Usui Sensei Birthplace Memorial

by William Lee Rand

Taniai is the birthplace of Usui Sensei, the founder of Usui Reiki Ryoho. It is a small village in the town of Yamagata in the Gifu Prefecture of Japan. At the Tenyo shrine in the village, there is a Torii gate. On one leg of the gate, there is an inscription which states that Mikao Usui donated this gate in 1923. However, until recently, there was nothing in the village commemorating Usui Sensei and the important work he did in the establishment of Usui Reiki Ryoho.

In August 2018, after collecting donations from many people and groups, Hiroshi Doi Sensei created a beautiful monument to honor Usui Sensei and the great work he did. The monument is located just outside the Tenyo shrine. It consists of three stones inscribed with Japanese Kanji.

On September 23rd, a gathering at the monument led by Hiroshi Doi Sensei took place. A ceremony was conducted to dedicate the monument. In attendance were many of the local government officials including the Mayor of Yamagata and others who are part of the Gendai Reiki organization. I feel grateful that I was invited to attend the ceremony. It is also fortunate that I happened to be close-by in Kurama, Japan teaching Reiki classes and that the day of the ceremony was my day off between classes. Here are a few photos from the event.

Translation of the text on each stone
The large tan colored stone in the middle says: Usui Mikao Birthplace.

The stone in the back contains the names of all those who donated the money to pay for the monument.

The translation of the text on the left stone says the following: Mikao Usui Sensei was born in Taniai, Gifu, in 1865. During his quest for Anshin Ritsumei on Mt. Kurama, he attained Oneness with the Universe and obtained the ultimate healing ability. He established Usui Reiki Ryoho, and it has quickly spread to the world as Reiki Do for health and happiness. The monument established in the birthplace of Mikao Usui Sensei was made with Kurama Stone found only at Mt. Kurama.

Reiki practitioners will remember Taniai in the Gifu city as his birthplace, Mt. Kurama as his training place, and Saihoji Temple in Tokyo as his resting place.
To celebrate his birth on August 15th, 2018
Hiroshi Doi, Originator
Gendai Reiki Ho Founder

This stone which is in the back contains the names of the people and organizations that donated the money to build the monument.

These are many of the people who attended the ceremony including Hiroshi Doi Sensei and his wife, Harumi, William Lee Rand, the mayor of Yamagata and a Shinto priest.

Officials are sitting in front of the monument waiting for the ceremony to start.

The front of the Tenyo shrine with the Torii archway.

One of the poles of the Torii archway toward the front of the Tenyo Shrine in Taniai. The text says that Usui Sensei along with his two brothers, Kuniji and Sanya donated this Torii to the shrine in 1923.

A luncheon took place after the ceremony. These are some of the officials including Hiroshi Doi Sensei and William Lee Rand.