Bronwen, I am truly delighted to have the opportunity to speak with you again. This marks our third interview together, and with each conversation, I find myself enjoying this exchange more and more. What I have felt deeply throughout our past two interviews is that your questions consistently cut right to the heart of the matter and are filled with profound insight. Being able to dialogue with such an exceptional interviewer is a genuine pleasure for me.

Regarding today’s topic of the “o-shirushi”お印 (symbols), even when examining the historical records closely, much still remains shrouded in mystery. Because I wish to remain completely honest and rigorous with history, I want to avoid blurring the line between what is known and what is unknown, candidly stating what we do not know, and clearly distinguishing between confirmed facts and my personal inferences.

To be frank, the precise origin of the o-shirushi, specifically when and from where they were introduced, is not yet known from existing historical materials.

Whether they were already present from the very beginning when Usui-sensei臼井先生 founded the Usui-kai臼井会 in 1922 also remains uncertain due to a lack of definitive records.

What we do know as a matter of fact, however, is that Usui-sensei continually experimented with different pedagogical approaches to transmit the method of Reiki Ryōhō霊気療法 to his students. My inference is that the o-shirushi were created as a result of these practical adaptations, and in the same way, “reiju”霊授 was likely devised as a means to strengthen and stabilize one’s resonance with Reiki.

I am currently investigating when and where these symbols originated. While I cannot make the primary text itself public, there exists an unpublished record compiled by a direct student of Usui-sensei. In that text, it is recorded that Usui-sensei himself said to the student something to the effect of: “Now that you have reached Okuden奥伝, you should be able to do hands-on treatment much faster.”

Given that the o-shirushi are transmitted at the Okuden level, I interpret this remark to mean: “Now that you have advanced to Okuden and received the o-shirushi, you ought to be able to administer hands-on treatment more quickly.” In other words, it is my inference that by the time this particular direct student was being taught, the o-shirushi, starting with the first one, were already being used in practice.

Thank you for digging deeper into this, Bronwen. This is an essential point to explore when considering the history and emergence of the o-shirushiお印.

The document I mentioned earlier is a teaching text compiled by one of Usui-sensei臼井先生’s direct students, based on notes taken from oral transmissions, created for use as a manual when teaching others. Unlike simply receiving instruction, stepping into the role of an instructor makes oral transmission alone difficult to rely on, which is why it was written down and systematized for teaching. However, due to the delicate nature of this material, I cannot disclose the document’s title, the compiler’s name, or the specific details of its contents. This might seem suddenly vague after having shared concrete facts earlier, but I hope you understand the constraints involved.

While I must refrain from discussing the text as a whole, the specific remark I shared does not directly mention the o-shirushi. It simply connects advancing to Okuden奥伝 with the time required for o-teateお手当て. Connecting this statement with today’s practice, where the o-shirushi are bestowed at the Okuden level, I interpret that they were likely already in use by the time Sensei made that remark.

The word “faster” does not mean moving the hands quickly; it refers to the duration required to treat a single area. In the original Japanese context, this is how the passage naturally reads. The first o-shirushi bestowed in Okuden is specifically taught to shorten treatment time and act strongly. If one understands the o-shirushi as a tool to enhance the working of Reiki and help o-teate, this aligns directly with Usui-sensei’s words. That said, students reaching Okuden have already accumulated substantial practical experience. We must consider both the practitioner’s skill progression and the tools bestowed; examining the tool without taking into account the student’s disciplined training misses the essence of Usui-sensei’s teaching.

Still, whether these o-shirushi actually existed in that exact period cannot be confirmed from primary sources. The text does note, however, that Usui-sensei instructed students according to their individual capacities.

Okuden consists of Zenki前期 (Former Stage) and Kōki後期 (Latter Stage), with Zenki further divided into Kō甲 (A) and Otsu乙 (B). One o-shirushi is given for Zenki-Kō, one for Zenki-Otsu, and one for Kōki, making three in total.

The exact time when these o-shirushi were established remains entirely unknown. Many people offer conjectures, but none have solid evidence. Speculations by those who do not understand the actual o-shirushi of the Usui-kai臼井会 are meaningless; if someone like me, researching from within the Usui-kai, cannot find definitive proof, it is impossible for outside observers to know.

Personally, I view the o-shirushi as practical devices for teaching Reiki Ryōhō to others.

How did Usui-sensei impart the o-teate he himself could do to those who came to learn, and what tools did he provide to assist them? That is the essential question I keep in mind when exploring the origins of the o-shirushi.

There is no difference. We all gather and practise together, regardless of grade or whether we have received Okuden奥伝 (the advanced teachings). We do not divide members into separate classes by level.

