UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WESTERN & JAPANESE REIKI

What’s the Difference Between Japanese Reiki and Western Reiki?
 

As you explore Reiki, no matter where you may be on your Reiki journey, you’re likely to come across terms like “Traditional Reiki”, “Japanese Reiki”, or “Traditional Usui Reiki Ryoho”.  While they sound like they refer to the original system of Reiki, a vast majority (almost all) of Reiki being practiced today falls under the category of 'Western Reiki' or 'Westernised Reiki' and all Western systems of Reiki, are substantially modified versions of the original, traditional Japanese practice. 

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And while understanding the difference between Japanese and Western Reiki can be helpful, many people wrongly assume that in contrast to Western systems of Reiki, all “Japanese” systems must be true to the original teachings simply because they originate in Japan. This is not the case.

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For this reason, it is also worthwhile looking at which systems within the Japanese category are genuinely traditional (such as Jikiden Reiki and the teachings preserved by the Arjava Reiki Institute), and which are modified or hybridised (such as Komyo ReikiDo and Gendai Reiki).

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What is Traditional Reiki ?

Reiki was founded in Japan by Mikao Usui in the 1920s.  

He established the Usui Reiki Ryōhō Gakkai (association) in Japan and after his death and following World War II, the Gakkai became and has remained a private organisation.  It's practices are not publicly available.  

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However, his last Shihan/Teacher student, Chujiro Hayashi, several years after his death, left the Usui Reiki Gakkai and opened his own clinic.  All Reiki outside of the Usui Reiki Gakkai, that is practiced and taught, stems from his teachings.  It is not possible to know precisely how Hayashi's teachings may have differed from those practiced within the Gakkai.

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So when we refer to 'Traditional Reiki', we are referring to the Reiki taught and practiced by Hayashi, unchanged.

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What Was Included in the Traditional Reiki System?

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In the traditional practice, Reiki was ultimately a healing system for the mind and body. 'Shin Shin Kaizen Usui Reiki Ryoho', translates to 'The Usui Method of Energy Healing for the Mind and Body'.

The traditional Reiki system focused on:

• Cultivating energy

• Treating specific mental, emotional, and physical conditions

• Eliminating suffering through spiritual practices

• Spiritual growth

In addition to hands-on healing, Hayashi taught:

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• Hatsurei Ho - Daily energetic cultivation practices

• Gassho Meiso - Meditation for stilling the mind and cultivating energy

• Byosen Technique and symbol - the system for sensing illness through the hands (this was a pivotal aspect of the practice and teaching) and using a technique to hasten healing

• Kekko: a technique use for circulating blood and detoxifying the body at the end of each Treatment

• Methods for clearing energy stagnation

• Technique for healing fresh injuries

• A Technique for detoxification of ingested substances

• Nentatsu Ho - a series of techniques, including a technique for inviting intuitive/spiritual guidance and a method for eliminating unwanted mental habits

• Symbols and mantras with corresponding healing techniques

• Daily spiritual discipline

• Reiju in its original form, offered repeatedly to open up students to channel Reiki and to deepen their connection​

Whilst in the Traditional system of Reiki, spiritual cultivation was an aspect, Reiki was very much focussed on treating the mind and body through the use of Life Force Energy or Reiki.  This was the complete traditional Reiki system.

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How and why did the Traditional Reiki Teachings change? 

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The shift began when Chujiro Hayashi passed the teachings on to Hawayo Takata, a Japanese-American woman who brought Reiki to the West in the late 1930s. This is where the term Western Reiki comes from. When Takata introduced Reiki to the West, she made significant changes to the original system, and every system of Reiki that later emerged in Western countries came through her lineage, with many making further changes of their own.​

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Because of anti-Japanese sentiment during WWII in the West,  and because Takata began teaching Reiki in weekend workshops, as opposed to continuous teaching of time through Gatherings (as was done in the original teachings in Japan), Takata in what is now known as the 'Western System of Reiki':

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• Removed Hatsurei Ho and the techniques for strengthening and cultivating energy

• Removed the meditations for training and stilling the mind

• Removed almost all the targeted healing techniques and methods

• Removed teaching about Byosen and the Kekko technique done at the end of a Reiki Treatment and instead introduced set hand positions

• Changed the story of Mikao Usui, including to make him Christian

• Simplified the teaching structure

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It is uncertain whether she herself changed the symbols and Reiju, but over time, in the West these were also changed substantially.

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What remained was a much simplified, stripped-back version of the original system.  In short, a substantial majority of the original, traditional spiritual and healing practices were removed from her teaching.

This is the foundation of Western Reiki.

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Why Didn’t the Original Japanese System Continue?

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Meanwhile, the original Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai in Japan closed its doors during the war and has remained a private group ever since. Because it is not open to the public, the original Japanese system did not continue to spread.  Further, a lot of Hayashi's students simply practiced Reiki themselves, quietly and amongst their closest  family and friends.

As a result, Reiki was only able to spread through Takata's teaching.  This means that every Reiki system that has emerged outside of Japan has come through Takata’s teaching, and is therefore a Western system, substantially modified from the original, even if it uses names like “Traditional,” “Usui Reiki,” or “Japanese Reiki.”

