Reiki is at once a healing technique, a spiritual path, and a philosophy of life. Its purpose is both simple and profound: to harmonize the vital energy that sustains our existence, balance body and mind, and open a space of connection with our essence. Yet, its history has not been linear. Throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, Reiki has undergone transformations, divisions, reinterpretations, and fusions with other traditions. Understanding these stages allows us to approach the practice with respect and clarity, recognizing both the richness of its schools and the essence that unites them.
Reiki was born in Japan at the beginning of the twentieth century through Mikao Usui (1865–1926). After years of study and spiritual search, and following a mystical experience on Mount Kurama, Usui Sensei developed a method of healing based on universal energy, which he called Shin Shin Kaizen Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai. It was not merely a technique of hands-on healing: Reiki was a way of life, in which practice was intertwined with the observance of the Gokai—five principles of ethical and spiritual conduct—and with meditation, introspection, the recitation of wakas (poems), and compassionate action.
Usui taught both healing others and the development of self-awareness. His system included several levels of training, with symbols and rituals that supported the channeling of energy. At that time, Reiki was transmitted mainly from teacher to student within a Japanese cultural context, where the spiritual and therapeutic dimensions were inseparable.
After Usui’s passing in 1926, one of his main disciples, the physician Chujiro Hayashi, continued the teaching of Reiki. Hayashi played a key role in systematizing the method: he established clear treatment protocols, simplified some techniques, and opened a small clinic in Tokyo where he treated patients and trained students. His contribution was crucial in transforming Reiki from an individual knowledge into a structured, teachable system.
Among his students was Hawayo Takata, a Hawaiian woman of Japanese descent, who would later play a decisive role in bringing Reiki to the West.
In the 1930s, Takata studied Reiki with Hayashi and learned the Japanese method. Upon returning to Hawaii, she began teaching and practicing Reiki, adapting it to the Western context. Among the most significant changes was a stronger emphasis on healing techniques rather than on the spiritual and ethical component of the Japanese practice. Whereas in Japan Reiki was deeply connected with meditation and a code of life, Takata simplified rituals and adjusted her teaching to the needs and worldview of her Western students.
She also introduced Reiki as an accessible therapy, organized in levels and certifications, which allowed it to spread rapidly throughout the United States in the following decades. After her death in 1980, Reiki entered a new era of expansion and diversity, as her students began teaching independently, each adapting the method to their own understanding, context, and purpose.
Following Takata, teachers such as Phyllis Furumoto—Takata’s granddaughter—and Barbara Weber Ray continued teaching Reiki in the United States, each developing their own interpretation.
Some of the main differences included:
• Variations in the structure of courses and levels.
• Different duration and content of training.
• Diverse understandings of symbols and healing methods.
• Courses offered at widely varying prices.
During this period, Reiki became associated with the New Age movement, merging with modern meditation, visualization, and other energy-healing traditions, as well as with alternative spiritual practices. It also blended, in some cases, with Christian beliefs prevalent in the United States.
This creative freedom in teaching generated enormous variety but also disagreements about lineages, authenticity, teaching rights, and course fees. Moreover, some teachers began attributing Reiki to more exotic origins, such as Tibet or Ancient Egypt. Although appealing to some, these claims lacked historical evidence and reflected the Western fascination with mysterious ancient roots rather than the documented history of Usui and Hayashi.
By the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, a movement arose to recover Reiki’s original Japanese roots. Several schools sought to preserve and transmit Reiki as it had been taught in Japan.
Among the most notable are:
• Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai: founded during Usui Sensei’s lifetime, the Gakkai remains active today. Its purpose is to maintain the original Japanese tradition of Reiki, preserving both the technique and the spiritual dimension. The Gakkai represents the direct continuity of Usui’s methods, offering training and guidance to those seeking an authentic and disciplined practice. However, it maintains a highly closed structure and is critical of both Western and other Japanese schools.
• Gendai Reiki Ho, developed by Hiroshi Doi, adapts Reiki to contemporary life while remaining faithful to traditional principles and maintaining a balanced approach between healing and personal growth. Some critics, however, see it as a modern, Western-style school presented as Japanese.
• Jikiden Reiki, founded by Chiyoko Yamaguchi, emphasizes the direct transmission of the traditional Japanese technique taught by Hayashi Sensei. It preserves the simplicity and depth of Hayashi’s original practice, avoiding excessive Western adaptations. Nonetheless, its focus is primarily therapeutic, placing less emphasis on the spiritual dimension.
These schools represent a conscious effort to reconcile the global expansion of Reiki with fidelity to its roots. Yet, as with any living tradition, each has its own nuances and minor tensions concerning interpretation and lineage.
Beyond formal organizations, many independent teachers identify themselves simply as practitioners of Reiki Usui or Usui Reiki Ryoho. They do not belong to any particular school—partly to avoid the competitiveness and limitations that sometimes arise among lineages, and partly from a desire to transmit Reiki in a simple, direct way. Their approach focuses on:
• Healing and energetic balance.
• The spiritual dimension of Reiki.
• Connection with Japanese roots.
• Clear, accessible teaching without unnecessary embellishments.
For many students, this approach represents the purest essence of Reiki: energy as a vehicle for transformation, and practice as a path of self-knowledge and inner peace.
Despite divisions, reinterpretations, and fusions with other traditions, Reiki has not only survived—it has flourished. Today, millions of people around the world practice it, whether as a healing method, a spiritual discipline, or both.
In recent years, there has been a renewed movement toward simplicity: returning to the basic practice of healing, energetic balance, and inner development without the need for elaborate additions, mythical stories, or exotic reinterpretations. This tendency mirrors Usui’s original vision—a simple, profound, and transformative practice, accessible to anyone willing to receive and transmit energy.
Exploring the different schools of Reiki reveals that this practice is a living organism. It has adapted to vastly different cultural contexts, undergone expansions, divisions, and reinterpretations, and yet has preserved an unchanging core: the intention to heal, to harmonize, and to nurture spiritual growth.
Whether through the Gakkai, the Japanese schools such as Gendai and Jikiden, Western lineages, or independent teachers, Reiki reminds us that its true richness lies in its simplicity and depth—a path toward peace, balance, and connection with the energy that sustains life.
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