Hawayo Takata and Chie Hayashi - First women as Reiki masters

The Japanese Buddhist Mikao Usui was a headmaster and bible teacher of an all boys' school and tried to show others a different life path and turn them into energy healers.

Women were not allowed to be initiated in the Reiki healing techniques, at that time. But Chujiro Hayashi had a different point of view on this issue. He initiated not only one, but two women in this spiritual practice, allowing them to enter this amazing life path.

The first women initiated in Reiki

These women are: Chie Hayashi, his wife, and Hawayo Takata. Takata's initiation as Reiki master is considered to be the crucial moment which brought Reiki to the West.

Born on December 24, 1900 in Kauai, Hawaii, Takata had a special life path. She suffered from severe abdominal pain due to a tumor. Only after receiving Reiki healing techniques for her condition, Hawayo T. was accepted into a one-year internship at Hayashi-Sensei's clinic. As she was a great student, equipped with both bright mind and strong will to learn more about Reiki spiritual practice, she had the run of Hayashi's house.

Some months later, H. Takata moved into the Hayashi's home, essentially as an "uchideshi", which is a live-in student who benefits by special training. Both Takata and Chie Hayashi received the master level initiation in 1936, but by October 1936 Hawayo Takata returned to Hawaii and she brought with her the reiki healing knowledge.

Takata's legacy

Before her death in December 11th, 1980, Hawayo Takata trained not less than 22 Reiki Master Teachers and changing their life path forever. During the winter of 1938 Chujiro Hayashi, Usui's main disciple and the second Grand Master of Reiki history, had visited Takata in Hawaii.

During that winter, Hawayo Takata received her Reiki III training. After a while, in February 1938, Chujiro Hayashi announced Takata as a reiki practitioner and Master of Dr. Usui's Reiki system of healing and also his successor.

Being the first women as Reiki masters, Hawayo and Chie Hayashi, conducted and taught a set of healing practices based on Reiki spiritual system. H. Takata's activity substantially helped Reiki healing techniques spread through the West, allowing thousands of people to acquire information on essential Reiki healing techniques.

She introduced a Western version of how Mikao Usui discovered Reiki, a story about Usui's worldwide quest for spiritual enlightenment and magical healing techniques. She also set up the price structure along with the teaching system called "Usui Shiki Ryoho".

What determined Hawayo Takata to embrace Reiki spiritual techniques was the fact that she herself was healed and regained her health and peace of mind. She saw the effectiveness of Reiki healing practices working on her own body and this impressed her so much than she dedicated her entire professional and spiritual life to learning and practicing it.

As a successor of Chujiro Hayashi and a practitioner and Master of Dr. Usui's Reiki system of healing, her main goal was to continuously spread the new life path that Reiki system brings and helping others become energy healers themselves.

Other articles about Usui's Reiki:

> Biography of Dr. Mikao Usui
> Origin of Usui Reiki level system
> Mikao Usui - forming Reiki Ryoho
> Usui's Spiritual Enlightenment
> Discover the story of Chujiro Hayashi
> Meditation techniques used by Dr.Mikao
>Divine Intervention Dr.Usui
> Hawayo Takata and Chie Hayashi - First women as Reiki masters