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How Traditional Japanese Reiki Re-Emerged

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THE JIKIDEN REIKI INSTITUTE

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This changed when Western researcher, Frank Arjava Petter, began exploring the history of Reiki and located Chiyoko Yamaguchi, a student of Hayashi who had continued practising the original teachings privately within her family for decades. He recognised the historical significance of her lineage and helped bring attention to her teachings.

Chiyoko had never formally taught Reiki. For over 65 years, she and her entire extended family had simply continued to practise it for themselves and with family and friends, just as Hayashi had taught them. When asked to share what she knew, she agreed, and eventually the system known as Jikiden Reiki (meaning 'as taught', or 'direct teachings') was established to preserve and pass on the full set of traditional Reiki practices as she and her extended family had learned them from Hayashi.

THE ARJAVA REIKI INSTITUTE

In addition to Jikiden Reiki, and whilst not technically a 'Japanese' system of Reiki, the Arjava Reiki Institute also preserves the original teachings. Its founder, Arjava Petter, began teaching under this new banner after stepping down as the vice-principal of the Jikiden Reiki Institute at the end of 2024. A long-time student of Chiyoko Yamaguchi, he teaches Usui Reiki Ryōhō exactly as it was taught to him, without creating a new “system” or modifying the original practices in any way. These are the direct teachings passed down through Chiyoko, who learned Reiki from Chujiro Hayashi and continued to practice it unchanged throughout her life.

This includes the traditional Reiju, symbols, mantras and advanced healing techniques. In addition, it passes on several practices he learned from Chiyoko that weren't included in the formal Jikiden Reiki syllabus as well as from the Usui Reiki Ryōhō Gakkai. 

Modified and Hybrid Japanese Reiki Systems

KOMYO REIKIDO

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Beyond Jikiden Reiki, a second Japanese system, Komyo ReikiDo, also draws from the same lineage through Chiyoko Yamaguchi but is it's own system and a modified version from what Chiyoko practiced and taught.  While it retains the essence of spiritual practice that formed part of the original system, its founder, Hyakuten Inamoto, made changes to some of the fundamental practices. These include changing the form of Reiju (which is the process of opening students' channels to Reiki), removing the use of one of the Reiju symbols, changing two of the three main symbols to his own, removing certain teachings and techniques, and modifying some of the traditional healing practices.

You can read more about the differences between Jikiden Reiki and Komyo ReikiDo here.

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GENDAI REIKI

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A third Japanese system, Gendai Reiki, is often mistakenly thought to have a direct lineage to the Gakkai. However:

• the founder, Hiroshi Doi, cannot teach anything from the Gakkai due to confidentiality

• he describes his own system as a hybrid Japanese/Western system

• it is heavily influenced by the Western teachings, uses Western symbols, Western Reiju, and incorporates new-age Western practices

Although these systems originated in Japan, this refers to geography, not adherence to the original teachings. In other words, being Japanese does not automatically mean a system is traditional.

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Why Many Western Practitioners Believe They Are Teaching “Traditional Reiki”

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When it comes to Western Reiki and the modifications made by Takata, many practitioners and teachers, who are deeply dedicated to their practice, are simply unaware that significant changes were made. Most don’t realise that Takata removed key spiritual and healing practices, or that the set hand positions commonly taught today were an adaptation from the original system. As a result, they genuinely believe they are practicing the traditional form of Reiki.

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When they say they practice or teach “Usui Reiki Ryoho,” “Traditional Usui Reiki,” "Japanese Reiki" or “Traditional Reiki,” it may sound like they’re offering the original teachings, but almost always they are teaching the Westernised version from the Takata lineage.

And again, it is Reiki.

It is just different from the original Japanese system.

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Why Understanding the Distinction Matters

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Globally, Western Reiki systems are still by far, the most widely taught. They likely represent 95%, if not more, of the Reiki taught and practiced around the world

Japanese systems that preserve the original teachings, like Jikiden Reiki and the Arjava Reiki Institute, are far less common simply because they re-emerged much later and maintain stricter lineage preservation.

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But for those who feel like something is missing, or who instinctively sense there is more to the practice, learning the traditional techniques can deepen and broaden what they already know.

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A Message for Western Reiki Students, Practitioners & Teachers

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If you’ve trained in Western Reiki and you feel curious about the missing elements of the original practice, or you have a desire to move deeper into your practice, these traditional techniques can be integrated beautifully into your existing system.

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Rather than contradict Western Reiki teachings and practices, they enhance it., bringing with them:

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• Greater depth and breadth of targeted physical and mental healing techniques

• Stronger energetic connection and cultivation

• Greater intuitive development

• Deeper spiritual development and 

• A more comprehensive understanding of how Reiki works and the spiritual and cultural foundations of the practice

If you are curious to learn more about the differences both between Western Reiki and Japanese Reiki, as well as between Traditional Japanese systems compared to modified or hybridised Japanese system, you can read more here.