Echoes in the Mountains: Locating Usui’s Experience in the History of Japanese Mountain Asceticism
USUI Mikao臼井甕男 (1865–1926) is celebrated as the founder of Reiki. While the story of his reception of reiki 霊気 (literally, “numinous energy”) is well-known, practitioners may be less aware of its resonance with Japan’s long history of mountain asceticism. Over a thousand years ago, religious itinerants began secluding themselves in the mountains in order to acquire special powers.
