22 студента Хавайо Такаты

В статье приведены данные о тех 22 студентах, которым передала рейки Хавайо Таката, одна из учениц Микао Усуи. О Филис Фурумото в том числе. На английском языке.

• George Araki
• Dorothy Baba
• Ursula Baylow
• Rick Bockner
• Patricia Bowling
• Barbara Brown
• Fran Brown
• Phyllis Lei Furumoto
• Beth Gray
• John Harvey Gray
• Iris Ishikuro
• Harry M. Kuboi
• Ethel Lombardi
• Barbara Lincoln McCullough
• Mary Alexandra McFadyen
• Paul Mitchell
• Bethal Phaigh
• Shinobu Saito
• Virginia W. Samdahl
• Wanja Twan
• Barbara Weber
• Kay Yamashita

George Araki

Made his transition June 29, 2006 at the age of 74. George Araki and Paul Mitchell were initiated at the same time in November of 1979 at Paul's house in San Francisco while Fran Brown waited in another room for Takata to do it. (The previous information was given to me by Fran Brown.) George Araki must have been initiated into the Master level in 1979 since Paul Mitchell states in a pamphlet, which he wrote for the Reiki Alliance, that he was initiated into the Master level in 1979. George Araki was head of the department for alternative healing at San Francisco State University when he became a master. George became a master in order to do a study with Reiki. However, it was too difficult to set up the protocol. George only taught Reiki a few times. He sent his students and others to learn from Fran Brown and Shinobu Saito. (The previous information was given to me by Fran Brown and Shinobu Saito.) You may click here to view a web page put up by the San Francisco State University announcing George Araki's retirement - this also has a picture of George. Another page here has some information on George Araki as well (also put up by the San Francisco State University). You can see a brief summary and a picture of George here (also put up by the San Francisco State University).

Dorothy Baba

Deceased. Dorothy Baba was a social worker who lived in Stockton. She became a master around the time John Harvey Gray did. (The previous information was given to me by Fran Brown).

Ursula Baylow

The following information comes directly from Ursula's daughter and from the book Early days of Reiki: Memories of Hawayo Takata compiled by Anneli Twan. (See my Reiki Books page for more details.). "Ursula Baylow was trained in first, second levels by Hawayo Takata in the mid-1970's (note: she took Reiki 1 in 1976 in Summerland, BC along with Barbara Brown), and became a Reiki Master in the late 1970s (October, 1979). Mrs. Takata stayed at Ursula's home in Penticton BC Canada when she was teaching in that area in 1977. The photo on the cover of Living Reiki (by Fran Brown) was taken in their garden by Ursula's husband, Gunter Baylow. Ursula Baylow practiced Reiki and reflexology from around 1976 until 1989 (at age 77). She saw about 20-24 clients a week, and many came every week, experiencing great improvement with various health problems. After a stroke in 1989, Ursula was no longer able to treat clients, but continued to share her healing with family and friends. Ursula Baylow died of a heart attack in her sleep, peacefully, at age 85, on October 21, 1996. She experienced Reiki as one of the most meaningful aspects of her life, and used it in her daily life at every opportunity. She lived the Reiki principles. Many of her clients viewed her as a healer, with great improvement in serious and chronic conditions."

Rick Bockner

I received an e-mail from him telling me the dates on his certificates, they are as follows: 1st degree dated Oct 10, l979, 2nd degree dated Oct. 20, 1979, and "advanced" (Master) degree Oct. 12, 1980. He arranged a large class of 44 or so with Hawayo Takata at the Grey Creek Hall in B.C. It was Thanksgiving weekend and they had a large potluck following the class. His actual initiation was done a few days later at Bethal Phaigh's cabin in the Slocan Valley. He also stated that he and Paul Mitchell were initiated into the Master level around the same time. I believe he was the last master that Takata initiated as this is what Wanja Twan states in an German article written by Reiki Magazine. He is currently a member of the Reiki Alliance.

Patricia Bowling

Later got married and changed her name to Patricia Ewing.

Barbara Brown

Barbara took Reiki 1 in 1976 in Summerland, BC along with Ursula Baylow. Initiated into the Master level on October 12th, 1979 in Cherryville, BC, Canada along with Wanja Twan and Bethal Phaigh. The dates of her training are found in the book Early days of Reiki: Memories of Hawayo Takata compiled by Anneli Twan. (See my Reiki Books page for more details.) Barbara Brown made her transition on Easter Sunday - 4/23/00. She was approximately 85 years old. (The information I have on her age comes from a quote she made in 1999 stating, "I am 84 and still traveling.")

