What is the cultural appropriation question in Reiki?
October 14, 2026
I hope so, because I’m not Japanese. You definitely can. What it asks of you is respect: do not take a Japanese practice, call it Reiki, and then add all sorts of other things until it is something it is not. Learn a little about the culture it comes from and about the Japanese aspects of the system.
Well, I hope so, because I am not Japanese. Yes, I think you definitely can.
But you need to respect the fact that the system comes from Japan. Do not take a Japanese practice, call it Reiki, and then do all this other stuff and add all this other stuff to it and make it something it is not.
Respect that it comes from Japan. Learn a bit about its culture. Learn a bit about the Japanese aspects of the system of Reiki.
The short version. Yes. The system of Reiki has been practised by non-Japanese people since Hawayo Takata was first taught and Usui himself said it was for everyone.
What to look for. A teacher who uses the Japanese names for the practices and can tell you what they mean, who teaches the precepts as the centre, and who can say which parts of what they teach are Japanese and which were added in the West.
A common misunderstanding. That respecting the Japanese roots means pretending to be Japanese: bowing extravagantly, wearing the clothes, adopting the aesthetic or espousing Buddhism. It means understanding the practice as it was made, and being honest about what you have changed.
Ask your teacher this. “Which parts of your course would Mikao Usui recognise?” A teacher who can answer that has done the work of respect for you.
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Learn the Japanese aspects of the system, from a non-Japanese teacher who has spent twenty-five years on them, inside Shinpiden+.
More questions answered: Reiki Questions Answered.
