Usui’s Students
It is said that Usui taught Reiki to just over 2000 people and out of these students some sources say he trained 21 students to the teachers level (Shinpiden).
Some of his foremost students, (not all teachers) who received the teachings, include:

• Yuri-in
• Mariko Suzuki
• Wanami
• Kanichi Taketomi
• Tenon-in
• Toshihiro Eguchi
• Kaiji Tomita
• Chujiro Hayashi
• Juzaburo Ushida
• Sonoo Tsuboi
• Masayuki Okada
• Kozo Ogawa
• Yoshiharu Watanabe
• Harue Nagana
• Imae Mine

Some of these notable students include:

Kozo Ogawa. Ogawa opened a Reiki clinic in Shizuoka City. He was very active in the administration of the Reiki society (Reiki Gakkai). He passed on his work to his relative, Fumio Ogawa, who is still alive today.

Mariko Suzuki who was a Tendai nun and cousin to Usui’s wife. Mariko studied with Usui from 1915 until his death in 1926. She is said to have preserved a collection of his papers from 1920, including his mediations, teachings, poetry, and precepts.

Yuri-in and Tenon-in who were Tendai nuns. They are said to have studied with Usui from 1920 to 1926.

Toshihiro Eguchi was a close friend and student of Mikao Usui. Purportedly Eguchi was the most prominent of his students and is said to have taught thousands of students before the Second World War. From 1928 to 1954 he published a number of books on healing with the hands. Titles include: Te No Hira Ryoji Nyumon (introduction to healing with the palms), and Te No Hira Ryoji Wo Kataru (a story of healing with the palms). It is largely through Eguchi that Reiki has continued on in Japan.

Kaiji Tomita is said to be a student of Usui but not a teacher. He wrote a book in 1933 titled: Reiki To Jinjutsu – Tomita Ryu Teate Ryoho. This book was published in 1999.

Chujiro Hayashi was one of Usui’s 21 teacher students, although he only studied with Usui for 10 months prior to his death in 1926. Hayashi was 45 years old when he began study with Usui. He was a retired Naval Officer and Surgeon. Hayashi used the knowledge which he had learnt from Usui to open a clinic in Tokyo. He replaced some of the format of Usui’s teachings, including a method of attunement which utilized symbols and mantras, and also created a system of ‘degrees’. Hayashi also developed a more complex set of hand positions suitable for clinic use. In 1931 Hayashi broke away from the Reiki Gakkai, whilst some sources say he was asked to leave for making such major changes to Usui’s system. In 1938 Hayashi wrote that he had trained 13 Reiki teachers. Some of his noted students were Tatsumi, Hawayo Takata, Chie Hayashi, and Chiyoko Yamaguchi.

Hayashi’s Reiki clinic employed a method of healing that required several practitioners to work on one client at the same time, to maximize the energy flow. One way Hayashi encouraged practitioners to his clinic was to give First Degree empowerments in return for a three month commitment as unpaid help. After this time, he would offer the better students the second level in return for a further nine month commitment. Those who completed this had the chance of receiving the teachers’ level or third degree. After two years further commitment (which involved assisting Hayashi in the classroom), practitioners were taught the empowerments and were allowed to teach. Hayashi subsequently passed his knowledge to Mrs. Takata. Mrs. Takata is most famous, as she was responsible for first bringing Reiki to America in the 1970s. Hayashi passed away on May 10th 1940. Some reports indicate he died of a self-induced stroke, whilst others say that being an honourable military man, that he performed ‘seppuku’.

It should be stressed that the actual content of the Reiki system known in the West today bears but a fragment of Usui’s original Reiki system. This is largely due to the changes Hayashi made. Many Reiki teachers in Japan consider Mrs. Takata’s Reiki (western style), not to be aligned with Mikao Usui’s methodology. This is evident in the techniques which are missing from her teachings.

In 1922, Usui reportedly founded the Reiki society, called Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai and acted as its first president. This society was open to those who had studied Usui’s Reiki. This society still exists today and there have been six presidents since Usui:

    Mr. Juzaburo Ushida 1865-1935,
    Mr. Kanichi Taketomi 1878-1960,
    Mr. Yoshiharu Watanabe (unknown - 1960),
    Mr. Hoichi Wanami 1883-1975,
    Ms. Kimiko Koyama 1906-1999, and the current president Mr. Masayoshi Kondo

On September 1, 1923 the devastating Kanto earthquake struck Tokyo and surrounding areas. Most of the central part of Tokyo was levelled and totally destroyed by fire. Over 140,000 people were killed. In one instance, 40,000 people were incinerated when a fire tornado swept across the open area where they had sought safety. These fires were started when the quake hit at midday, when countless hibachi charcoal grills were ready to cook lunch. The wood houses quickly ignited as they collapsed from the tremors. Three million homes were destroyed, leaving countless homeless. Over 50,000 people suffered serious injuries. The public water and sewage systems were destroyed and it took years for rebuilding to take place.

In response to this catastrophe, Usui and his students offered Reiki to countless victims. His clinic soon became too small to handle the throng of patients, so in February of 1924, he built a new clinic in Nakano, outside Tokyo. His fame spread quickly all over Japan and he began receiving invitations from all over the country to come and teach his healing methods. Usui was awarded a Kun San To from the Emperor, which is a very high award (much like an honorary doctorate), given to those who have done honourable work. His fame soon spread throughout the region and many prominent healers and physicians began requesting teachings from him.

Usui quickly became very busy, as requests for teachings of Reiki continued to grow. He travelled throughout Japan (not an easy undertaking in those days), to teach and give Reiki empowerments. This started to take its toll on his health and he began experiencing mini-strokes from stress. Usui then left for a teaching tour in the Western part of Japan. Finally, on March 9, 1926, while in Fukuyama, Usui died of a fatal stroke. He was 62 years old.

Usui’s body was cremated and his ashes were placed in a temple in Tokyo. Shortly after his death, students from the Reiki society in Tokyo erected a memorial stone at Saihoji Temple in the Toyatama district in Tokyo. According to the inscription on his memorial stone, Usui taught Reiki to over 2,000 people. Many of these students began their own clinics and founded Reiki schools and societies. By the 1940s there were about 40 Reiki schools spread all over Japan. Most of these schools taught the method of Reiki that Usui had developed.