Edo Japan, also known as the Tokugawa period —named after the dynasty that ruled the country during that long interval— is an era in Japanese history that spans from 1603 to 1868, when Japan was forced to open up to the world and, as a result, to modernize. The Tokugawa shogunate was based in the city of Edo (present-day Tokyo), which is why this period bears its name.
During those centuries, Japan experienced a relatively long and surprising period of peace — especially when considering the more than a hundred years of civil war that preceded it, one of the most violent and brutal chapters in samurai history.
The Edo era was a time of prosperity, cultural refinement, spiritual awakening, and artistic blossoming. It was during this period that many samurai, not without inner struggle, began to shift from fierce combat to the contemplative path of Zen. The Tokugawa shogunate brought stability to the country at the cost of closing its borders almost completely to the outside world. Within this context —which many Japan lovers today still yearn for—, the image of Japan that lives in films, novels and tales was forged: a land of values, art, loyalty, honour, reflection and deep reverence for nature.
It would be naive to think that those centuries were easy, peaceful, and full of light. They were not. The comfort, health and safety that we, born in the late 20th and early 21st centuries in what we call the developed world, take for granted, easily clouds our perspective. Those years also saw illness, hardship, injustice and natural disasters —as frequent then as they still are today in Japan. And yet, without idealising or forgetting the historical reality, the Edo period remains one of the golden ages of Japanese history. A time of inner flourishing.
When we travel to Japan —those of us who hold it dear— we carry within us the silent hope of finding that Japan. And yet, that Japan drifts further away with each passing day. The modern world accelerates, and in that velocity, it leaves behind —without even grieving— a past that was not always worse.
As you may know, Shin Shin Kaizen Usui Reiki Ryōhō —commonly known as Reiki— was born in Japan during the Meiji era, just after the Edo period came to an end. The Meiji era also deserves deep respect: in just a few decades, it led Japan from a feudal structure into near-total modernisation. The kind of transformation that took centuries in Europe happened under the reign of a single emperor: Emperor Meiji.
Usui Sensei, the Japanese lay Buddhist monk to whom we owe the honour of founding the Reiki school, was descended from a samurai family —a class that lost its status during the Meiji era. He admired Emperor Meiji deeply, to the point that he incorporated the recitation and meditation of the emperor’s poems (Gyosei) into Reiki practice. One of those poems reads:
He who reflects on his own faults
holds no resentment toward the heavens,
and blames no one else.
Usui Sensei lived in a turbulent, uncertain and demanding time —but also one of profound spiritual transformation.
Reiki —a practice rooted in Buddhist, Shinto and Taoist traditions— supports a process of healing and inner harmony through the laying on of hands and the transmission of ki, the vital energy we share with trees, mountains, rivers, deities, clouds and oceans. The knowledge of ki (known as qi in China and prāṇa in India) dates back to the dawn of time: there are records over 5000 years old in ancient Chinese writings. Yet the philosophy that sustains Reiki is deeply influenced by two major eras of Japanese history: the Meiji era and the Edo era.
Is it still possible today to find traces of Edo Japan beyond art and literature?
Fortunately, yes.
On the mystical and somewhat secluded island of Shikoku lies the Shikoku Henro, a pilgrimage route of more than 1200 kilometres that connects 88 Buddhist temples, walked each year by thousands of pilgrims dressed in white, staff in hand and hearts open.
It is in Shikoku that we find the charming city of Ōzu. Strolling its cobbled streets, lined with wooden houses and quiet canals, is like stepping into the past. Ōzu preserves the soul of Edo Japan: modest temples, lovingly tended gardens, elegant tiled rooftops, and a pace of life that —by some gentle miracle— has escaped the rush of the 21st century.
Ōzu is not a city you visit with your eyes. It’s a place you listen to with your heart.
And for those who seek a more essential, contemplative, and profound Japan —perhaps here, in Ōzu, you may still catch a glimpse of the spirit that gave birth to what we now call Reiki.
Learning Reiki in Japan can bring the practice into a wider cultural context. Here is what to consider when choosing a course, and how we approach our Reiki Mastery journey at Kisetsu.
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Discover what is taught in the three levels of Reiki, from Shoden and self-treatment to Okuden, the symbols, and Shinpiden Master training.
