August 1865:  Born in Taniai-mura, Yamagata-gun, Gifu-ken (presently Taniai, Miyama-cho, Yamagata-gun)

Usui Sensei left his hometown as a youth.  While supporting himself, he traveled to Europe and China several times to study.

He took up many occupations.  He worked as a civil servant, office clerk, businessman, journalist, secretary to a politician, Shinto missionary, and prison chaplain in order to widen his horizons and deepen his knowledge in many fields.

Before long he started to seek the purpose of life.  After years of training, he attained the first stage of Enlightenment, which was the understanding that the ultimate purpose of life is to attain Anshin Ritsumei - spiritual peace and the ultimate Enlightenment.

He studied Zen, seeking the way to attain the state of Anshin Ritsumei.  After about three years of Zazen training in Kyoto, he was still not able to attain the state of the ultimate Enlightenment.

March 1922:  With the conviction that without attaining the ultimate Enlightenment his life was over, Usui Sensei started fasting at Mount Kurama.

At midnight on the twenty-first day, a powerful cosmic Reiki penetrated his crown, resonating with his internal Reiki.  Having attained oneness with the universe, his quest for the ultimate Enlightenment was complete.

As he descended Mount Kurama to have a drink from a stream, he stumbled on a root of a tree and tore his toe nail.  When he placed his hand over it, the cure was immediate.  At the foot of the mountain, a tea-house waitress was suffering from a toothache.  Again the cure was immediate when he placed his hand, and he realized that he had acquired a healing ability.

April 1922:  Usui Sensei named his newly acquired ability Usui Reiki Ryoho, and decided to share it with as many people as possible.  He established the Gokai - The Five Precepts - and the method of instruction, and he founded Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai in Harajuku, Tokyo.

September 1923:   The Great Kanto Earthquake:  104,000 dead or missing; 460,000 houses destroyed; 690,000 refugees.  Usui Sensei and his students made rounds of the city to care for the victims.

February 1925:  With the expansion of his activities, the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai headquarters was moved to Nakano.

Invitations came in from all parts of Japan, prompting him to offer treatment and instruction in various places.

March 1926:  After traveling through Kure, Hiroshima and Saga, Usui Sensei met with an untimely death.  He was 62 years old.