Origins in Japan
1865–1926Born on 15 August in the village of Taniai, in present-day Gifu Prefecture.
Following a retreat on Mount Kurama, Usui opens a school in Tokyo and founds the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai.
Usui and his students treat many of the injured, widening the practice’s reputation.
Usui dies of a stroke; a memorial stone is later raised at Saihoji temple in Tokyo.
A method takes form
1925–1940The naval doctor Chujiro Hayashi becomes a student of Usui in his final year.
Hayashi opens a Tokyo clinic and organizes the fuller sequence of hand positions.
Hayashi dies, leaving a structured, well-documented form of the practice.
Reiki goes west
1935–1980Hawayo Takata recovers at Hayashi’s clinic and stays to learn the practice.
Takata becomes a Reiki master and begins teaching in Hawaii — the first outside Japan.
Late in life, Takata trains the masters who will carry Reiki across the West.
Her Usui Shiki Ryoho lineage becomes the most widespread form of Reiki.
A global practice
1980–todayReiki spreads worldwide and diversifies into numerous schools and styles.
Reiki is offered around the world for relaxation and well-being, alongside a growing interest in its Japanese roots.
Much of Reiki’s early history was passed on orally, and some dates and details differ between sources. The chronology above follows the most commonly cited accounts.