The person responsible for introducing Reiki to the western world was Mrs. Hawayo Takata, a Hawaiian-born American citizen of Japanese parentage. Having been cured of an illness by Reiki while visiting Japan in 1935,

Hawayo Takata herself underwent Reiki training both first and second degrees from retired Naval Officer and Doctor, Chujiro Hayashi, before returning to Hawaii in 1937 where she set up her own Reiki practice.

In 1938 Hawayo Takata received her certification from Chujiro Hayashi as a Master of the Usui Reiki system of healing, and with it, the authorisation to teach the art of Reiki to others.

It was in the early 1970′s that Hawayo Takata brought Reiki to mainland America. In a relatively short time, the gentle healing art of Reiki or Usui Shiki Ryoho (Usui Style Healing Method) as Takata-Sensei called it became very popular, with numerous people seeking treatment and also seeking to learn the art for themselves.

While over the years she had trained numerous students, it was not till 1976 that Hawayo Takata conferred the first Reiki master certification on one of her students. Virginia Samdahl is formally recognised as being the first of 22 people who would eventually receive certification as a master of the Reiki system from Hawayo Takata before her death in 1980. However some sources now suggest that one of Takatas own sisters, Kay Yamashita, was the first person on whom Takata actually conferred Reiki mastership.