This project launched to the public on May 15, 2022 and is available completely free of charge in eight languages at Reiki: The Grey Book.

Reiki Centers of America, in partnership with the Office of the Grand Master, and the Estate of Phyllis Lei Furumoto, is thrilled to announce the 2022 release of an exact replica edition of the book Reiki, often referred to as the Grey Book. With painstaking attention to detail, this limited edition is printed on the same paper in the exact scale as the original 100 copies published in 1982.

As a gift to the Reiki community worldwide, we have built a publicly available website in English and seven other languages containing all the contents of the book. To help readers contextualize Reiki, the website includes essays from historian Dr. Justin Stein, Paul Mitchell, Susan Mitchell, Johannes Reindl, Joyce Winnough, and Brian Brunius.

Photo of Brian Brunius holding an original 1982 Reiki “Grey Book”
Brian Brunius is holding an original 1982 Reiki “Grey Book”

Following the death of her mother Hawayo Takata, Alice Takata Furumoto printed just 100 copies of the Grey Book in 1982. Twenty of these were signed by Alice, stamped with three Japanese hanko seals in cinnabar red, and gifted to Reiki Masters initiated and recognized by Takata. It’s title, Reiki, comes from the cover, which bears only two Japanese characters for rei and ki. It’s nickname, the Grey Book, is from the grey paper on which the cover was printed.

The book includes several pages from Takata’s diaries during the time she was studying Reiki under her teacher Chujiro Hayashi. It reproduces the Hayashi Reiki Therapy Guide, printed for distribution in Hawaii and the America.  Now for the first time, Hayashi’s manual has been translated from Japanese to English as well as seven other languages. Takata’s “The Art of Healing” essay, previously available in the Blue Book to members of The Reiki Alliance, is now printed in its entirety. Photos of Usui, Hayashi, and Takata are included, Takata’s Reiki Master certificate, and a list Masters initiated by Hawayo Takata of whom Alice was aware. The final page of the Grey Book is a dedication page, signed and sealed by Alice.

This replica edition was made from the copy owned by Phyllis Lei Furumoto, and includes the signature of Alice and the three red seals she stamped on the page. For most, even those who have seen a Grey Book before, this will be something remarkable to behold.

The release date for the book and web site was May 15, 2022. See Reiki: The Grey Book.