Fran Brown

In 1973 she met Hawayo Takata in San Francisco. In January of 1979 she became the 7th Master initiated by Hawayo Takata. Her Master initiation took place in Keosauqua, Iowa. She obtained her First Degree on June 3, 1973 from Hawayo Takata. She then took her Second Degree training from John Harvey Gray in 1976. Hawayo Takata confirmed her second degree training by giving her a certificate during her master's training after they taught a second degree class together (the certificate is dated January 11, 1979). She completed her Masters training on January 15, 1979. She was a member of the Reiki Alliance and has published a book entitled: Living Reiki: Takata's Teachings. (See my Reiki Books page for a review.) In Japan, she was recognized as teaching authentic Hayashi method as taught to Takata. Fran made her transition on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2009.

I am glad to have had the priviledge of studying with her! :D

• Contact information:
• Reiki Center for Healing Arts 1764 Hamlet St.
• San Mateo, CA 94403
• Web sites: http://www.reikifranbrown.com
• Home page: home.pacbell.net/revfranb

Phyllis Lei Furumoto

Her Master level initiation was in April of 1979 in Keosauqua, Iowa. Grandmaster of the Reiki Alliance. The following is quoted from The Reiki Alliance's page at: http://www.usuireiki-ogm.com/mastery_p.html

"Phyllis Lei Furumoto, Mrs. Takata's granddaughter, grew up in the Midwest of the United States. Initiated into Reiki at an early age, it was her duty to treat her grandmother when she came to visit the family. Her conscious journey with the Usui System of Reiki Healing, Usui Shiki Ryoho, did not begin until many years later. After studying psychology at college, Phyllis worked in a psychiatric hospital and later as a university administrator. At the age of thirty, she decided it was time to dedicate her life to a meaningful purpose and accepted an invitation to travel and work with her grandmother. She was initiated as a master at the start of their trip in April 1979. For the next year and-a-half Phyllis apprenticed with her grandmother, as Takata gave treatments, taught first and second degree classes, and trained and initiated masters."

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Rev. Beth Gray

Beth died on May 13th, 2008. Initiated by Takata into 1st degree on June 12th, 1974, 2nd degree on February 1st, 1975, and into the Master level on October 28th, 1979 in Woodside, California. You may click here to view Beth's certificates. (Photographs of Beth and her certificates courtesy of Beth's daughter, Kathelin Gray.)  Beth Gray may have first been initiated by John Harvey Gray into the Master level sometime previous to this according to Fran Brown. Beth Gray was responsible for bringing Reiki to Australia. Beth also founded the first and largest full-time Reiki healing center in the United States. She had a stroke around 1993 and as a result was paralyzed and could not speak very well. She stopped teaching Reiki as a result. (Beth Gray and John Harvey Gray were once, but are no longer married to each other.)

Beth initiated only 2 masters in her lifetime. They are Barbara McGregor in Sydney and Denise Crundall (who made her transition on June 30, 2002) in Melbourne. Both were Australians. (The information about Beth's two master students was given to me by Amy Rowland - author of Traditional Reiki for Our Times.) More about Beth Gray can be found on a tribute page dedicated to her.

John Harvey Gray

Initiated into 1st degree on June 12th, 1974. Initiated into the Master level on October 6th, 1976 in Woodside, Califonia. He was the 3rd Reiki Master initiated by Hawayo Takata. Click here to see a letter written by Hawayo Takata around 1977 to some of her students stating the 3 Reiki Masters she had trained. John gave me a copy of this letter during my training with him. John Harvey Gray is the longest practicing and teaching Reiki Master in the west. John has taught over 700 Reiki classes. His web site it at: http://www.mv.com/ipusers/reiki/index.html (Beth Gray and John Harvey Gray were once, but are no longer married to each other.)

John and his wife, Lourdes, have written a book entitled, Hand to Hand: The Longest-Practicing Reiki Master Tells His Story. Two formats of the book exist: paperback and hardcover.

I am glad to have had the priviledge of studying with him! :D

• Contact Information: 15 Dolly Lane
• Rindge, NH
• 03461
• phone: 1-603-899-3288
• fax: 1-603-899-6011

Iris Ishikuro

Deceased as of 1984. She was the 10th Master initiated by Hawayo Takata. She was told by Hawayo Takata to only train 3 people at the Master level. Iris trained only 2 people at the Master level though, her daughter and Arthur Robertson (her husband refused the training). Iris taught Reiki I and II together and asked Arthur to do the same. (All of this was told to me by Arthur Robertson.)

