presents Andrew Bowling's REIKI HISTORY Archives (formerly located at usuireiki.fsnet.co.uk/) From 1998 through 2006 Andy Bowling presented a web site detailed with Reiki History and facts.  When he discovered original teachings of Mikao Usui shared by Chris Marsh, he began to focus more in that direction.  In 2007 Andy decided to stop his Reiki History pages but gave me permission to host this archive at my web site. I hope you enjoy this original contribution to the Reiki world. If you have comments or suggestions, Contact Me. Rick Rivard  (www.threshold.ca) December 2007 Copyright Info - Making Use of Threshold Web Pages

Small up-dates Dec 2003
 

The Hayashi Story

Born 1878.

An ex-naval 'Captain' in the Imperial Japanese Navy and a Naval Doctor.
He graduated Navy School in Dec 1902.

Started Reiki training with Usui Sensei late in 1925, he was 47 years old, it is believed he was the last student trained by Usui  along with the other naval officers Ushida and Taketomi.

I am told that when Usui taught the naval officers it was most unusual, his friends were upset that he should teach military men his methods. I seems that Usui may have been pressurised by the officers to teach them, he was giving healing at a naval base at the time.see techniques.

Usui realised that he was only interested in the practical healing and adjusted his teachings to reflect this.
Usui was also interested in seeing if his healing methods would work as a stand alone method.
Usui was disappointed that Hayashi could not feel the energies so changed his teachings to suit him.
The awarding of Shinpiden was given more as a recognition of Hayashi learning what he was taught, and not that he had learned all Usui's other teachings. It does seem that Hayashi may have been received special treatment by Usui in his teaching.

Following his training he  later opened a small clinic in Tokyo which had eight beds and 16 healers.

Named "Hayashi Reiki Kenkyu-kai". (research centre)

Practitioners worked at least two to a bed giving treatments that way.

Usui Sensei used head positions only, then treated any problem area on the body.   Also in collaboration with Hayashi he gave additional positions for treating specific conditions see Hikkei, however this was not until the last few months of his life.

Hayashi adopted further hand positions to Usui, and these may have been a forerunner of todays  hand placements.
He is credited with devising the system most use today covering the whole body. This is usually described as a way to provide a better flow of energy around/through the body and also provides for additional practitioners working at any-one time.

According to one of his living students, Mrs Yamaguchi, Hayashi taught no formal handpositions only the five on the head. The practitioner relied on the patient and his/her own intuition and/or scanning.

It is said that students may originaly have worked with Hayashi to learn the Reiki Degrees, probably for no money. This is stated by 'Traditional Japanese Reiki' through a Master Tatsumi one of Hayashi's students. This is also how Usui taught.

Some credit Hayashi with the attunement process for Reiki, in a way this is possible, however he was not working with Usui long enough to learn Reiju (empowerment) which was only part of the inner spiritual teachings and not used for hands on healing.
It is most likely that Hayashi learnt an empowerment process after Usui's passing when the Gakkai was formed and which he joined for a time.
He used a form of empowerment very different from the Reiju Usui taught.

He later left the Gakkai because the nationalism of some members was at odds with his Christian belief, he also felt that it conficted with Usui's teaching.

A 1928 Japanese Magazine ('Sunday Mainichi' March 1928) reported on Reiki and that a Mr. Matsui, a Reiki practitioner, had trained with Hayashi Sensei. The article had reviewed a book by Mr. Matsui and people had written in asking for more Reiki information.

Mr. Matsui stated that Mr. Hayashi opened his clinic every morning for Reiki.

He had attended a five day training course which took place for 1-1/2 hours each day, it was very expensive he stated.

His wife also took the course and they gave healings to people. One of his accounts is of giving healing to a man close to death. They gave Reiki for 6.5 hours - he recovered.

Mr. Matsui stated that he was not interested in the spiritual side of Reiki and was more for the practical approach, he put his hands on and felt for imbalances, then treated the area until cleared.

He was persuaded by someone with influence to try Reiki but not for any spiritual reason.

He had not been convinced about Reiki until he actually tried it out and got results.

He had been taught by Mr. Hayashi who was a very strict man and dedicated to Reiki.

He (Mr Hayashi) taught for five days a month the rest of the time he spent healing.

Mr.Hayashi did not feel the need to advertise Reiki. Usui sensei was also very opposed to advertising.

Many people were doing different forms of healing in Japan at that time he said, some were not true Reiki.

He refers to the system as Reiki Ryoho.

In her book 'Reiki - Hawayo Takata's Story' (Isbn.  0-944135-06-4) Helen Haberly writes.....

"Before she left Tokyo she asked Dr. Hayashi one question which had been bothering her. In all those months at the clinic she had never encountered one poor person-no shabby patients, no laborers - so she asked if he refused to treat such people. He laughed replying since this was a very good question, he would answer it. He told her that all those who entered his door were upper class, even titled, people of wealth, education, and intelligence. When they were ill they could afford the best doctors and the best hospitals, but they sought more than surgery and drugs. They had Reiki consciousness, so they came to him. The others did not have this understanding, and when illness occurred they thought the need was for hospitals and doctors and nurses. If called, he would go, no matter how poor they were, but their beliefs were different, so they did not accept him and this drugless treatment. He also assured her when she became an experienced practitioner, she, too, would find this to be so."

Mr. Yamaguchi (son of Mrs Yamaguchi student of Hayashi) says that Hayashi charged high prices for teaching and healing, the theory being that only those who paid a lot would appreciate what they were taught and stay the course.

Following Usui's death, the three  senior naval officers he taught opened  a clinic and operated what today is referred to as a hospice for the terminally ill, giving and continuing to teach the original Usui methods. This took place in November 1926 shortly after his, Usui's, death and lasted for about three years.

They are also thought to have arranged the burial and provided the welknown photo of Usui  which included the Usui Affirmations.

Chujiro Hayashi changed the name of his clinic in 1931 calling it 'Hayashi Reiki Ryoho Kenkyu-kai '(Research Center) . At this time some of his senior students left, it would appear that he changed the original Usui teachings to form his own methods, and they may not not have agree with this.
 

From Takata it would seem that Hayashi's system may have been called 'Usui Shiki Reiki Ryoho' (Shiki - System) .  Mrs Takata referred to it as 'Reiki'.

Chujiro Hayashi passed over on May 10th. 1940. He ended his life by 'Seppuku'. (ritual slitting of the hara)

According to Mrs. Takata he took his own life due to the threat of war. This is true, at the time he was very concerned about the build up of nationalism at the beginning of the last war.

As a military man and reservist he would have taken the following oath..
 

It seems possible that he also felt unable to fulfill the requirements of the code.

Hayashi Sensei had attuned about 17 Reiki Masters........................ See Takata page.

He also had his own manual giving hand positions for treating various illnesses and diseases. Written in Japanese it is about 40 pages long. It is also possible he had written several other documents on Reiki.  "Ryoho Shishin (policy) of Hayashi Reiki Kenkyu-kai".

It is now known that the reason his manual was similar, was because Usui had asked him to provide a manual showing hand positions for treating different illness, diseases etc. This is shown on other pages.

I have learned that Mrs.Chie Hayashi continued to teach Reiki following the passing of her husband, she became the second President of his school. She may have taught into the 1940's.
They had a son and daughter but neither were interested in Reiki enough to continue the clinic.