Chronological Article on Takata's 22

Most Reiki practitioners have heard something of Hawayo Takata, either during a Reiki class or by reading some books devoted to the subject, such as Fran Brown's book "Living Reiki: Takata's Teachings" or Helen J. Haberly's book, "Reiki: Hawayo Takata's Story". But not many people have heard about the twenty-two master students Takata taught. It was primarily these master students of Takata's that spread Reiki throughout the world. I became interested in knowing more about who these twenty-two masters were and soon found that information about them was lacking in the Reiki community. As I delved more and more into the Reiki community, I started searching for the twenty-two and their students. What I found was that these master students of Takata played, and some continue to play, a vital role in how Reiki is practiced and how it is thought about in the world today.

Listed below in chronological order by master level initiation, to the best of my knowledge or well educated guess is some information on the twenty-two including the order that Takata initiated them as masters. If there is an * in front of their number, that means this is a well educated guess. (If you want to know when they they took Reiki 1 or Reiki 2 please see my other web page on Takata' 22 Master Students. I only included some of this information in this article.) It is important to note that Kay Yamashita was actually initiated before any of the others. So although it is commonly believed that Virginia Samdahl was 1st master student of Takata, she was really the second. But for the sake of clarity, I have not counted Kay in the numbering (I use "0" for her). Another reason to not "count" Kay is because Takata didn't count Kay either in a sense. In a letter dated 1977 from Takata, she states that she is going to retire from teaching Reiki. She states that, "I have created 3 Reiki Masters to carry on this noble work." She goes on to list them as, Master John Gray, Master Virginia Samdahl, and Master Ethel Lombardi.(1) Kay Yamashita is not mentioned at all in this letter. In John Harvey Gray's and Lourdes Gray's book entitled, "Hand to Hand: The Longest-Practicing Reiki Master Tells His Story" he states on page 178, "My first training in Reiki Mastership," John continues, "was learning the procedure and attunements for the First Degree class. Then Takata had to go back to Hawaii. Before she left, she said to me, 'When I come back in three months I will tell you about the Second Degree.' 'Well,' I answered, 'I've already paid the standard fee for mastership training. What will happen if you die?' Takata became flustered and angry. 'My sister in the Hawaiian Islands knows the procedure and could train you if I died', she said. She then gave me the contact information for her sister." The book goes on from there stating that Takata did come back and teach him Reiki 2 information, etc. Apparently, Kay was already a master at this point in time.

The names of the twenty-two master students are also spelled correctly here:

#0 Kay Yamashita: Trained as a master most likely sometime before 1976. She was one of Takata's sisters. Transitioned.

#1 Virginia W. Samdahl: Obtained her first degree in 1974, her second degree in 1975, and her Master level sometime before October 1976. Virginia retired from teaching Reiki in 1989. Fran Brown told me that it was Virginia Samdahl who introduced Barbara Weber to Hawayo Takata. Virginia Samdahl was a smoker and I believe she died as a result of it. Arthur Robertson (who was one of Iris Ishikuro's Master students) worked on Virginia towards the end of her life. There is an out of print book written about her entitled "Virginia Samdahl: Reiki Master Healer". Virginia at first joined both the Reiki Alliance, founded by Phyllis Lei Furumoto, and the American Reiki Association (later called The Radiance Technique) founded by Barbara Weber. She did this to be the peacemaker between these two opposing organizations, both whom the founders claimed to be Takata's successor. A strange fact is that Virginia initially went along with the idea that Barbara was the only person who could initiate other masters. This is very strange when considering that Virginia was initiated as a Reiki master before Barbara had even taken Reiki 1 from Takata! It appears that Barbara convinced Virginia that she had received secret teachings from Takata and was instructed to pass these teachings on to the other masters. Virginia and Barbara tried to convince some of the other twenty-two to take Barbara's training. Virginia received some kind of initiation and training from Barbara and realized that Barbara's "new" information was bogus.(2) So, Virginia left Barbara's organization. Many of the masters met in Hawaii and a year later, The Reiki Alliance was formed. Virginia required a minimum of 15 people for a class for her to teach, with a maximum of 30 in a class. She charged $150 for her Reiki 1 classes as stated in "Virginia Samdahl: Reiki Master Healer". Virginia made her transition on March 4th, 1994.