Iris Ishikuro was not related to Hawayo Takata. This was told to me by Iris' daughter. She also told me that Arthur made lots of changes to the Reiki system.

Arthur Robertson first studied Reiki in 1975 with Virginia Samdahl. Then he trained for two years with Iris Ishikuro and her many Japanese friends. Iris was trained by Hawayo Takata at the fee of $10,000 and she asked Arthur 15 years ago (around 1983) never to charge the $10,000 fee, but to make it more affordable to people of sincere aspiration who could not afford $10,000. Arthur charged $600 for Reiki Master level training. However, one was required to also buy three Antahkarana units (to be placed under your Reiki table) at the price of $1,095.00. Arthur claims that Iris and Hawayo Takata used the Antahkarana boards (which he would sell on his web site). However, when I checked with other master students of Takata, they denied that Takata used "Antahkarana boards". So the total price for the training really was $1,695.00. (All of this was told to me by Dr. Arthur Robertson.) Arthur Robertson was responsible for adding the Kanji Hand mudras, the Johrei symbols, and "Breathing" (fire dragon breath and contracting technique) that are taught in some Reiki classes. When I discussed this with Arthur Robertson he denied this. However, I have a Raku-Kei manual with his signature on it and with a "Copyright 1983-Omega Dawn Sanctuary of Healing Arts" with all this information in it. Omega Dawn Sanctuary was Arthur's organization and Raku-Kei was the name of his Reiki system. I believe towards the end of Arthur's life he stopped teaching most of the added on information. However, he did keep using Antahkarana units in his teachings. He was the founder of the American Reiki Master Association as well as the system called Raku-Kei. Arthur worked on Virginia Samdahl, who was a chronic smoker, towards the end of her life. This was told to me by Arthur Robertson. Arthur Robertson died on Monday March 5, 2001.

• American Reiki Master Association
• Omega Dawn Sanctuary of the Healing Arts
• PO Box 130
• Lake City, FL 32056-0130
• Phone/Fax (904) 755-9638
• Email: Адрес электронной почты защищен от спам-ботов. Для просмотра адреса в браузере должен быть включен Javascript.
• Web site: http://www.atlantic.net/~arma/

Harry M. Kuboi

Harry Kuboi told me that he has retired from teaching Reiki (4/6/02). He was the 6th Reiki Master initiated by Hawayo Takata. He took his 1st degree Reiki training in 1974 and was initiated into the Master level in April of 1977. (In 1976, Takata offered Harry the chance to become a Reiki Master, but he waited a year to decide if this was what he wanted to do.) He has written 2 books on Reiki, All of Reiki Book One and All of Reiki Book Two, and has promised to write a third book. (I talked to him on 4/6/02 and he said he is still working on the third book. He stated that most, if not all, will be about these different entities that are living on other planets, which are causing the diseases here on earth like AIDS and Cancer.) Both in a letter I received from him and from our phone conversation he states that 99% of people who learn Reiki have "negative" Reiki. I questioned him about this statement, and he explained this phenomenon as follows: When being attuned from a master, the energy should enter your solar plexus and then travel up to your shoulders and then out your hands. However, most people are being attuned where the energy enters the hands and travels down the body and exits the perineum (Hui Yin) - therefore it is negative. (I do not know if he is implying that people are sucking energy out of the person they are working on or just that the energy is not flowing in the right direction.) Harry Kuboi does not teach Reiki anymore, but instead does a lot of exorcisms, including making people's "negative" Reiki positive. He gave me the name of his master student, which was Judy C. Lau. Judy has changed her name to Judy C. Byrd and you can reach her at:

• Reiki Natural Healing
• 1023 Kapahulu Ave.
• Honolulu, Hawaii 96816
• Cell: (808)358-5185
• reikinaturalhealing @yahoo.com

Harry Kuboi also told me that Barbara Weber wrote him a letter stating that if he wanted to be a certified Reiki Master that he would have to train with her and pay several thousand dollars. (This is dealing with the fact that Barbara Weber claims that Hawayo Takata secretly taught her 7 levels of Reiki.) This of course was an insult to Harry Kuboi, after all, he had been a Reiki Master before Barbara Weber even took a Reiki class. In another letter I have from him, he states that in 1985, after about 2 months of channeling, Eitoku (Mikao Usui) came down during one of his channelings and gave him the title of "Reiki Master of Masters". He also stated that he can not teach other people Reiki exocism because this requires the ability "to channel with father in the spirit world". At one time he told me that he could train me to the master level for $10,000 after doing a Reiki exorcism on me to make my Reiki positive. However, I would not be allowed to train others to Reiki master. He has recently given me permission to publish his phone number. To order his books, you may call him at 808-737-3901. Keep in mind that he lives in Honolulu when you call him, so remember the time difference!