The difference is whether someone knows the o-shirushiお印 (the symbols). shihan師範 (instructors within the association) also attend shihan-kai師範会 (meetings of the shihan). Some of you may find this surprising, but this is how we currently practise.

At shihan-kai meetings, we discuss how to run the Usui-kai臼井会 (the Usui association) and approve new members, among other matters. These meetings deal with the practical business of running the association.

I do not know whether this arrangement has existed since the association was founded or developed later. We do not have a clear picture of how teaching was organised in the earliest years. In the sources I have seen, I have not found descriptions of gatherings exclusively for Okuden members or exclusively for those at Shoden初伝 (the introductory stage).

I hope these conversations are gradually giving you a clearer picture of how we are taught and how we learn.

This is why the concept of lineage, tracing who learned from whom, does not apply to us.

I have answered several questions so far, and Bronwen’s thoughtful questions have given me the opportunity to explain these things in detail. I imagine much of this will be new to many of you.

Bronwen, I think it will help if I describe what actually happens at our kenkyūkai研究会 (practice and study gatherings).

We read gyosei御製 together, practise kenyoku乾浴, jōshin kokyū浄心呼吸, and gasshō合掌. We receive reiju霊授, train ourselves to perceive hibiki響き (the sensations we feel during practice), and then move straight into o-teateお手当て (hands-on treatment). Everyone follows the same sequence, regardless of grade. We all take part together rather than splitting into separate classes by level.

Among those present, some know the o-shirushiお印 (the symbols), and others do not yet know them. Those who know them and wish to use them do so during treatment. Whether they use them or not, everyone is practising hands-on treatment together in the same place.

We do not attach such special importance to the o-shirushi. To put it bluntly, they are tools for treatment. We can use them, or we can choose not to. Some of our instructors also practise enkaku遠隔 (treatment at a distance) and hands-on treatment without using them.

We use them as tools, without treating them as sacred or becoming dependent on them.

This may surprise you, but that is how we regard the o-shirushi.

I first learned that the o-shirushi existed when I was told during the initial explanation, “You will be given the o-shirushi when you reach Okuden奥伝 (the advanced teachings).” I learned this directly from someone, not from a document. Yet when I attended my first kenkyūkai, everyone gathered and did the same things. I even wondered whether there might be a separate Okuden class. In fact, there was no such class.

As for historical records, I have yet to find a source that explicitly mentions the o-shirushi. We learn them through kuden口伝 (oral instruction). Even so, I would have expected someone to have written something about them, despite their being taught orally. So far, however, I have not found such a document. I therefore do not know when they were first mentioned in writing, or why they are absent from the manuals you refer to.

Bronwen, o-shirushiお印 (symbols) are taught directly from shihan師範 (teachers) to other shihan, and from shihan to members. Those who have reached Okuden奥伝 (the advanced level) therefore share an understanding of the o-shirushi they have been taught. This direct teaching is how they are passed on.

Looking back over a hundred years raises two questions: what were they like at the beginning, and what changes occurred along the way?

In my own research, I have heard an account that suggests there may have been slight changes to the o-shirushi.

I cannot share the details here, but I once spoke directly with someone who told me they had learned before the war from Usui-sensei臼井先生‘s younger brother, his actual biological brother. I also examined that person’s reiju-shō霊授証 (a certificate recording the conferral of reiju). Their memory was very clear, and they remembered the o-shirushi they had been taught well. Comparing their account with the o-shirushi used today led me to think that some details may have changed slightly.

This person had received Okuden and also told me that, while receiving reiju霊授 (the transmission given by a teacher), they had opened their eyes slightly to watch the movements. From their description, I thought those movements were probably much the same as the reiju I know today.

This account came from a conversation I had with the person themselves, rather than from a document belonging to the Usui-kai臼井会 (the Usui association). Their recollection suggests some changes to the o-shirushi, while the movements of reiju seem to have much in common with current practice. I would like to investigate both more closely.

Tracing the earliest forms matters, as does discovering what was preserved and what changed afterward. I want to continue gathering these accounts and supporting evidence to understand how the Usui-kai survived and passed its teachings down to the present day.

To give you the detailed context, here are the historical facts and what I observed:

Usui-sensei臼井先生 had two younger brothers. The second son, Sanya粲哉 (a physician), was not involved in the Usui-kai臼井会 at all. The third son, Kuniji Usui臼井邦茲, was officially listed as the Gifu Branch Chief in the Usui-kai membership directory of that era.

The reiju-shō霊授証 I inspected is dated Shōwa 17 (1942). It bears the official seal of the Usui Reiki Ryōhō Gakkai Headquarters (宗家之印), along with Kuniji Usui’s personal signature and seal.