#2 Ethel Lombardi: She received her Master level initiation in 1976, sometime before October. In 1983, shortly after Takata's transition, she stopped teaching Reiki and ended up creating a new healing system called Mari-El. Mari represents Mary, Mother of Christ, and El one of the names of God. After Ethel stopped teaching Mari-El, she began teaching a system called "Freedom Energy". Later she developed another healing system called "The Next Step". I do not believe that she is teaching any of these systems anymore. It seems that Reiki politics in the early 1980's played a role in Ethel's decision to stop teaching Reiki.(3)

#3 John Harvey Gray: Born on April 10, 1917 and made his transition on January 12, 2011. Initiated into 1st degree on June 12th, 1974 and into the Master level on October 6, 1976 in Woodside, California. John and his 2nd wife, Lourdes, have written a book entitled, "Hand to Hand: The Longest-Practicing Reiki Master Tells His Story". Beth Gray and John Harvey Gray were once married to each other.

*#4 Dorothy Baba: She became a master shortly after John Harvey Gray. The best guess is late 1976 or sometime in 1977. Dorothy Baba was a social worker who lived in Stockton.(4) I do not have any information about her teaching Reiki, although she might have. She has made her transition

*#5 Iris Ishikuro: According to Iris's daughter, she took level 1 in 1968 from Takata and became a master in November 1976. She was told by Hawayo Takata to only train 3 people at the Master level. Iris trained only 2 people at the Master level though, her daughter and Arthur Robertson. Iris's husband refused the training. Iris made her transition in 1984.

Iris taught Reiki one and two together and asked Arthur to do the same.(5)

Takata came every year to teach Reiki in San Jose, California and hundreds of people came to this training. Iris, her husband, and their daughter took Reiki 1 with Takata sometime between 1966-68 in San Jose. Iris and Takata were very good friends, but they were not related. Iris and her daughter were followers of the Johrei Religion. Iris charged about one hundred dollars for Reiki 1. Iris traveled and taught many Reiki classes. She might have taught Reiki 1 and 2 together when teaching out of town. She lost contact with Arthur long before she died. Iris had several Japanese friends who wanted to take mastership with her, but Iris didn't train them because she didn't think they were ready. Iris' daughter also told me that Arthur made lots of changes to the Reiki system and that her mom did not collaborate with Arthur in changing the system. Iris's mother had Reiki training, but Iris's daughter doesn't know who trained her grandmother.(6)

#6 Harry M. Kuboi: He was the 6th Reiki Master initiated by Hawayo Takata. He took his 1st degree Reiki training in 1974 and was initiated into the Master level in April of 1977. In 1976, Takata offered Harry the chance to become a Reiki Master, but he waited a year to decide if this was what he wanted to do. Harry Kuboi also told me that Barbara Weber wrote him a letter stating that if he wanted to be a certified Reiki Master that he would have to train with her and pay several thousand dollars. Barbara Weber claimed that Hawayo Takata secretly taught her 7 levels of Reiki. This of course was an insult to Harry Kuboi. He had been a Reiki Master before Barbara Weber even took a Reiki class. Harry threw the letter away. Harry has written 2 books on his ideas of Reiki, "All of Reiki Book One" and "All of Reiki Book Two". Harry Kuboi told me that he has retired from teaching Reiki (4/6/02). He mostly does exorcisms now. The largest Reiki class he taught was four people. Harry only trained one master student named Judy Lau.

#7 Fran Brown: In 1973 she met Hawayo Takata in San Francisco. In January of 1979 she became the 7th Master initiated by Hawayo Takata. Her Master initiation took place in Keosauqua, Iowa. She obtained her First Degree on June 3, 1973 from Hawayo Takata. She then took her Second Degree training from John Harvey Gray in 1976. Hawayo Takata confirmed her second-degree training by giving her a certificate during her master's training after they taught a second-degree class together (the certificate is dated January 11, 1979). She completed her Masters training on January 15, 1979. She was a member of the Reiki Alliance and had published a book entitled: "Living Reiki: Takata's Teachings". Fran made her transition on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2009.

*#8 Barbara Lincoln McCullough: Best guess for master level initiation is 1977. Her most famous Reiki student was probably the late David Jarrell who founded Reiki Plus„µ.

#9 Phyllis Lei Furumoto: Granddaughter of Takata. Phyllis received Reiki 1 and 2 at a very young age. She then received her master initiation in April of 1979. She then traveled for about a year and a half with her grandmother, Mrs. Takata, teaching Reiki classes and initiating masters with her. Most likely she was there for Barbara Weber's master training, which occurred only months after her own and could debunk any myths that might have been created at that time. Phyllis is still teaching Reiki.