Ethel Lombardi

She was the 2nd Reiki Master to be initiated by Hawayo Takata. She received her Master level attunement in 1976. She ended up creating a new healing system called Mari-El. Mari represents Mary, Mother of Christ, and El one of the names of God. It is believed that the Mari-El system of healing is no longer being taught. Click here to see a letter written by Hawayo Takata around 1977 to some of her students stating the 3 Reiki Masters she had trained.

After Ethel stopped teaching Mari-El she began teaching a system called "The Next Step". But I do not think she is teaching this anymore.

Barbara Lincoln McCullough

Made her transition. Barbara had a master student named Judy Carol Stewart. Judy wrote the book entitled Reiki Touch and started a business called The Reiki Touch, Inc. Later she changed her name to Julie Carroll and her web site is: http://www.juliacarroll1.com/

Mary Alexandra McFadyen

Started the Reiki Outreach International.

• P.O. Box 191156
• San Diego, CA 92159-1156
• Web site: http://www.annieo.com/reikioutreach/

Mary took her second level training with John Harvey Gray and her Mastership training with Hawayo Takata.

Mary wrote a Reiki book entitled Die Heilkraft des Reiki. Lehren einer Meisterin (ISBN: 3499607816). The book is published in German only. Mary has been trying to get an English version in print for some time now. There is another German Reiki book by Mary entitled Die Heilkraft des Reiki. Mit Händen heilen. Schnellbehandlung (ISNB:3499614006). You can get copy's at Amazon.com's web site in Germany http://www.amazon.de.

Paul Mitchell

Took his 1st degree Reiki training in 1978. Paul and George Araki had their Master level initiation done at the same time by Takata in November of 1979 at Paul's house in San Fancisco, California while Fran Brown waited in another room. He is a founding member of the Reiki Alliance, the current Head of the Discipline of the Reiki Alliance, and works closely with Phyllis Lei Furumoto. Some of the previous information was taken from a pamphlet that Paul wrote for the Reiki Alliance and some was given to me by Fran Brown. (According to Rick Bockner, Paul Mitchell and him were initiated into the Master level around the same time.)

The following is quoted from The Reiki Alliance's page at: http://www.usuireiki-ogm.com/mastery_p.html

"Paul Mitchell grew up in California and entered the Catholic seminary at fourteen with the desire to become a priest. At 24, he left the seminary, feeling that life called him to some other form of service. He continued his education and earned a degree in philosophy at the University of San Francisco. In 1978, Paul was teaching religion in a boy's Catholic high school and studying for a master's degree in education when he heard Hawayo Takata give a talk on Reiki. Driving home that morning, Paul says, "I had this very clear thought: 'This is what I have been looking for.' And then I realized I didn't know I had been looking for anything." Paul took first degree Reiki from Mrs. Takata that summer. The following year, he studied the second degree. Shortly thereafter, Takata initiated him as a master and he embarked on a career of offering treatments and teaching Reiki classes. Paul began to work with Phyllis Furumoto in the early 1980s and was a founding member of The Reiki Alliance. He was recruited to teach in the Self-Assessment Program, a training program established by Phyllis to prepare Reiki Master candidates. Paul is the author of the student book, The Usui System of Natural Healing, published in nine languages. His articles on the Usui System have been published in journals around the world. As a master student of Mrs. Takata, Paul is committed to carry, practice, and teach Reiki as she brought it to the Western world. Through personal contact at international gatherings, workshops, and in his Reiki classes, Paul gives students a direct connection with the teachings of Hawayo Takata and with the Usui System."

Bethal Phaigh

Made her transition on January 3, 1986. She wrote two books, one called Gestalt and the Wisdom of the Kahunas and the other entitled Journey into Consciousness. The latter was written during her last few years and went unpublished. It is an autobiography of Bethal's life. Bethal took all the Reiki levels from Takata and during a very short time. Bethal took Reiki one and Reiki two back to back on June 16th, 1979, (in the Reiki 2 class was Wanja Twan), and was initiated as a master on Oct. 12th, 1979 along with Wanja Twan and Barbara Brown in Cherryville, BC, Canada. The dates of her training are found in the book Early days of Reiki: Memories of Hawayo Takata compiled by Anneli Twan. (See my Reiki Books page for more details.) She states in her book, Journey into Consciousness, "The lessons (in life that I needed to learn) may have been particularly painful because my initiations had been timed so closly together. I had left Hawaii that spring not knowing of Reiki. I return this winter as a Reiki Master, a very green one." Bethal had trained master students before her transition. I know of one named Lani Kaito, who is a member of The Reiki Alliance. The Reiki Alliance can give you contact information for her. Bethal met Barbara Brown and Barbara told Bethal about Reiki and Takata. This is how Bethal got into Reiki.