The mother of the man I interviewed was asked by Kuniji to take over as the next Gifu Branch Chief. However, as the date 1942 indicates, it was the height of World War II. Gifu suffered devastating air raids, and the Gifu branch building is said to have burned down. In the confusion of the post-war period, she never operated the branch publicly, but quietly offered o-teateお手当て to neighbors when asked.

The witness was only a young boy at the time. (A foreign researcher also interviewed him the year after my own interview in Gifu.)

In the Usui-kai, there are three o-shirushiお印 (in Okuden).

The witness had a remarkably sharp memory.

When he drew the o-shirushi on paper from what he had memorized in his childhood, we were genuinely surprised: the first and second o-shirushi were slightly different from the forms preserved in the Usui-kai today.

Given the clarity of his recollection, it did not seem like a memory error.

As an aside, the way kenyoku乾浴 was performed was also slightly different from how it is done today. I cannot say for certain whether this was a minor shift in his recollection, but the difference was consistent throughout our conversations.

Interestingly, contemporary offshoots such as Tomita and Eguchi make no mention of kenyoku in their literature. Even if they did not inherit the gokai五戒 (because it belonged specifically to the Usui-kai), they did inherit jōshin kokyū-hō浄心呼吸法, gasshō合掌, seiza静坐, and the o-teate techniques. Yet kenyoku is completely absent from their materials. Why this foundational cleansing practice is missing from those early offshoots remains one of my ongoing research topics.

While I cannot reveal the specific shapes of the o-shirushiお印, I can only describe them as “very similar, yet distinctly different.”

The differences in angles and subtle details of the shapes are not a matter of mistakes; they are clearly different forms. Yet, all I can say is that they resemble what we have today, while also resembling what was passed down to Hawayo Takata.

Your question is very direct, and answering it feels like walking along a path of thorns 😄

At the very least, we know that the o-shirushi existed by 1942, as evidenced by the Gifu branch certificate. Furthermore, because the o-shirushi also reached Takata-sensei, the common link connecting both transmissions is Hayashi-sensei. Since Hayashi-sensei is said to have left the Usui-kai臼井会 around Shōwa 4 or 5 (1929–1930), we can deduce that the o-shirushi already existed in the Usui-kai by that time.

However, as to whether they existed before that, during Usui-sensei’s lifetime in the Taishō era, we can make assumptions, but we cannot know for sure. Unless new historical materials surface, there is no way to verify whether the o-shirushi existed from the start, or if they did, in what form and manner they were used.

In the Usui-kai, the o-shirushi is not something mystical or sacred; it is simply a tool. Being a tool, one may use it or not use it, and we do not depend on it.

Therefore, regardless of whether the o-shirushi existed or not, o-teateお手当て existed in the early Usui-kai. Whether the o-shirushi was used in that o-teate from the beginning, what kind of o-shirushi was used, or if it wasn’t used, who created it: this is what makes the historical inquiry so fascinating to me.

Unlike in the West, there are no explicit, standardized criteria or fixed timelines.

This approach is essentially a remnant of the traditional Japanese apprenticeship system (totei seido徒弟制度).

Progression is not determined by completing a checklist; rather, the shihan師範 at the local branch carefully observe a member’s regular attendance, seriousness, and attitude during the study meetings (kenkyūkai研究会). These observations are reported to and evaluated by the central Shihan Council (shihan-kai師範会) at the headquarters, which makes the final decision.

Consequently, the time it takes varies significantly from person to person. For instance, it took Mr. Hiroshi Doi about ten years to reach the latter stage of Okuden奥伝 (Okuden Kōki), whereas in my case, it took only four years. I do not know the exact reasons for this difference, but I think my progression was on the faster side.

Historically, in the pre-war era, there was indeed a formal rule stating that a member became eligible for Okuden after ten months of membership. At that time, a “reiju-kai”霊授会 was held once a month, spanning five consecutive days with two hours of practice each day. This five-day period constituted one single reiju-kai. As members completed these reiju-kai, they rose through the grades of Shoden初伝 (advancing from 6th Grade up to 3rd Grade). Only after reaching 3rd Grade and completing ten months of membership did they qualify for Okuden.

Today, however, that ten-month rule is a thing of the past. Furthermore, these gatherings are no longer called “reiju-kai,” but are referred to as “kenkyūkai” (study meetings).

For people in Western cultures, who generally expect clear benchmarks and predictable schedules, continuing to attend meetings and practice o-teateお手当て without any defined timeline or guarantees requires great patience, and many would likely find it difficult to accept.

However, the Usui-kai臼井会 steadfastly adheres to this traditional, long-standing way of doing things.

Within the Usui-kai臼井会, there may be individual practitioners who recite the name silently in their minds or whisper it softly under their breath, but that is entirely up to the individual. However, within the Usui-kai, there is no instruction whatsoever telling members to “speak the name aloud” or to “recite it in your mind.”

