Jikiden Reiki - What is it?

Reiki - A Path to Enlightenment
It was 1922, and 56 year old Mikao Usui had been seeking spiritual enlightenment for some time. His search led him to sit , fast and meditate on Mt. Kurama, north of Kyoto, Japan. About three weeks into the fast, he felt a great energy hit him in the center of his head like a thunder bolt. He then came down from the mountain and discovered that he had a healing energy flowing through him that was unlike anything he had experienced before. He was able to pass this on to others, and teach them his method of using the energy for healing all kinds of injury and illness with success. The efficacy of Reiki is in kicking body's natural healing and cleansing mechanism which helps body heal chronic sickness effectively.

Reiki is not just to heal injury and illnesses of mind, body or soul, it is a path to enlightenment, to attain a state of complete peace of mind and stillness 'Anjim Ryumei'. He had found 'Reiki' as his gift of enlightenment and thus formed the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai (Institute) to share this with masses.  Usui Sensei went on to teach 20 Shihans, or teachers of this method, who could pass the flow of Reiki onto their students. One of those teachers was a Japanese Naval medical doctor, Dr. Chujiro Hayashi, who opened his own Reiki school in Tokyo.

The most well known student of Hayashi Sensei was Hawayo Takata Sensei, a Hawaiian woman who had come to her parent's homeland of Japan to have an operation. She cancelled the operation and was healed through receiving Reiki treatments from Hayashi Sensei. In 1938, Hayashi Sensei taught Hawayo Takata the Shihan level, and she brought Reiki back to Hawaii, where it spread throughout the West and across the globe.

Chiyoko Yamaguchi Sensei
Most of us who are familiar with Reiki already know that story. But there was another student that Hayashi Sensei taught in 1938. That student was 17 year old Chiyoko Yamaguchi. Her wise uncle, Wasaburo Sugano, had been trained in the Reiki methods by Hayashi Sensei 10 years earlier and Chiyoko Sensei grew up being very familiar with Reiki. Sugano realized the value of Reiki through his personal experiences and began investing in his family's health by paying for them to receive Reiki training from Hayashi Sensei.

Chiyoko Yamaguchi Sensei had gone about her Reiki practice quietly, diligently and daily for 65 years without the notice of anyone other than her family and those in her area who heard by word of mouth and went to seek her healing help. Their family was known to be medicine less family, they hardly took western medications. Chiyoko Sensei had continued to practice and teach using the exact methods that she was taught and she had passed on the teachings to her son, Tadao Yamaguchi Sensei, Frank Arjava Petter and many other Shihans.

Reiki Development and Jikiden Reiki Kenkyukai (Institute), Kyoto, Japan

Hayashi Sensei died in 1940. World War II came and Japan introduced strict regulations on all practices such as Reiki. After the war there were even more restrictions and Reiki went underground, only being used in private for family and trusted friends. The Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai has remained a closed group and to this day does not teach anyone outside of the Gakkai. As a result, by the late 1980's much of the Reiki being practiced and taught in Japan was coming from Hawayo Takata Sensei's lineage. Frank Arjava Petter lived in Sapporo in 1993, and began offering a Reiki teacher course, which had previously been unavailable in Japan. There were also many styles of Reiki being developed in the West that blended new age practices into the methods.

In 1999 Chiyoko Sensei was mentioned in a book written by a Reiki teacher in Japan and people were excited to learn of someone who was practicing just as Hayashi Sensei had practiced. Chiyoko Sensei and Tadao Sensei were convinced by others to begin teaching workshops, so that more people could learn the original methods in all their purity. The name 'Jikiden' was given , which means 'direct teaching'. Together, they started the Jikiden Reiki Kenkyukai (Institute) and began teaching workshops in Kyoto. These Jikiden Reiki Kenkyukai accredited workshops are now being taught around the world, and they offer an approach that goes back to the Japanese roots of Reiki. There is a strong focus on sensing body toxicity by learning to feel for different levels of 'Byosen' or accumulation of toxins. The Reiki symbols are taught with a true understanding of their Japanese writing and meaning. Reiki history is visited with accurate accounts of more recent discoveries. Overall, there is a wonderful simplicity and clarity in Jikiden Reiki that makes seasoned Reiki teachers and new students alike feel grounded and nourished in their practice and bring all the pieces together for an experience that is truly enlightening.

Frank Arjava Petter has been very instrumental in bringing many truths to the surface about the history of Reiki and in the year 2000 he began taking Jikiden Reiki training from Chiyoko Yamaguchi Sensei. Arjava Sensei now travels the world teaching all levels of Jikiden Reiki. His book, 'This is Reiki', gives much insight into the practice. Chiyoko Yamaguchi Sensei passed away in 2003, but thankfully she was able to share her wealth of information before she went and through her son, Tadao Sensei, with Arjava Sensei plus the growing number of Jikiden Reiki practitioners and teachers , we have the opportunity to strengthen our foundation and knowledge of this valuable healing method.