#10 Barbara Weber: She obtained her Ph.D. in Humanities and later changed her last name to Ray, so now she is known as Dr. Barbara Weber Ray. She created a new system of Reiki that has 7 levels and is called The Radiance Technique. She claims that Hawayo Takata secretly trained her (and non-of the other 21 masters) in the full 7 levels of the Reiki System in August 1980. This was only several months before Takata made her transition. However, Barbara stated in her 1st Edition of her book "The Reiki Factor" that there are only 3 levels in the Reiki system. It appears that four were added later. I met a master student of Barbara's several years ago named Renada. She told me that when she took the training from Barbara, that Barbara had recently changed the number of levels from 3 to 4. The master level was split into 2 parts, like 3a and 3b. 3a was free at that time. It was around the early to mid 80's when Barbara trained Renada.(7) Barbara received her first degree on August 20th, 1978, her second degree on October 2nd, 1978, and her Master level on September 1st, 1979. You can view Barbara's Reiki certificates, which are viewable on her web site at: http://www.trtia.org/histpers.html. She founded the American Reiki Association, Inc. in 1980. Later, around 1982-83, the name changed to the American-International Reiki Association, Inc. (A.I.R.A). Now her organization is called The Radiance Technique International Association, Inc. (TRTIA). This is a not-for-profit organization that reflects the planetary outreach of Reiki (Radiance Technique). She has also written several books on Reiki, one entitled "The Reiki Factor". Later this title was changed to "The Reiki Factor in the Radiance Technique. Revised and Expanded Edition".

#11 Bethal Phaigh: She obtained her Master level on October, 12th 1979 in Cherryville, BC, Canada. She wrote two books, one called "Gestalt and the Wisdom of the Kahunas" and the other entitled "Journey into Consciousness". The latter was written during her last few years and went unpublished. It is an autobiography of Bethal's life. Bethal took all the Reiki levels from Takata within one year. She states in her book, Journey into Consciousness, "The lessons (in life that I needed to learn) may have been particularly painful because my initiations had been timed so closely together. I had left Hawaii that spring not knowing of Reiki. I return this winter as a Reiki Master, a very green one." Bethal, in fact, took her Reiki master training right after taking Reiki 2. In her book she states, "Now I have to drive two hundred miles back to the Slocan to get the money and then back again to Lumby, [to] be initiated as a Master. All this and second degree within a few days!" However, in Anneli Twan's book, it appears that Bethal took Reiki 1 and 2 back to back, with her master degree being a few months after this. So, there is some confusion. Regardless, somewhere between her Reiki 1 training on June 16th, 1979 and her master training on October 12, 1979 she took Reiki 2. Bethal was fortunate enough to meet up again with Takata in Hawaii at a picnic. There she met many people who had taken Reiki from Takata 40 years ago. Later, after the picnic Takata reinitiated her as a master. Later in the book, she writes that Phyllis (Furumoto) was recently initiated as a master and that Takata wants Phyllis to take her place after she makes her transition. Bethal also mentions that Takata had spoken to several other of her master students about taking her place, and that she hadn't gotten back with these others yet to tell them about her decision of choosing Phyllis. The last thing I want to note from this book is that apparently Takata's biography was recorded on tapes. The book biography is "Reiki: Hawayo Takata's Story" by Helen J. Haberly. Bethal trained several master students before her transition. I know of one named Lani Kaito, who is, or was, a member of The Reiki Alliance. Bethal met Barbara Brown and Barbara told Bethal about Reiki and Takata. This is how Bethal got into Reiki. Bethal made her transition on January 3, 1986.

#12 Barbara Brown: She obtained her Master level on October, 12th 1979 in Cherryville, BC, Canada. Barbara Brown made her transition on Easter Sunday - 4/23/00. She was approximately 85 years old.

#13 Wanja Twan: She has written a book entitled, "In the Light of a Distant Star: A Spiritual Journey Bringing the Unseen into the Seen". She obtained her Master level on October, 12th 1979 in Cherryville, BC, Canada.

#14 Ursula Baylow: Transitioned. Ursula Baylow was one of the Canadian Reiki masters initiated by Takata. She had a well-established Reiki practice where she treated about twenty-five clients a week. Was initiated as a master in October, 1979. I believe this was just a matter of days or weeks after the 3 people listed above her.

