I AM Healing With Angels

 Mikao Usui was born on 15th. August 1865 in the village of 'Taniai-mura' (now called Miyama-cho) in the Yamagata district of Gifu prefecture Kyoto.

He was born into a very old traditional Samurai family. They were 'Hatamoto' ,that means they were from the higher Samurai ranks. Hatamoto were allowed to carry two swords and  have retainer's, they would also have had land and station (according to the rank).
The Usui family were Tendai Buddhist followers.

He was born in a time when formal education was not that common. He followed the path of these wealthy families and he became a student in a temple school. As a child he studied in a Tendai Buddhist monastery school entering at an early age maybe as young as 4 years.
He followed the Buddha's teachings all his life and was a very spiritual man.

Common as well with his station in life, he trained in the martial arts, and continued with his Buddhist education to the point where he became what we would call a lay priest, still having his own home, not living in the temple. This is called a 'Zaike' in Japanese, priest possessing a home.

His practice in the Martial Arts, from as early as 12 years old, eventually reached the highest levels of Menkyo Kaiden by his mid twenties. He continued training in the Arts and reached high levels in several other of the most ancient Japanese methods. He was renowned for his expertise and highly respected by other wellknown martial artists of his time. He was friendly with several of Japans famous teachers of Martial Arts, Jigoro Kano founder of Judo, Gichin Kunakoshi founder of Karate, Morihei Ueshiba founder of Aikido and others.

The Usui family crest was Moon and Stars, these were the symbols of 'Myoken Bodhisattva', the icons for Samurai and family crest of the Chiba's.

He also had a sister and two brothers, one of whom studied medicine.

His memorial states that he was a talented hard working student, he liked to read and his knowledge of medicine, psychology, fortune telling and theology of religions around the world, including the Kyoten (Buddhist Bible) was vast.

He married and his wife's name was Sadako, they had a son (born 1907) and daughter.

In his younger life he experienced much adversity, lack of money, no security or regular employment. He was regarded as  being very wise and knowing, something of an eccentric. His poverty was not through dubious business dealings, it was through his own choice, simply  placing a lack of importance on material things.

History Note.. 1868, three years after Usui's birth, a very important time in Japans history, the restoration of rule by Emperor. To be called the Meiji Emperor. - 'The Meiji Restoration'

Mutsuhito, who was to reign until 1912, selected a new reign title- -Meiji, or Enlightened Rule--to mark the beginning of a new era in Japanese history.

Japan opened its doors to the outside world after many years of being a closed country.

At the later end of his life he worked as a private secretary to a politician Shimpei Goto who was Secretary of the Railroad, Postmaster General and Secretary of the Interior and State. His duties included administration and security.
In 1922 Mr. Goto also became Mayor of Tokyo.
How long Usui worked with him is not known.

Previous to this he had other similar jobs in the civil service.
 

On many occasions during his life he took a form of meditation lasting 21 days, this was a common Buddhist practice.

This type of spiritual discipline in Tendai Buddhism is called 'Lotus Repentance Meditation', a strict process of spiritual training.

On his memorial it says that at one time this took place on Mount Kurama.

Mt. Kurama (570 Metres above sea level) is 12 kilometers due north of Kyoto Imperial Palace and can be reached in 30 minutes from Kyoto by car or train.

The Kurama Temple, founded in 770 as the guardian of the northern quarter of the capital city (Heiankyo). Is located halfway up the mountain. The original buildings, however, were repeatedly destroyed by fire. The Main Hall was last rebuilt in 1971. The temple formerly belonged to the Tendai sect of Buddhism, but since 1947, it has been included in the newly founded Kurama-Kokyo sect as its headquarters.

Kurama is also a very special place for Martial Arts, it is the abode of the Tengu who impart the secrets of Budo to worthy warriors. Morihei Usheiba, founder of Aikido often took students to the mystical Shojobo Valley to train.

Despite what the memorial states it was not usual for this sort of meditation to have been taken on Kurama.

However it is recorded that this occured, but it was very late in his life and long after he had started teaching.
In the records no special event is recorded.

In traditional western Reiki a great deal of importance is put on the Kurama story, however, this is not true and not referred to by his students.

Although he was known as a healer, it was not until around 1912 that his spiritual teaching really started to evolve.
Previous to 1912 he did not have a formal way of teaching his spiritual way or a place of learning, however he had taught to others on an informal basis for many years. It was something he had practiced from his very early days of practice. His  hands on healing method was not something he taught until around 1925 when the military were interested in learning. Previous to 1925 he had only worked with Buddhist and Shinto followers.

In April 1922  Mikao Usui opened his first 'Spiritual Seat of Learning' in  Harajuku Tokyo.

His teachings were what is called a 'Ronin' (leaderless) method, this was to ensure that no one-person could lay claim to them, then, or in the future. This would keep them freely available for all who wanted to practice.

He not only practiced and taught  his Spiritual Teachings but also gave healing.
From what we now understand of the way he worked, it seems very possible that he was accepted by his Buddhist leaders as a teacher. This is very understandable as he was often accompanied by Buddhist monks/nuns and also because until about eighteen months before he died his teachings were given only to Buddhist and Shinto followers.
He made no provision for his teachings to be continued after his death. He had expected others to come along who would surpass his own capabilities, this did not happen.

