Reiki Blog

Kurama-dera Temple is located on Mount Kurama in northern Kyoto, Japan, and has a long and distinguished history. According to the "Origins of Kurama Temple", in AD 770, the disciple of monk Ganjin - Ganchō, being recued by Bishamonten and subsequently built a simple hermitage dedicated to Bishamonten.

In AD 796, Fujiwara no Isendo, who was then Director overseeing the construction of Tō-ji Temple, originally intended to build a temple dedicated to Kannon Bodhisattva. However, he received a revelation in a dream stating, “The Bodhisattva and Bishamonten are one and the same.” He therefore began the construction of Kurama-dera and made a new statue of the Senju Kannon to be enshrined alongside Bishamonten.

When Kurama-dera was first established, it belonged to the Risshū school of Buddhism. As the Tendai school grew in influence in Japan, the temple gradually incorporated elements of Tendai hokke, Taimitsu, and Tendai Pure Land Buddhism.

Even before the temple was founded, Mount Kurama had long been regarded as a sacred place for the spiritual practices of ancient Shinto, Onmyōdō, and Shugendō. This broad and inclusive spirit, transcending sectarian boundaries, has therefore become an important part of Kurama-dera’s religious tradition.

Amataka-jinja was founded in 1652 and is the local shrine in Taniai, Yamagata, Gifu Prefecture - the birthplace of Usui Sensei. Although Usui Sensei left his hometown at a young age to pursue his studies and career, and never returned afterward, after achieving success with the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai, he and his two younger brothers jointly donated a large stone gate to the shrine in 1923.

In 2018, led by Hiroshi Doi Sensei, founder of Gendai Reiki Ho, donations from over 1,000 Reiki practitioners worldwide were gathered to build a stone monument commemorating Master Usui’s birthplace. The monument was specially crafted from Kurama stone sourced from Mount Kurama. Within the shrine grounds stands a 450-year-old cedar tree over 40 meters tall, it is said to have been planted 100 years before the shrine was built, this sacred tree has long stood as a guardian of the shrine.

The three pilgrimage sites of Reiki are the well-known “Place of Enlightenment: Mount Kurama in Kyoto”, the “Birthplace: Taniai, Yamagata, Gifu” and the resting place of Usui Sensei - the “Place of Eternal Rest: Saiho-ji in Tokyo”. After Usui Sensei passed away from in 1926, he was laid to rest at Saiho-ji in Suginami, Tokyo. Beside his grave stands the Usui Memorial Monument, erected by Jūzaburō Ushida, the second president of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai, together with other members. Its inscription records Usui Sensei’s life, receiving Reiki on Mount Kurama and the spiritual teachings of Reiki.

Usui Sensei believed that Reiki was not merely a method for treating illness. It is a path for cultivating one’s character and virtue and strengthening the body to achieve a happy and fulfilling life. He therefore taught his students to recite the Reiki Principles every morning and evening. He emphasised that Reiki practice begins within the mind and through daily life. Its approach is simple and can be practised by anyone.