Reiki, Qigong, and Their Friends and Foes: From Usui to Tai Ji Men

Groups mobilizing universal energies have often faced opposition from various quarters.

By Rosita Šorytė*

June 25, 2025

*A paper presented at the Third World Conference for Religious Dialogue and Cooperation, Kruševo, North Macedonia, June 24, 2025.

Tai Ji Men protests in Taiwan.

In July 2023, French and Belgian media reported that MIVILUDES, the French governmental anti-cult agency, warned French citizens about Reiki, labeling it a “pseudo-science” that could involve “cultic deviances” and lead some individuals to reject medical treatment, posing dangerous and potentially fatal risks.

Similar to the experience of Reiki, various Qigong teaching groups have faced accusations of being “cults” or have been described in China as evil “organizations spreading heterodox teachings” (xie jiao).

In Taiwan, certain Qigong groups faced repression during both the authoritarian and post-authoritarian eras. Tai Ji Men, for instance, had its leaders arrested and teachings denounced during the politically driven 1996 crackdown on spiritual groups that had not supported the ruling party in that year’s presidential elections. They were branded as a type of “spiritual fraud,” despite Taiwanese courts ultimately pronouncing the Tai Ji Men defendants innocent and confirming that no fraud had occurred.

In this paper, I will explore Reiki, whose history can shed light on the situations and controversies involving other groups that harness the universal energy known as Ki or Qi, including Tai Ji Men.

I personally practice Reiki and fully understand that it should not substitute for conventional medical treatment. Individuals with health concerns must adhere strictly to the medical protocols set by their doctors. At the same time, Reiki is a powerful, energetic healing method that can enhance a patient’s recovery when used alongside medical treatment. Reiki is not a religion and is practiced by individuals from various faiths.

Reiki is fundamentally rooted in traditional Eastern Asian teachings, which state that a universal energy known as “Ki” flows through the universe. An experienced practitioner, trained by a master, can harness this energy to restore balance and promote physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.

The Japanese term “Ki” parallels the Chinese “Qi” or “Ch’i.” This term represents one of the two characters that compose “Qigong.” In Taoism, Ch’i signifies the fundamental essence of the universe. On a macrocosmic scale, the universe’s Ch’i balances Yin and Yang. In texts linked to Lao Tzu, we encounter the assertion that: “it is the function of Ch’i to unify the appearance (Yin) with the reality (Yang) of the Ten Thousand Things.”

In the realm of the human microcosm, Ch’i represents the essential life-force for our physical and mental health. Practices that enhance the flow of Ch’i have been integral to Taoism for centuries. These practices encompass breathing exercises and physical activity, yet they have always been intertwined with self-cultivation and ethical living.

Although Reiki began in Japan, it is now more widely recognized in North America, Australia-New Zealand, and Europe than in its country of origin. It is paradoxical that Reiki, a practice estimated to have millions of practitioners in the West, remains largely unknown in Japan, its country of origin. Reiki is gradually returning to Japan from the United States as part of the so-called “Japanese New Age” movement. An increasing number of Western Reiki practitioners are visiting Japan. Nevertheless, the term “Reiki” still fails to resonate with many educated Japanese people, including those interested in spirituality.

Reconstructing the story of Reiki is quite challenging. Similar to other spiritual traditions, it encompasses a mythical and scholarly narrative. Scholars emphasize that myths are not simply “fake news” or “lies”; they are symbolic stories that convey spiritual truths. In contrast, scholarly narratives depend on archival research and documentation. Practitioners might contend that scholars may have accurate facts, but they could overlook the profound significance behind those facts.

Practitioners of Reiki are generally aware of its founder, Mikao Usui, a Japanese man who passed away in 1926. His story was recounted by Hawayo Takata, a pivotal Japanese-American figure to which I will return. To present Reiki to Western audiences and highlight that Usui’s teachings draw from and align with various religions, she claimed that Usui taught in a Christian school in Japan, was ordained as a Christian minister, attended the University of Chicago, and studied at Buddhist institutions of higher learning in Kyoto.

Mikao Usui (1865–1926). Credits.

The academic portrayal of Usui’s life has been reconstructed by various researchers, particularly through the extensive doctoral dissertation of Dutch scholar Jojan Jonker, released in 2016 after years of investigation in Japan. Due to the destruction of several Japanese archives during World War II, gaps remain in Usui’s biographical details.

Nevertheless, Jonker and other scholars have convincingly established that Usui never left Japan, never attended the University of Chicago, was not ordained as a Christian minister, and did not study in Kyoto, although it cannot be ruled out that he taught for a time at a Christian school. The essential truth in Takata’s account, stripped of its mythical embellishments, is that, unlike many educated Japanese of his era, Usui possessed an extraordinary interest and gained a rare understanding of various world religions, including Shintoism, Taoism, Christianity, and Buddhism.

Mikao Usui was born in Taniai, a village in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, on August 15 (Japanese calendar) or October 4 (Western calendar), 1865. He received his education at different temple-affiliated schools that taught Zen, Tendai, and the Jodo Shu style of Pure Land Buddhism.

His family, which operated a beer business, went bankrupt in 1880 due to Japan’s economic crisis. To support himself, Usui undertook various jobs, including working as a journalist and possibly serving as a private secretary for politician Goto Shimpei. He also explored Shintoism and Christianity, alongside the Buddhist traditions in which he had been educated.

In 1922, Usui experienced a significant event. After spending 21 days meditating on Mount Kurama, he attained enlightenment, or satori, directly from the spiritual realm.

