The Kurama Mountains —
where tengu and fire dwell.

Not a Mountain — a Range

Most Reiki books in the West speak of "Mount Kurama," where Mikao Usui attained his awakening. That sounds like a single peak. In reality, 鞍馬 Kurama is a whole mountain range — several mountains and valleys, connected by saddle paths. The word itself means "horse saddle": between the peaks the land dips only slightly, like a saddle. You move from peak to peak without descending deep into a valley.

Japanese does not distinguish singular and plural. 鞍馬山 Kurama-yama can mean "mountain" or "mountains." Western translators chose the singular. And so the image of a single mountain took hold and stuck. In truth Usui did not meditate on one mountain. He moved through a range — with several meditation places, waterfalls, and ascetic sites.

The Kurama mountains lie in the north of Kyoto prefecture, about twelve kilometres from the imperial palace. The highest peak rises to around 570 metres. Today you can take the train to the foot of the range. In Usui's time it was very different — the way was hard and remote.

A Place You Do Not Enter Lightly

In the Sarashina Nikki, a Japanese diary from the early 11th century, we read: "Kurama is so overgrown that even if you decide to go there on pilgrimage, fear will stop you from setting out."

The Kurama mountains have always been known as a place teeming with uncanny spirits. Tengu — the long-nosed forest beings of Japanese mythology — are said to like hanging monks and ascetics from the trees here. But the mystical dangers are not the only ones. To this day signs in Japanese stand along the trail urging hikers not to go deeper into the forest — because of the Japanese black bears.

About once a year a Japanese newspaper reports that someone tried to feed the bears with honey and the bear was so delighted it took the donor's arm with it. And whoever flees from a bear had better watch out not to step on a mamushi — a Japanese venomous snake with a pretty yellow-and-black pattern. Anyone bitten does not have much time to get back to Kyoto.

Why Usui Went Specifically to Kurama

After Mikao Usui had spent a long time trying to decipher the meaning and use of the symbols he had found in old Buddhist and Shinto texts, he set off for three weeks into the Kurama mountains. There he meditated at various places and carried out ascetic practices.

Japan has many sacred mountains. Why did Usui choose this remote place? Because for centuries the Kurama range had been known as a place where people experienced spiritual breakthroughs. The energies of this site of power were known. And there were countless places for ascetic practice — waterfalls, caves, shrines under ancient trees.

The exact spot where Usui received his initiation into the Reiki force was most likely at the foot of a sacred sugi tree — a Japanese natural heritage — near the Yoshitsune shrine. There he performed his morning-star meditation. The morning star here means Venus. From there came the light he later described.

Awakening Has a Tradition Here

Mikao Usui was not the first to have a transforming experience in the Kurama mountains. In 770 the monk Kantei — closest companion of the famous Ganjin — was led by a white horse up Kurama. There he had a vision: he received a spiritual energy transmission from Maoson and was illuminated by Bishamonten. That was the reason to found a temple there.

Only 26 years later, in 796, the architect Fujiwara Isendo had a similar experience on the same mountain — this time with the thousand-armed Senju Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion. He extended the temple with new buildings and a pagoda.

It is very likely Mikao Usui knew of these stories — and chose the Kurama mountains for that very reason. Something had already happened here. The ground was prepared.

The Three Spirits of Kurama — Love, Light, Life Force

Because of these mystical experiences in the 8th century, three spirits are venerated as a trinity in the Kurama temple. Together they are called 尊天 Sonten — the venerable heavenly beings. They stand for three qualities that recall the foundation of Reiki:

Love, light, and life force — these are no abstract terms in the Kurama temple. According to tradition they are the three forces that bring every living being to life. And they are directly tied to the Reiki symbols: the Siddham of Senju Kannon is the precursor of the mental healing symbol. The pagoda of Bishamonten is the precursor of the distance symbol. And Maoson's life force is Reiki itself — the spiritual life energy. This very force is called by Cho Ku Rei: the first Reiki symbol, which activates and summons the spiritual energy. Cho Ku Rei means, in essence, "may the power of the spirit come here" — and this spirit is Maoson with his life force.

Fire, Typhoons, and the Vulnerability of Sacred Places

The original buildings of the Kurama temple were destroyed by fire in 1126. In 1236 the temple burned again. In 1945 — during the annual Hi Matsuri fire festival — sparks from the giant torches carried by several people at once jumped to the old buildings. They burned to the ground. The current main hall dates only from 1971.

That means: Mikao Usui in 1922 saw very different temple buildings than today's visitors.

In September 2018 a devastating typhoon ravaged the Kurama mountains. It tore swaths hundreds of metres long through the forest. Mark Hosak was on site in May 2019 and saw the scale of the destruction himself. Fortunately the Kurama temple itself remained largely intact. But the small shrine before the sacred sugi tree — most likely the place of Usui's initiation — was destroyed. So too was an old dragon power site with a pond.

The spirits are still there. And astonishingly much of the power is preserved. But the old buildings and power sites from Usui's lifetime are gone. The Kurama range as place of power, however, remains. And anyone who comes there can feel the mystical presence of this place.

Yoshitsune and the Tengu — Martial Art Among the Roots

The most famous story of Kurama concerns a child named Yoshitsune. In the 12th century, power struggles raged between the samurai families Taira and Minamoto. The Taira had wiped out the leading men of the Minamoto — but spared the children. The young Yoshitsune was sent to the Kurama temple. He was meant to become a monk there, far from the events. His true origin was kept from him.

But Yoshitsune had a great need for freedom. Day after day he slipped out of the temple into the forest. There — so the legend says — a long-nosed tengu taught him Japanese swordsmanship. In reality it was the Ninja, who had their training grounds in the deeper parts of the Kurama range. Japanese historiography prefers to credit the tengu with what was actually done by the Ninja.

The place in the forest where Yoshitsune perfected his footwork among the tree roots can still be seen today. The roots there grow above the earth — a natural obstacle terrain. And in that very area, near the present-day Yoshitsune shrine, was also the place where Mikao Usui was initiated into Reiki.

Shingon, Tendai, and Esoteric Buddhism at Kurama

Over the centuries the Buddhist school of the Kurama temple changed several times. Between 889 and 1113 — for over 200 years — it belonged to the Shingon school founded by Kūkai. For two centuries Shingon rituals shaped the power of this temple and its surroundings. After that it shifted to the Tendai school, another tradition of esoteric Buddhism in Japan.

Both schools — Shingon and Tendai — belong to the secret teachings of esoteric Buddhism. Mark's research shows that precisely these secret teachings, especially those of the Shingon school, flowed into the practice of Usui Reiki. The Reiki symbols carry the traces of this tradition.

Since 1949 the temple has belonged to the Kurama Kōkyō school — a branch of the esoteric Tendai tradition founded precisely because of the illuminating experiences of countless pilgrims. One of those pilgrims was Mikao Usui.

What Kurama Means for Shingon Reiki

In the Kurama Kōkyō school it is said that the hard ascent of Kurama mirrors the search for awakening. And the descent is like a bodhisattva returning to the world to help all beings.

Doesn't that remind you of Mikao Usui? He climbs up. Meditates three weeks. Receives the Reiki force. And returns to bring good into the world. In this sense, all who practise Reiki and strive to do good to the beings of this world are also bodhisattvas — beginning with Usui.

The Kurama range is no museum. It is a living place of power. The spirits are there. The energy is there. And whoever understands the connection between Shingon Reiki and this place understands why this practice reaches deeper than any Western Reiki variant: it is rooted in a mountain range that has been changing people for over a thousand years.