Reiki’s history spans just over a hundred years. This is the shape of it at a glance — the milestones that carried the practice from Usui to the wider world.
A century at a glance
Mikao Usui is born on 15 August in the village of Taniai, in present-day Gifu Prefecture.
After a retreat on Mount Kurama, Usui opens a school in Tokyo and founds the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai.
Usui dies; a memorial stone is later raised at Saihoji temple in Tokyo.
Chujiro Hayashi opens a Tokyo clinic and organises the fuller sequence of hand positions.
Hawayo Takata becomes a master and begins teaching in Hawaii — the first outside Japan.
Late in life, Takata trains the masters who carry Reiki across the West.
Reiki spreads worldwide and diversifies into numerous schools and styles.
Reiki is offered around the world, with renewed interest in its Japanese roots.
The fuller story
This timeline is deliberately brief. For the events in full — with the people, places, and turning points behind each date — see the complete chronology.
Much of Reiki’s early history was passed on orally, and some dates differ between sources. This timeline follows the most commonly cited accounts.