#15 Beth Gray: Initiated by Takata into the Master level on October 28th, 1979 in Woodside, California. Beth Gray may have first been initiated by her husband, John Harvey Gray, into the Master level sometime previous.(8). Beth Gray was responsible for bringing Reiki to Australia. Beth also founded the first and largest full-time Reiki healing center in the United States. She had a stroke around 1993 and as a result was paralyzed and could not speak very well. She stopped teaching Reiki as a result. Beth died on May 13th, 2008.

#16 Paul Mitchell: Took his 1st degree Reiki training in 1978. Paul and George Araki had their Master level initiation done at the same time by Takata in November of 1979 at Paul's house in San Francisco, California while Fran Brown waited in another room.(9) Paul is still teaching Reiki.

#17 George Araki: As mentioned previously, George and Paul Mitchell were initiated at the same time in November of 1979 at Paul's house in San Francisco. George Araki was head of the department for alternative healing at San Francisco State University. He became a master in order to do a research study with Reiki. However, it was too difficult to set up the protocol. George only taught Reiki a few times. He sent his Reiki students and others to learn from Fran Brown and Shinobu Saito.(10) The San Francisco State University contains several web pages about George.

#18 Shinobu Saito: Took Reiki 1 in 1976, Reiki 2 in 1978, and was initiated in May of 1980 as a Reiki Master in Palo Alto, California. Hawayo Takata hoped she would help take Reiki back to Japan. She still teaches Reiki occasionally and has trained some Reiki masters in Japan. She was at the meeting of Takata's Reiki masters in Hawaii in the spring of 1982. Shinobu is not Takata's sister as stated in some Reiki books.(11)

#19 Patricia Bowling: Received her master training in September of 1980. She later got married and changed her name to Patricia Ewing. I am not sure if she ever taught Reiki.

#20 Mary McFadyen: Mary took her second level training with John Harvey Gray. Later, in September 1980, she took her Mastership training with Hawayo Takata. Mary started the Reiki Outreach International: web site: http://www.annieo.com/reikioutreach/. Mary has written two books on Reiki. One entitled Die Heilkraft des Reiki and the other Lehren einer Meisterin. These books are published in German only. Mary has been trying to get English versions in print for some time now.

#21 Rick Bockner: 1st degree dated Oct 10, l979, 2nd degree dated Oct. 20, 1979, and "advanced" (Master) degree Oct. 12th, 1980. He arranged a large class of 44 or so with Hawayo Takata at the Grey Creek Hall in B.C. It was Thanksgiving weekend, and they had a large potluck following the class. His actual initiation was done a few days later at Bethal Phaigh's cabin in the Slocan Valley.(12)

The two most commonly misspelled names are Iris Ishikuro and Harry M. Kuboi. I figured the easiest way to know the way Iris's name was spelled was to ask 1 of her 2 master students, Arthur Robertson. Arthur and I talked several times on the phone and e-mailed occasionally. During one phone conversation, I specifically asked how Iris's last name was spelled because I had seen it spelled several ways. His reply was Ishikuro, with an "o" at the end of it, not an "a". Later I obtained a 1983 manual of Arthur's, in which he hand wrote on it, "Dedicate To:" Then typed, "Reiki Master Iris Ishikuro" then there is a picture of Iris below this text, and written below that the text reads, "To Iris Ishikuro, who has shared her wisdom, love, and understanding with me in ways of spirit touched by few upon the path. Your light shall always shine within my heart……Thank you." And then hand signed again, "Rev. Arthur L. Robertson 6-7-86". This to me was sufficient enough evidence of the correct spelling of her name. However, there was still speculation by some people in the Reiki community. I knew from Arthur that Iris had only trained 2 people to the master level, Arthur Robertson and Iris's daughter. I, however, did not know Iris's daughter's name, but did know that she did not teach Reiki. With the help of William Rand and one of his students, they found contact information for Iris's daughter.6 I had a long phone conversation with her and learned a lot about Iris. Again, I specifically asked Iris' daughter how her mom's last name was spelled – and again, the response was Ishikuro.

As for how to spell Harry Kuboi's name, that turned out easier to verify. I found contact information for Harry Kuboi and we started talking over the phone and writing to each other via post. His contact information, as well as information about his books, can be found on my web site for those interested.

