In an exciting update for those interested in the roots of Reiki and the life of Mikao Usui, a groundbreaking historical discovery has just emerged from Taiwan. Reiki historian Dr. Justin B. Stein recently shared on his Facebook page that fellow researcher Min Wang has uncovered a set of early 20th-century documents in Taiwan’s digital national archives—documents that shed new light on the life of Reiki founder Mikao Usui.
Among the archival findings is a file created in August 1904, when Usui was nearly 39 years old. It details his appointment to a committee tasked with researching traditional Taiwanese customs (臨時台湾旧慣調査会) under the Civil Affairs Bureau (Minseikyoku 民政局), during Japan’s colonial rule of Taiwan. This new evidence supports a long-held oral history passed down by the Usui Reiki Ryōhō Gakkai, which claimed that Usui worked under the prominent Japanese statesman Gotō Shinpei. At the time, Gotō was the Chief Civil Administrator in Taiwan and would have been Usui’s direct superior—making this the first official documentation to back that claim.
Even more fascinating is that the file includes a handwritten curriculum vitae (CV) by Usui Mikao himself. For Reiki historians, this is a monumental find. It’s arguably one of the most significant discoveries in nearly three decades of academic research into Usui’s life. The information in the CV confirms and expands upon details previously known from Usui’s memorial stone, the stories told by Hawayo Takata, and the Reiki ryōhō no shiori document.
Notably, the handwriting and signature on the CV match known examples of Usui’s calligraphy, including versions of the five Reiki principles (gokai) that he shared with members of the Usui Reiki Ryōhō Gakkai.
Herewith Mikao Usui’s CV as set out by Justin B. Stein. Notes in square brackets are Dr. Stein’s comments.
- March 1885 [age 19]: graduated from the Middle School Division of Gifu Kayō School 岐阜華陽学校
- April 1885 – February 1886 [age 19–20]: worked for Gifu Prefecture (monthly salary, 7 yen)
- March 1886 – December 1888 [age 20–23]: worked as acting deputy manager / supervisor of Mino Products Association [in Mino City, Gifu] (monthly salary, 15 yen)
- April 1889 – July 1891 [age 23–26]: studied English at Kanda Taisei Gakkan 神田大成学館 in Tokyo (now Taisei High School)
- May 1892 – August 1894 [age 26 – 28]: founded and taught at [a school in Tokyo called] the Kanda Nisshin Gakkan 神田日新学館 to nurture gifted students.
- March 1893 [age 27]: graduated from the Literature Department of Kanda Shibun Gakkai 神田斯文学会 [an institution for the study of classical Chinese]; studied psychology under Dr. Motora Yūjirō [one of Japan’s first experimental psychologists, who would be named the first chair of psychology at Tokyo Imperial University later that year]
- April 1893 [age 27]: entered second year at Japan Law School (now Nihon University), where he completed studies through the first semester of the third year
- March 1894 [age 28]: received an elementary school teacher’s license from the Tokyo Prefectural Office
- May 1895 – December 1896 [age 29–31]: studies psychology and philosophy at the “American Hocking [or Hawking?] School” (アメリカ・ホッキングスクール)
- January 1897 – December 1898 [age 31–33]: worked in San Francisco, USA (monthly salary of 75 USD)
- March 1899 – February 1903 [age 33–37]: commissioned by an American ladies’ missionary society [likely the Women’s Foreign Missionary Society for the Methodist Episcopal Church] to establish a charity school and an elementary school in Fukagawa, where he served as supervisor (annual salary of 300 USD)
- June 1899 – August 1901 [age 33–35]: established and supervised a night middle school in North Asakusa, Tokyo [I believe this school may have been run by the same women’s missionary society] March 1903 – May 1904 [age 37–38]: served as a consultant at the Tanaka Iron Works in Fukagawa (monthly salary of 50 yen)
We thought it would be fun to create a modern-day version of Mikao Usui’s CV, with his employment and educational history up to 1904. (As he only developed the system of Reiki in 1922, we couldn’t include references to the establishment of his Reiki training and treatment centre.)
All credit for this remarkable discovery goes to Justin B. Stein, who originally shared this news , and to Min Wang, whose diligent research brought these documents to light. You can find Dr. Stein’s original post, with photos and additional insights, here and ongoing commentary on his Facebook page, where he frequently shares insights into the historical foundations of Reiki.