Shortly after the 1922 event, Usui began teaching a new method called “Usui Reiki” and established the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai (Usui Society of the Reiki Technique). Most of his initial students were officers in the Japanese Imperial Navy. In 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake struck Japan, particularly affecting Tokyo, leading to over 130,000 deaths. Usui organized his disciples to assist the distressed population in Tokyo through Reiki practices.

Beginning in 1919, the Japanese government intensified its efforts against new religious movements due to concerns that certain leaders might oppose the authorities or even challenge the emperor’s power. Usui insisted that his system was neither a religion nor connected to political matters.

In a 1925 interview, Usui referred to Reiki as a “technique” (ryoho), a term included in the name of his organization. He stressed that while Reiki can support healing, it is not a type of medicine. By then, a movement that favored Western medicine and called for the suppression of unlicensed medical practice had gained the Japanese government’s backing. Usui stated, “Our Reiki technique is an original therapy method using the power based on Reiki, which is a universal power in the universe.” He claimed to have instructed about 1,000 disciples in Reiki. Eventually, Usui’s organization stopped using the term “therapy” to emphasize that Reiki was not associated with medicine.

Though not a religion, Usui’s “technique” referenced spiritual ideas. In the teachings recorded by his disciples before he died in 1926, Usui asserted, “Everything in the Universe possesses Reiki without any exception,” “We humans hold [inside us] the Great Reiki that fills the Great Universe,” and “Humans are a microcosm that takes the Great Spirit from macrocosm; everyone holds a part of this Great Reiki in his body.”

Usui died from a stroke while visiting Fukuyama on March 9, 1926. He had directed his disciples to ensure his burial at his family’s grave in the Saihoji temple in Tokyo, a Buddhist Pure Land Jodo Shu temple. Despite having explored various religions, his burial instructions appeared to reinforce his ties to his family’s Buddhist heritage.

Usui’s grave at the Saihoji temple, Tokyo.

 After Usui’s death, the naval officers who continued his Gakkai did not aim to expand into a large organization. They allowed new members only after completing years of rigorous training. At Usui’s passing, the membership numbered in the thousands, but following the Great Depression in 1929, which impacted Japan, it dwindled to just a few hundred. Today, the Gakkai remains a tiny, elitist organization that most Japanese people do not know about.

In the final year of his life, Usui trained a naval medical officer named Chujiro Hayashi, whom he appointed to the board of the Gakkai. Unlike his peers, Hayashi saw Reiki as a valuable gift to be shared globally, prompting him to leave the Gakkai in 1931. He founded the Hayashi Reiki Research Center, but believed that Reiki did not require an organization for its transmission. He emphasized that the key element was the personal connection between masters and their disciples.

In 1935, a pivotal event in Reiki’s history occurred when Hawayo Takata, an American of Japanese descent from Hawaii, traveled to Japan for medical care. During this trip, she met Hayashi and reaped significant benefits from Reiki. Takata subsequently invited Hayashi to spend five months teaching students in Hawaii, from late 1937 to early 1938. Hayashi committed suicide in 1940 to protest the militaristic politics that resulted in Japan’s disastrous entry into World War II.

Hawayo Takata (1900–1980). From X.

In a 2023 University of Hawai’i Press publication, Justin Stein meticulously reconstructed Takata’s life, demonstrating her pivotal role in establishing Reiki as a global phenomenon. Today, Reiki consists of numerous diverse schools and masters from various backgrounds and faiths, lacking a centralized organization or uniform doctrine. Sociologically, the contemporary “democratized” Reiki, accessible to everyone and enjoyed by hundreds of thousands, contrasts sharply with the exclusive, small group of predominantly Imperial Navy officers that formed the Japanese Usui Gakkai.

Contemporary scholars like Jonker and Stein, who are both academics and Reiki masters, raise intriguing questions about the status and future of Reiki, particularly two that stand out.

Statistical surveys confirm that there are significantly more women than men among Reiki masters worldwide. Is this due to women predominating in many, though not all, spiritual movements? Or could it be attributed to the somewhat simplified and “feminized” version of Usui’s original Reiki created by Hawayo Takata? This question remains under-explored and warrants further investigation.

Another sensitive issue is the connection between Reiki and money. The early Japanese masters were military personnel who felt receiving payment for helping others through Reiki was dishonorable. While it’s unclear if Hayashi, also a member of the military, charged for his Reiki sessions and training, he suggested that as the practice spread beyond its original small group in the Imperial Navy, requiring payments could be appropriate—for both material and spiritual reasons—since unpaid services might not be fully valued. This perspective became the standard taught by Takata. Ultimately, this approach has benefited Reiki, a movement with millions of practitioners that cannot thrive without organizational resources and funding. However, the introduction of money also brings the potential for misuse and what some refer to as the “commodification” of Reiki spirituality.

Reiki’s remarkable success, however, did not stem from organizational elements. Instead, it exemplifies what Stein refers to as “the strength of weak ties.” The absence of a hierarchical structure and its non-religious nature appeal to those who have lost faith in institutional religion.

Critics of Reiki or Qigong groups, such as Tai Ji Men, lack an understanding that these practices are not religions, or they hold biases against healing methods that differ from conventional Western medical approaches in promoting physical and psychological health. Nevertheless, the teachings about Ch’i have nurtured the spiritual experiences of millions for over two millennia.

In the 1950s, archaeologists discovered twelve jade pieces in China, dated to the sixth century BCE, which outline fundamental techniques for working with Ki or Ch’i. They conclude with a cautionary message: “Whoever follows this will live; whoever acts contrary to it will die.” This refers to the essence of true spiritual life, the most significant gift of all, which Reiki and other disciplines teaching the mobilization of Ch’i, such as Tai Ji Men, provide to our suffering humanity. While every human story has flaws and imperfections, this remains a gift for which we can all express gratitude.

Source: bitterwinter.org