Reiki ~ Japanese Origins

Description of the Old Form Reiki kanji:

On the earth stands a shaman with his arms raised against the sky. From the heaven the rain comes down with lifesaving energy consisting of three parts: Light, Love and Wisdom.


The shaman acts as a channel (channeling this energy down to all the people of the Earth). The Reiki teacher is the channel when she or he initiates students and the practitioner is the shaman, when she or he channels this spiritual energy to the people treated.

Reiki Kanji:

The kanji characters Rei and Ki both have an old and a modern form. The old form kanji (written by Usui and Takata Sensei's) best describing Reiho, was rediscovered by Usui Sensei. The word Reiki with a capital R is the word, which describes the energy of this system. The old style kanji is the form that is currently used by the Radiance Technique and some independent Reiki Teachers.

The old form kanji as written on the precepts by Usui Sensei, best describes the system known as Reiho. It is easily explainable as follows:

The Rei symbol shown here requires 24 strokes to create it and consists of three parts. The topmost denotes rain, the middle stands for objects and the bottom stands for shaman. Rei means spirit or spiritual.

1. Spirit; the spiritual aspect of the human being as contrasted by the physical
2. Divine, luminous, charismatic, supernatural, mysterious
3. The luminosity of the spirit; the luminosity of a God or Sage
4. Inconceivable spiritual ability; charismatic power; charisma; wonderful; a wonder
5. A rainmaker, a diviner; a person or being with spiritual or supernatural powers
6. A shaman
7. Goodness; good, excellent, efficacious
8. Clever, nimble, sharp
9. Life
10. A living being; a human being
11. A supernatural (mythical) beast or being; a fairy, an elf
12. Pure, undefined, unpolluted
13. Bright, clear

The Ki symbol shown here requires 10 strokes to create it and consists of breath with rice (rice in Japan is sometimes used as a synonym for people). Ki means energy.

1. Vital energy connected with the breath. Invisible life force, somewhat equivalent to the Indian prana
2. In the view of Zhuxi and other Neo-Confucians, the material force of the Universe. The generative forces of heaven and earth, by means of which all things are constantly reproduced
3. Air
4. Breath, steam