Mikao Usui
| Mikao Usui | |
|---|---|
臼井甕男
|
|
| Born |
15 August 1865 Taniai (now called Miyama cho) (Gifu) |
| Died | 9 March 1926 (aged 60) Fukuyama (福山市) |
| Cause of death | Stroke |
| Monuments | Saihō-ji temple (西芳寺), Suginami, Tokyo (杉並区) |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation | Reiki Master |
| Known for | Reiki |
Mikao Usui (臼井甕男, 15 August 1865 – 9 March 1926, commonly Usui Mikao in Japanese) was the founder of a form of spiritual practice known as Reiki, used as a complementary therapy for the treatment of physical, emotional, and mental diseases. According to the inscription on his memorial stone, Usui taught Reiki to over 2000 people during his lifetime. Sixteen of these students continued their training to reach the Shinpiden level, a level equivalent to the Western third degree, or Master level. Usui died on 9 March 1926 of a stroke.
Usui was born on 15 August 1865 in the village of Taniai (now called Miyama cho) in the Yamagata district of the Gifu Prefecture, Japan, which is now located near present-day Nagoya.
Although there are many stories extant in the United States that Mikao Usui earned a doctorate of theology at the theological seminary of the University of Chicago, it is evident from further research that he never attended, let alone received any degree from the University of Chicago.
Shugendō is a Japanese mountain ascetic shamanism, which incorporates Shinto and Buddhist practices. The roles of Shugendō practitioners include offering religious services such as fortune telling, divination, channelling, prayer, ritual incantations and exorcism. Shugendo was often used by family clans to heal disease or to avoid misfortune.
Usui's father's common name was Uzaemon, and his mother was from the Kawai family. His brothers, Sanya and Kuniji, grew up to become a doctor and a policeman respectively. He also had an older sister called Tsuru. Usui married Sadako Suzuki, who bore children by the names of Fuji and Toshiko. Fuji (1908–1946) went on to teach at Tokyo University, and Toshiko lived a short life, dying at the age of 22 in 1935. The entire family's ashes are buried at the grave site at the Saihō-ji Temple in Tokyo.
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