Mikao Gyoho is the founder of the system of natural healing referred to as Reiki. He took the last name of Usui when he received the Gift of Reiki. He was born on August 15, 1865, in the village of Yago, which is in the Yamgata district of the Gifu prefecture in southern Japan. Mikao took the last name of Usui when he became a teacher, a sensei, of his natural healing system. Other genealogical information known about the origins of this man is currently limited to what is written on his memorial stone, located at the Saihoji Temple in the Toyotama district of Tokyo.
The inscription upon the stone is written in Old Japanese and was translated into Modern Japanese by Masano Kobayashi, and then into English by Frank Arjava Petter, author of “Reiki Fire” and Sapporo Petter. The information is as follows:” His ancestor’s name is Tsunetane Chiba. His father’s name was Uzaemon. His mother’s name was Sadakko; her maiden name was Suzuki. They had a son and a daughter. The son, Fuiji Usui took over the family business after Dr. Usui’s passing.” It is not known what the family business was. It is known that his son did not take over the Reiki organization that Dr. Mikao Usui started. Mikao Usui passed away on March 9th, 1926, of a fatal stroke at the age of 61.
The story of Reiki that has come out of Japan in recent years begins with Dr. Usui’s failed business. We do not know what that business was, only that it failed. While this failure left him in great debt, it also left him with great desire for something more than just material gain.
On Dr. Usui’s memorial stone is carved the following statement:” One day he went to Mount Kurama on a 21-day retreat to fast and meditate. At the end of this period he suddenly felt the great Reiki energy at the top of his head, which led to the Reiki healing system.” This would give credibility to this part of Takata’s history.
According to the memorial stone:” He opened a clinic in Harajuku, Aoyama, and Tokyo in April of 1921. He not only gave treatments to countless patients, some of whom had come from far and wide, but he also hosted workshops to spread his knowledge”. There is no mentioning of healing the beggars and then opening up a “for pay” clinic or school.
What is mentioned on the memorial stone and what might be the roots of Takata’s history claiming that Dr. Usui gave Reiki away to the beggars are these statements:” In September of 1923, the devastating Kanto earthquake struck Tokyo. Thousands were killed, or became sick in its aftermath. Dr. Usui grieved for his people, but he also took Reiki to the devastated city and used its healing powers on the surviving victims”.
His fame as a healer having spread, Dr. Usui’s clinic overflowed with people wanting treatments and training. He opened another clinic in Tokyo in February of 1924. Invitations to other areas to teach and treat poured in. Dr. Usui traveled and taught throughout Japan. During his stay in Fukuyama, he suffered a fatal stroke. This was March 9th, 1926. His memorial stone states that he taught Reiki to over 200 people and yet he taught for only five years.