, a disciple of Mikao Usui, played a major role in the transmission of Reiki out of Japan. Hayashi was a naval physician and employed Reiki to treat his patients. He began studying with Usui in the early 1920s. He made his branch, Hayashi Reiki Kenkyu-kai in Tokyo, Shinano-machi while his master Usui was still alive, and has kept the way of Usui's teaching. Hayashi initiated and trained Hawayo Takata and helped her bring Reiki to Hawaii. He also trained Chiyoko Yamaguchi, the founder of Jikiden Reiki. In 1940, Hayashi committed seppuku, a Japanese form of ritual suicide. Life Chujiro Hayashi was born in Tokyo on September 15, 1880. Having graduated from the 30th class at the Japan Naval Academy in 1902, he served in a port-patrolling division in the Russo-Japanese War from February 4 of that year until a peace treaty concluded the War on September 5, 1906. In 1918 he became a Director of Ominato Port Defence Station where Kanichi Taketomi (later to become the 3rd chairman of Usui Ryoho Gakkai) was the Chief of Staff. "Ominato" was a port located at the foot of Mt Osore, Shimokita Peninsula in Aomori, in the North of Japan. At that time, defense ports were regarded as the second most important ports after Naval Base ports. Hayashi had a wife and two children. His wife, Chie, was born in 1887 and married him after she graduated from Shizuoka Women's High School. Their first child, Tadayoshi, was born in 1903 and majored in economics at Keio University. Kiyoe, their second child, was born 7 years later and she went on to study at the same school as her mother. Activities In the beginning of the 1920s Hayashi became a student of Mikao Usui, the founder of Reiki. Being a physician, he soon became one of Usui's prominent students in the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai. Later on he became instrumental in the worldwide spread of Reiki. In 1925 Hayashi became a Shihan, and on January 16, 1926, he became a senior teacher and a board member of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai. After Mikao Usui's death, around 1927–1928, Hayashi separated from the original group and founded the Hayashi Reiki Kenkyukai. In 1935, his institute was registered at 28 Higashi-shinano-cho, Yotsuya, Tokyo, now known as 27 Shinano-cho, Shinjuku ward, Tokyo. Here he employed 20 Reiki practitioners who worked on ten massage tables, two practitioners