Reiki techniques taught by Takata

The idea that Takata taught each of her master students differently is not a new statement. However, I believe that the way people perceive this statement is largely a misperception. The differences in Takata's teaching's to her students were slight differences, not overwhelming differences. Having studied with two of Takata's twenty-two master students, I can say that I have personally experienced these slight differences being taught. This fact, as well as my contact with many of the other twenty-two, and the information found in some of the books or manuals written by the twenty-two, also bear witness that the fact that these differences were slight. The majority of the changes in the system of Reiki, came not from Takata herself, but through either a few of Takata's students, or by students of the twenty-two; most notably mentioned was a master student of Iris Ishikuro's named Arthur Robertson.

The similarities of the twenty-two's teachings are:

Takata did not teach the chakra system or include other systems of healing in her teachings (with the occasional mention of dietary therapy).

In April 1982, about one and a half years after Takata made her transition, most of her master students met in Hawaii to honor her passing. There they discussed Reiki and the teachings they received. To their surprise, the teachings they received from Takata were not exactly the same. Even the initiations were slightly different. Mrs. Takata mostly taught four initiations in level 1, one initiation in level 2, and one initiation at the master level. However, some of her master students, like John Harvey Gray, do the 2nd level initiation twice (he use to do it three times - the initiation itself is the same each time). The Reiki Alliance also mentions that there is only one initiation for the 2nd level of Reiki.(14) The actual form of the initiation also slightly varies.

Takata taught that during the 2nd degree initiation, only the dominant hand was to be "initiate". This seems to be a rare event now, as most Reiki masters initiate both hands in 2nd degree. This change might have started with some of the twenty-two. I do know from a 1st and 2nd degree student of Virginia Samdahl, that initially Virginia would only initiate one hand in 2nd degree, but later, she started initiating both hands.(15)

The most noticeable difference is in the hand positions used and in what order to do them. Some of the twenty-two start the Reiki treatment on the abdomen first, and other start with the head positions. In the 1999 Reiki Alliance Newsletter, it mentions that nine of the twenty-two masters initiated by Takata attended the 1999 Reiki Alliance Gathering (the newsletter also includes a group photo of them). Most of them told stories and the demonstrated the hand positions that they were taught by Takata. Below are references to which hand positions were/are taught by these twenty-two masters (and one from a first-degree student of Takata's).

  1. 1st degree student of Takata: http://reiki-press.hypermart.net/2-13.html
  2. Virginia Samdahl: "Virginia Samdahl: Reiki Master Healer" by Barbara D. Lugenbeel, and "The Reiki Handbook" by Larry Arnold and Sandy Nevius.
  3. Ethel Lombardi: http://reiki-press.hypermart.net/2-12.html
  4. John Harvey Gray: In his book, "Hand to Hand: The Longest-Practicing Reiki Master Tell His Story". His hand positions are different from the above-mentioned twenty-two.
  5. Barbara Lincoln McCullough: "Reiki Touch: The Essential Handbook" by Judy-Carol Stewart.
  6. Beth Gray: "Traditional Reiki For Our Times" by Amy Z. Rowland.
  7. Fran Brown: "Reiki in Everyday Living" by Earlene F. Gleisner.
  8. Harry M. Kuboi: "All of Reiki: Book II" by Harry M. Kuboi.
  9. Phyllis Lei Furumoto: A Complete Book of Reiki Healing: Heal Yourself, Others, and the World Around You by Brigitte Muller, Horst H. Gunther
  10. Barbara Weber Ray: "The Official Reiki Handbook" by Barbara Ray and Yesnie Carrington. The title of this handbook has changed since it first appeared in 1982. I am not sure that this handbook is available to those who are not members of Barbara's organization. You might be able to find it at used bookstores online www.bookfinder.com).
  11. Wanja Twan: "Thorsons Principles of Reiki" and "Thorsons First Directions" by Kajsa Krishni Borang. The latter has color pictures of the hand positions.
  12. Mary A. McFadyen: Possibly in the book entitled, "The Power of Reiki: An Ancient Hands-on Healing Technique" by Tanmaya Honervogt. Tanmaya took level 2 with Mary McFadyen and master's from a master student of Mary McFadyen's. So it is highly likely that the hand positions in this book are what Mary McFadyen uses. Mary herself has two Reiki books published in Germany. The hand positions she uses are probably found in there. The English translation of her book is in process.

