Reiki in the West: The Bridge of Hayashi and Takata

After the death of Mikao Usui in 1926, the path of Reiki took directions the master himself might not have imagined. The preservation of the system depended on key figures who were able to adapt the teaching without losing its essence. The journey from Japan to the rest of the world passed through two main names: Chujiro Hayashi and Hawayo Takata.

Chujiro Hayashi: The Technical Transition

Chujiro Hayashi was an officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy and one of the last masters trained by Usui. With a disciplined, health-oriented mindset, Hayashi opened his own clinic in Tokyo. He was responsible for organizing the hand positions we use today and for documenting the effects of Reiki on different conditions in a more systematic way.

It was at Hayashi’s clinic, in 1935, that a young woman named Hawayo Takata, who had come from Hawaii in search of healing, encountered Reiki for the first time.

Hawayo Takata: The Messenger from the Islands

Hawayo Takata not only recovered her health, but also became the first woman and the first person of non-Japanese origin to be initiated as a Reiki master. With the beginning of World War II, Reiki faced the risk of disappearing in Japan due to cultural restrictions and the war itself.

Takata took the system to Hawaii and later to the United States. In order for Reiki to be accepted in the West at that time, she adapted the narrative and simplified certain concepts, ensuring that the method could survive and flourish within a completely different cultural environment.

The Legacy in Mundo Reiki

Today, when we practice Reiki in Brazil or anywhere else in the world, we are direct heirs of this lineage. The “bridge” built by Hayashi and Takata allowed the Usui system to reach us.

At Mundo Reiki, we honor this history with the understanding that, although Reiki has adapted to the West, its strength lies in the uninterrupted connection to the roots planted by Mikao Usui on Mount Kurama. Reiki is, above all, a universal language of balance and peace.

About the Author

Ruy Fernando Morelli is a Reiki Master and founder of Mundo Reiki, a platform dedicated to the structured study of the Usui System. His work seeks to integrate history, method, ethics, and practice, promoting a deep and technical understanding of Reiki for the present day.