In Western Reiki, there is a standardized convention of drawing a symbol and repeating its mantra three times, either aloud or silently. Traditional Usui-kai practice has no such convention or instruction. When an o-shirushiお印 is used, the practitioner simply holds its form lightly in mind or traces it very discreetly.

There is no belief that mystical power resides in the words themselves, nor that uttering them activates anything.

As for where the Western practice of speaking or repeating words came from, several historical factors can be considered.

First, it may trace back to Hawayo Takata’s pedagogical approach. Takata-sensei strictly forbade students from taking written notes or making recordings, relying entirely on oral instruction and memorization. To ensure students memorized the forms and designations, having them repeat the names aloud was a practical mnemonic tool. Over time, this learning method may have become formalized into an indispensable ritual requirement.

Second, as Reiki spread in the West, it was absorbed into the New Age movement, heavily influenced by Indian philosophy, Tibetan Buddhism, and Theosophy. In those traditions, visual forms (yantras) and sacred sounds (mantras) are naturally paired. Western practitioners likely interpreted the shape and name of the o-shirushi through this familiar framework, recasting them as “symbols and mantras.”

Finally, as seen in Koyama-sensei’s notes, where she used the word “jumon”呪文 (incantation) as an everyday metaphor for the third o-shirushi, colloquial Japanese expressions may have been taken literally by outsiders, reinforcing the misunderstanding that spoken words were involved.

In the original Usui-kai tradition, there is no concept of producing results through spoken words. The core practice remains quiet, unadorned o-teateお手当て without unnecessary verbalization.

That is a very sharp and perceptive observation. As you noted, while the first and second o-shirushiお印 are graphical shapes, the third o-shirushi consists of meaningful characters (kanji), making it distinctly something that can be read.

Furthermore, in actual practice, the third o-shirushi is not only utilized in remote healing, but is also specifically incorporated into the procedure of reiju霊授 itself.

In that sense, it is given a distinct treatment compared to the other o-shirushi.

To sum up: because it is expressed in readable characters, and because it serves as an essential tool used not only for remote practice but also within reiju, practitioners may quietly call upon or hold its name in mind during such moments. I surmise that Koyama-sensei simply used the familiar word “jumon”呪文 (incantation) as an everyday metaphor to describe this inner focus.

This is, of course, strictly my personal conjecture. It was never intended in an occult sense, as if uttering magical words produced supernatural results, but was rather an unadorned figure of speech to convey a practical procedure and mental focus without relying on complex doctrine.

It is true that there is no fourth o-shirushiお印 in the Usui-kai臼井会. As far back as the evidence reaches, there have been three o-shirushi, and “Dai Kōmyō”大光明 is never treated as a symbol.

Furthermore, regarding the word “kōmyō,” it does not hold any special or exclusive doctrinal status within the teachings of the Usui-kai.

For Japanese people, “kōmyō” (bright light or illumination) is simply a word used occasionally when encountering Buddhist or Shinto concepts, or within that broader cultural background. It is merely an ordinary, traditional expression naturally used to convey ideas such as clearing the mind or bringing light into darkness.

The presence of “kōmyō” in the Usui-kai is strictly limited to that level. It was never systematized as a secret teaching or a unique, profound philosophy exclusive to the association; it does not go beyond the standard vocabulary historically used by Japanese people.

In Western Reiki, “Dai Kōmyō” came to be treated as a thing in itself, a supreme symbol with its own special energy, and as a central teaching. However, within the original Usui-kai, no such special status or mystification exists at all.

As always, your questions are exceptionally sharp and insightful, which makes it very easy for me to respond. Through your questions, what I wanted to say, what I know, and thoughts that were not yet fully organized in my mind have become clearly structured, allowing me to formulate this response. That is precisely why I truly enjoy our interviews.

Whatever lineage a practitioner comes from, the single most important thing I would like them to understand is that the o-shirushiお印 are merely tools for the sake of o-teateお手当て.

The essence of traditional Reiki has always been simple and unadorned o-teate (hands-on practice), and this foundation has remained unchanged since the era of Usui-sensei臼井先生.

The reason I have highlighted figures like Toshihiro Eguchi and Kaiji Tomita and shared their work is that I wanted people to understand the various forms of mental and personal cultivation (seishin shūyō精神修養) that were undertaken in that era specifically to support o-teate. Through daily self-cultivation one puts one’s own mind and body in order, and pours the Reiki heightened by this into o-teate. This fundamental approach, cultivating oneself to practice o-teate, was completely identical whether for Usui-sensei, Eguchi, or Tomita.

The o-shirushi are merely auxiliary tools utilized when helpful in that process.

Ultimately, reaching the state where one no longer relies on the o-shirushi, and quietly places one’s bare hands on the body without them, may very well be the ideal form of practice.