Takata taught different hand positions to different students. A Reiki acquaintance of mine who was taught Reiki 1 and 2 by Virginia Samdahl told me that Virginia would get so frustrated because every time she watched Takata teach, she would do it differently.15

Apparently, Takata told some of her master students to only initiate a certain number of masters before they died. Iris was limited to 3 according to Arthur Robertson who was one of Iris's two master students. Renada, one of Barbara Weber's early master student's, was told by Barbara to only initiate one master in her life.7 Renada was trained as a master in the early to mid 1980's, before Barbara changed the name of her system to The Radiance Technique. A quote from Phyllis Furumoto in the Dec. 2000/Jan. 2001 issue of Reiki Magazine International in an article entitled, "The Work of A Lineage Bearer" states, "Takata had told many of them (i.e. the twenty-two) that they were to initiate one or two masters before they died, but they were willing to put this aside for the time. Whether Phyllis meant that these other masters should only initiate one or two masters in their lives or to at least initiate one or two masters is unclear. When Harry Kuboi offered to re-train me as a Reiki Master, he wrote in the letter to me, "Also you are not to make any Masters." I thought then, what is the point of training with him, if I can not pass on this wonderful system to others? I declined the offer to train with him.

I believe that The Reiki Alliance tries to remain as true to the teachings of Hawayo Takata as possible. However, there are differences between how The Reiki Alliance teaches and how Takata taught. Let me preface the rest of this section with my opinion that most of the changes The Reiki Alliance has made are beneficial. But it is a change from how Takata taught Reiki and so it should be noted and passed on as such, not merely forgotten or worse, passed on as "THE way" Takata taught.

Currently, The Reiki Alliance states 3 years of practicing/teaching Reiki before initiating any other masters and 3 months between levels 1 and 2. These are recommended minimum times. Now, the Office of the Grandmaster is recommending even longer times. These times are 1 year between Reiki 1 and Reiki 2, and 6 years of practicing Reiki before being initiated as a master. Lastly, that at least 10 years of practice as a master is recommended before initiating another as a master. Phyllis Furumoto was initiated into mastership in April of 1979, and had initiated at least 1 master by 1981 (Marta Getty). She also taught Reiki 1 and 2 to Carell Ann Farmer both in the same month. Takata when traveling to Canada would sometimes teach 1 and 2 either back to back or with a week in between. A quote from Wanja's book states, "One person asked about the distant healing class, seeing as he was here now, could he learn that, too? She said he could, and suddenly nine more people decided they wanted to take the opportunity to learn as well." As mentioned above, Wanja Twan learned all the levels of Reiki within 2 years. There are many more examples, but this will suffice. Takata learned Reiki 1 in late 1935(16), Reiki 2 in 1936(17), and she received master level by Hayashi on February 21, 1938(18). It is also stated on her master certificate from Hayashi that, "…after a course of study and training in the Usui system of Reiki healing undertaken under my personal supervision during a visit to Japan in 1935 and subsequently, has passed all the tests and proved worthy and capable of administering the treatment and of conferring the power of Reiki on others." So it appears that Takata learned the entire Reiki system in about two and a half years. What we must remember though, is that her apprenticeship under Hayashi was a very rigorous one. After practicing Reiki for a while in Japan, she then moved in and lived with Hayashi and his family for a year in Japan and preformed Reiki treatments almost everyday on clients who sought treatments. Then, there was a 6-month master apprenticeship with Hayashi in the Hawaiian Islands. I do not have a problem with recommending time between levels for the students to practice and to gain experience. However, if Takata thought it appropriate to sometimes teach someone Reiki 1 and Reiki 2, or even Reiki 2 and master level, in a short period of time, and she had about 40 years of experience, I hope that no person or organization will absolutely forbid this in the future. Recommendations between levels are great, but, regulations are something else. Whether The Reiki Alliance will adopt these new recommendations on timing or not is yet to be seen.