He was very wellknown for his healing skills and people would go to visit him.

His skills must have been extraordinary as his fame  had spread throughout Japan !
His 'spritual teachings' were very popular among the older people who saw them as a return to the older 'Spiritual Ways'. This was all taking place at a time in Japan when many changes were being made by the  Meiji government, in particular in religion and westernisation.

Usui sensei was against advertising and strictly held that line even for spreading of his teachings

He could be very outspoken and  controversial, this would often cause concern amongst his friends for his welfare, his answer to them would be 'just for today'. He was seen in many ways as a strange man, because he was very true to his own regime and he couldn't care very much about what other people thought of him. He was quite a big, powerful man, and he could become quite abrasive.

He was against war but honoured the ancient 'warrior' spirit in men.

A description from one of his students...

He was physically big, quiet manner and extremely powerful.
Did not accept fools willingly and could be quite abrasive at times.
He could get righteously angry and quite impatient, particularly with people who wanted results but were not prepared to work for them.

His place of learning was formed not just for the spiritual teachings but  also for people to obtain the healing.
People were very poor in the Taisho era and could not afford to visit a doctor.
It is not yet known how the school was operated but one would assume that it was very cheap or free to obtain healing.
This place was actually Usui's house, it had a banqueting hall which was used for teaching and discussion groups. (the house could possibly have come with his job at that time)

According to Japanese history articles, healing and other similar practices at that time would be given for very minimal cost, more likely for free.

The Usui teachings were mainly about teaching people how to heal themselves.

For today only: Do not anger - Do not worry Be humble Be honest in your work Be compassionate to yourself and others

The student would copy the Hikkei (manual) and fill it with his/her own notes. These notes would usually be questions they wanted to ask the teacher, the answers would then be recorded in the  students own Hikkei. It should be realised that these notes for most students would almost certainly relate to spiritual training and not healing of others.

The Hikkai shown on other pages is from the a Gakkai manual and may have belonged to Ms. Koyama. This would appear to be a compilation of Q&A from several manuals. The introduction by Usui is not in the original copy neither are the handpositions. It now seems certain these manuals were prepared in the last year of Usui's life.

The handpositions  in the Hikkei (treatments for different illnesses etc) were introduced just before Usui died, and compiled by Chujiro Hayashi at Usui's request. This was then used by Hayashi in his own training for others, the detail is also very similar to that used by other healers around the same time and found in various books and manuals.

The Earthquake:
 

For more information on the Kanto Earthquake and pictures...  Kanto

History Note.. In 1923 shortly before noon on 1st. September an earthquake shook Tokyo and Yokohama, measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale. The epicentre was 50 miles from Tokyo. Over 100,000 deaths were reported.

The majority were killed in fires ignited by embers from charcoal stoves which spread quickly through the wooden buildings. It was the greatest natural disaster in Japanese history.

The Kanto is the largest plain in Japan and very densely populated. The large metropolis of Tokyo and Yokohama are located in the Kanto region, which consists of seven prefectures.

Mikao Usui with his helpers took his healing to the area and as a result of his work became even more famous.

During this emergency Usui Sensei's way of giving relief was to 'reach out his hands of love to suffering people'.
(Source-Usui Memorial)

It seems quite feasible that as he was living and working in the Tokyo area at that time that his school /home may have been directly affected by the earthquake.

Following the earthquake he was awarded an honourary 'Doctorate of Literature', this was in recognition of his services to the public during the emergency.

He died from a stroke in a town called Fukuyama in Hiroshima - Ken.

In the last year of his life he was approached by the Naval Commanders - Ushida, Taketomi, Hayashi and others, they asked him to teach them. In such a short time they would not possibly have learned the Usui 'Spiritual Teachings', they were only taught his healing method. It was for these people he introduced the term 'Ryuku' which means, someone who is a good practitioner but not familiar with the full teachings.

After his death those students who had been following the spiritual teachings went back to where they were. They returned to the monasteries, they returned to their homes, and continued their lives but they continued practicing the teachings out. There was no formal teaching structure.

'Usui-sensei told that his method is a spiritual healing technique and an energy healing technique. Spiritual healing brings fundamental healing by helping us to become part of the universal consciousness, while energy healing centers around removing the symptoms of mind and body disorders.'

 The Usui Memorial
 

After his death, in 1926, as a memorial to him, the 'Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai' was started, and was formed by Eguchi, Hayashi and the Naval Officers. When people mention that Usui was the first President of the Gakkai this refers to the fact that it was awarded as a memorial to him (posthumously).

Sensei means Master a title traditionally given in Japan as a sign of respect to a teacher, doctors, artists etc. It is not a title given or taken to oneself, it is given, for instance, by a student as a sign of respect for his teacher.
The teacher would 'never' take or use the title himself.
A number of Reiki Masters in the west are now using this term for themselves !!!!

The title Master as used in the west, we tell ourselves, is meant to mean Teacher.

Why then don't we use the title Teacher? And maybe earn the title Master (sensei)?

From the memorial it is written...

"In spite of Sensei's death, Reiki Ryoho must be wide spread and passed on for ever. How remarkable of Sensei to spread what he obtained on his own"
 

From the Memorial.