We all have a lineage of blood ancestors which is linked through genetics. These can be traced back many generations. Examples would be your parents, grandparents, and great grandparents. We can also have spiritual Reiki ancestors who are linked through the initiation process. This lineage can be traced all the way back to the practice's founder, Mikao Usui.
When people tell you that their lineage is through the Usui - Hayashi - Takata lineage, you should be able to see names of at least one of these masters on their lineage chart, to show their connection with Hawayo Takata. When you take a Reiki class with me, this is taught and explained in more detail. Mrs. Takata taught over 10,000 students and trained at least 22 Masters. Here are the names of the Master students we know she trained from 1976 – 1980.
In alphabetical order: George Araki, Dorothy Baba, Ursula Baylow, Rick Bockner, Patricia Bowling (when she married, it became Patricia Ewing), Barbara Brown, Fran Brown, Phyllis Lei Furumoto, Beth Gray, John Harvey Gray, Iris Ishikuro, Harry M. Kuboi, Ethel Lombardi, Barbara Lincoln McCullough, Mary Alexandra McFadyen, Paul Mitchell, Bethal Phaigh, Shinobu Saito, Virginia W. Samdahl, Wanja Twan, Barbara Weber (later changed to Barbara Weber Ray), and Kay Yamashita.
I wanted to become a Reiki Master/teacher so that I could teach others the gift of Reiki. My training, as a Master Candidate, was done as an apprenticeship based on the traditional way Mrs. Takata taught. It was very thorough, lengthy, done carefully with a lot of attention to detail. It involved almost three years of training. I also learned how Reiki was originally taught and practiced in Japan and teach it in a separate class. I teach 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Degree classes following the practices of Usui Shiki Ryoho (translated as: the Usui System of Natural Healing), which Mrs. Takata taught. For more details please look at the description of my Reiki Classes in another section of this web site.
I am grateful that my training included time to study and learn many things about Mrs. Takata, especially how she taught her classes. I attended a Reiki conference to learn more about Mrs. Takata and her Master students. This was in Tubac, AZ. Feb. 2013. It was presented by two Reiki Masters -- Phyllis Lei Furumoto and Rick Bockner. Rick Bockner was the last master student who Mrs. Takata taught, in October 1980. Phyllis Lei Furumoto was the granddaughter of Mrs. Takata.
The Reiki Alliance -- I am proud to be a member of The Reiki Alliance. The Reiki Alliance is an international community of Reiki Masters dedicated to the practice of Usui Shiki Ryoho, the Usui System of Natural Healing. This organization only accepts Reiki Masters who have trained in a lineage of one of the 22 mentioned Masters or directly from Mrs. Takata. Members of this organization maintain the time-honored form passed through the direct spiritual lineage of Mikao Usui, Chujiro Hayashi, Hawayo Takata, and Phyllis Lei Furumoto. Reiki Alliance members acknowledged that Phyllis Lei Furumoto was Hawayo Takata's successor.
On March 15, 2019, Phyllis named a new successor to be the new Lineage Bearer of Usui Shiki (Reiki) Ryoho. Her successor is Johannes Reindl who lives in Austria. He is a member of the Reiki Alliance. Johannes speaks German, French, and English. Sadly, Phyllis passed away March 31, 2019.
I have heard Phyllis Lei Furumoto speak on Webcasts and in also in person, at Reiki conferences. I want to share a quote that she once said when talking about our training. She said, “Be who you are and be honest in your work and life.” To me, that is living the Reiki precepts and following the Reiki teachings of Usui, Hayashi, and Takata.
NOTE: The original name of the practice as taught by Dr. Chujiro Hayashi was Shin Shin Kaizen Usui Reiki Ryoho (Usui Reiki Healing Method for Improvement of Mind and Body). Mrs. Takata often referred to what she was teaching as Usui Reiki Ryoho (Usui’s Reiki System of Healing). There is a tape recording of her saying this is the name of her practice. She later called it Usui Shiki Ryoho (Usui Style Healing Method). This term has continued to be used by members of The Reiki Alliance.
I, as well as others within the Reiki Alliance, have added the word Reiki to it so that it reads as Usui Shiki Reiki Ryoho; or we place the word Reiki in brackets so it reads Usui Shiki (Reiki) Ryoho. This is to help people understand what it means.
Mrs. Takata’s Reiki master certificate, signed by Dr. Chujiro Hayashi, has the name of the system in English as Usui’s Reiki System of Healing. In Japanese it is Usui Reiki Ryoho.