Another difference between the teachings of Takata and The Reiki Alliance is the options available on how the $10,000 tuition for mastership can be paid. This option for payment of the master level also varied for each of the twenty-two. Here is what Takata charged these masters for their master training:

  1. Virginia Samdahl: $10,000 – quote from the book "Virginia Samdahl: Reiki Master Healer", "The final degree was expensive financially, physically, and emotionally. It cost $10,000…"
  2. John Harvey Gray: $10,000 in his book stated he paid the standard fee
  3. Harry Kuboi: $10,000. Stated in a letter Harry sent to me.
  4. Fran Brown: $10,000. Told to me by Fran.
  5. Bethal Phaigh: $5,000 for mastership. The other $5000 was paid out of doing initiations, i.e. teaching classes and then later giving Takata the money. This is mentioned in her book, "Journey into Consciousness".
  6. Wanja Twan: The actual amount is not known. But in her autobiography, Wanja states, "…I realized that if I gave Takata my saved-up food money, which was not much, it would be exactly enough to finish my total commitment to her for becoming a teacher. So that is what I did. She was proud and pleased that I had been able to do it all in one course plus the two latecomers." The course Wanja mentioned was a class of about 30 students or so that Wanja was able to put together for Takata to teach on short notice. The student's tuition or part of their tuition for the Reiki classes that Wanja set up for Takata to teach was deducted from the $10,000 fee. In the book, Early days of Reiki: Memories of Hawayo Takata compiled by Wanja's daughter, Anneli Twan, Wanja states, " To become a Reiki Master there was a stipulation of $10,000 American dollars, or as she told me, "Bring 100 people to a class!"".

I believe the master level tuition for The Reiki Alliance is $10,000 without being able to deduct any money for getting classes together for the initiating master like some of the twenty-two were able to do. I called and asked The Reiki Alliance this question, but I am currently waiting to be called back with a definitive answer from the executive director. We know that Takata had to mortgage her house to afford the master level training. So the dollar value that Takata charged for this class was probably comparable to what she paid to Hayashi.

The length of mastership training for each of Hawayo Takata's master students also varied. Virginia Samdahl traveled for an extensive time with Takata as did Phyllis Furumoto. Takata taught about a dozen Reiki workshops at the home of John Harvey Gray and Beth Gray, which they were able to attend. Others, like Wanja Twan had about a two week long training with Takata (but was able to sit in on about 5 Reiki 1 classes over the years).. Still others, like Bethal Phaigh, had less training - like a weekend. Later, Bethal did meet up with Takata again and discussed master's level material and relearned the initiations. Takata had about a six-month apprenticeship with Hayashi for her master level training.

A great source of information on these twenty-two masters is a magazine entitled, "Reiki Magazine International". The magazine frequently has interviews and articles written by and about the twenty-two. I hope you have enjoyed this article and find something that interested you in it. The history of Reiki is important, but the actual practice of Reiki is imperative. Good luck to you on your Reiki journey.

Citations

  1. This letter can be found on either John Harvey Gray's and Lourdes Gray's web site http://www.mv.com/ipusers/reiki/index.html or on my own www.reikisystem.com
  2. Timothy A. McNamara: Reiki 1 and 2 from Virginia Samdahl, and master level from Viola Ebert (a master student of Virginia's).
  3. Primary source: Adiar Heitmann (student of Ethel Lombardi), Center of Creativity and Wellness, 1597 post road, Fairfield, CT 06824 Phone: 203 256-9114
  4. Source: Fran Brown
  5. Source: Arthur Robertson
  6. Source: Iris Ishikuro's daughter. Her name will not be mentioned in this article because I was unable to get into contact with her again to ask if this would be okay. I assume that she does not want a lot of phone calls from Reiki people asking her questions. When I have the chance to ask her for permission, I will update my web site with that information.
  7. I never asked this master how to spell her name correctly. Her name spelled here is my best guess. Renada was a very open elderly lady with a heavy accent. We had a mutual acquaintance that set up the meeting for us in South Carolina around late 1997 or early 1998.
  8. Source: Fran Brown
  9. Source: Fran Brown
  10. Sources: Fran Brown and Shinobu Saito.
  11. Source: Shinobu Saito
  12. Source: Rick Bockner
  13. Interesting note: John Harvey Gray told our 2nd degree class that Takata did distant treatments standing up.
  14. In a handout written by the Reiki Alliance entitled, "Usui Shiki Ryoho: The Usui System of Reiki Healing", under the section, "Nine elements of Form". The first element mentioned is "Initiation". It states, "There are four initiations for first degree, one initiation for second degree and one initiation for Reiki Master."
  15. Alice Ann Stewart, P.O. Box 091064, Bexley, OH 43209, Phone: 614 338-1239
  16. Book entitled: "Reiki: Hawayo Takata's Story" by Helen J. Haberly.
  17. Book entitled: "Living Reiki: Takata's Teachings" by Fran Brown.
  18. Date located on Takata's master's certificate.