accessed directly.

Ultimately, Reiki is a water initiation. Mikao Usui sat below water streaming into his crown chakra during the first Reiki attunement.

What Usui Did After the Retreat

In 1922, he formed a healing society in Tokyo to practice and share his art. Soon after, in 1923, the great Kanto earthquake struck, killing over 140,000 people, and he worked hard for many years helping the survivors. In 1925 he opened a large clinic in Nakano, Tokyo, and began to travel all over Japan teaching Reiki, ultimately teaching over 2,000 students and training 16 teachers; for his service he received the Kun Sun To award from the government. Eventually, while teaching a Reiki class, he had a stroke and passed away.

The Five Principles Usui Left Behind

The five principles were central to Usui's teaching. They were so important to him that he had them engraved on his gravestone, described as: the secret method to invite happiness, the spiritual medicine for all diseases of body and mind.

As written on his memorial stone:

Just for today, don't get angry. Don't worry; be grateful. Work hard; be kind to others. Mornings and evenings sit in Gassho and repeat these words out loud and in your heart.

In the West, these are sometimes spoken in the positive form: Just for today, I am peace. Just for today, I trust. Today I open my eyes to see all the gifts I receive at every moment. Today I serve honestly with all my heart. I honor all living beings.

Reiki as Usui Defined It — and What It Still Is

Reiki with a capital "R" is a specific method that gives a context and space for using the natural life force within each of us. Within the language of Reiki are specific sounds (mantras), symbols, and traditional hand positions that are used to enable healing on a specific frequency.

Reiki is part of a lineage — it is passed from teacher to student and can be traced all the way back to Dr. Mikao Usui. One does not need to guide Reiki energy with the mind; it has its own innate intelligence, so it will naturally flow to where it is needed most. Reiki can do no harm, and it is a tool for transformation rather than for fixing.

Anyone can use their innate healing abilities and tap into universal life force energy, and a Reiki training simply gives one a specific context, tools, and language to tap deeply into that innate ability. The energy is your birthright — everybody's birthright — around and available to everybody.

As written on the Usui Memorial:

"Reiki not only heals diseases, but also amplifies innate abilities, balances the spirit, makes the body healthy, and thus helps to achieve happiness… If Reiki can be spread throughout the world it will touch the human heart and the morals of society."

Frequently Asked Questions

When was Mikao Usui born and when did he die? Mikao Usui was born in 1865. He passed away in 1926, eventually, while teaching a Reiki class, when he had a stroke.

What happened on Mt. Kurama — what was Usui's enlightenment experience? Usui fasted, chanted, prayed, and meditated for 21 days on Mt. Kurama. On the last day, he experienced a great light in the crown of his head and Reiki symbols entering his aura — described as "Satori," or what could be referred to as the first Reiki attunement. From that day forward, he could facilitate the healing of others without his own energy being depleted and without needing to do esoteric exercises to build up this mysterious energy.

What did Mikao Usui teach — what are the five Reiki principles? Usui's five principles, as written on his memorial stone, are: just for today, don't get angry; don't worry; be grateful; work hard; be kind to others. He prescribed sitting in Gassho mornings and evenings and repeating these words out loud and in your heart. He considered them the secret method to invite happiness and the spiritual medicine for all diseases of body and mind.

Do you need a teacher or attunement to practice Reiki? Anyone can use their innate healing abilities and tap into universal life force energy — this is your birthright. A Reiki attunement is a method of opening up the energetic pathways to allow a clearer and stronger flow of the Reiki energy; it amplifies what is already there and provides the specific context, tools, and language of the tradition. It is not a gate that determines whether you are capable of healing.

I teach Reiki as something anyone can practice — you don't need to be chosen, gifted, or already "spiritual" to begin. If you'd like to learn it with me, my online Reiki class is open here: Learn Reiki online.