The following is excepted from an e-mail I received from someone who knew Bethal Phaigh personally.

"Her husband had died when she was fifty, very unexpectedly and his passage was a profound acknowledgement of her connection to other realms. After his death she opted to take a special program in Berkely in counseling and spirituality (?) not actually the wording but that's what it led to. She met Frizt Perls at about that time and after trained in Gestalt with him. Then she started her work in Vancouver and came to the Kootenays (where I lived/live) in about 1973. She started groups which eventually led to a Center in the woods (now called Benailse). We started with Gestalt work and then other people were invited to do workshops there as well. People like Joy Gardner (see http://vibes.com), Sun Bear, Prem Das and others. Many of the new "alternative" therapies were introduced to the small groups of us. When Takata arrived in Canada Bethal was drawn to Reiki and was initiated in the late 70's; that started another cycle of her life. In the days of Gestalt workshops and the expansion of Benaisle I helped Bethal organize. We spent a lot of time together. She was very open and warm and her eccentric side coupled with her age was a draw for those of us that had grown up in the 50's with parents who were having difficulty understanding us, particularly when the 60's happened. Bethal's work started opening doors showing us the possibility the proofondess of of conciousness similar to hallucinagen induces states was a reality. She visited Findhorn in the 70's and brought back more of that conciousness with her. Working with truthful communication was also such a gift that she brought because most of us had come from families where we werent' used to hearing people "communicate their feelings". Also the work which began our journies of healing "birth trauma" was profound. Her work then started to encompass various Shamanic work and of course her influence of the Kahunas in Hawaii. She walked her talk of the possibility of living in a truthful way, authentic, multi-dimensional way. . She was a wonderful teacher, a wonderful friend."

Shinobu Saito

Took Reiki 1 in 1976, Reiki 2 in 1978, and was initiated in May of 1980 as a Reiki Master in Palo Alto, California. Hawayo Takata hoped she would help take Reiki back to Japan. She still teaches Reiki occasionally and has trained some Reiki masters in Japan. She was at the meeting of Takata's Reiki masters in Hawaii in the spring of 1982. Shinobu is not Takata's sister as stated in some Reiki books. George Araki use to send Shinobu his Reiki students to train. (The previous information was given to me by Shinobu Saito and Fran Brown.)

Virginia Samdahl

Made her transition on March 4th, 1994. Obtained her first degree in 1974, her second degree in 1975, and her Master level in 1976, and was the 1st Reiki Master to be initiated by Hawayo Takata. Virginia retired from teaching Reiki in 1989. I was told by Fran Brown that it was Virginia Samdahl who introduced Barbara Weber to Hawayo Takata. Virginia Samdahl was a smoker and died as a result of emphysema. Arthur Robertson (who was one of Iris Ishikuro's Master students) worked on her towards the end of her life. There is a book written about her entitled Virginia Samdahl: Reiki Master Healer. (See my Reiki Books page for a review.)

Virginia at first joined both the Reiki Alliance, founded by Phyllis Lei Furumoto, and the American Reiki Association, founded by Barbara Weber. She did this to be the peace maker between these two opposing organizations, both whom the founders claimed to be Takata's successor. I have been told seemingly contradictory information, which might not be contradictory if I could get the full story. I was told by one person that Virginia tried to talk the other master students of Takata into taking Barbara's training. I was also told from someone else that Virginia eventually left the American Reiki Association because of the changes Barbara was making to the system and because Barbara told Virginia that she would have to retrain with her if she was to be a certified Reiki master. Both of my sources knew Virginia, but this event happened about 20 years ago, so there is no wonder as to why some of the details might have been forgotten. Click here to see a letter written by Hawayo Takata around 1977 to some of her students stating the 3 Reiki Masters she had trained.

I know that Virginia trained the following students as masters - Viola R. Ebert, Barbi Lazonby, Barbara Thompson, and Richard Pinneau. Virginia trained her daughter (Diane?) as a Reiki master before the others, but knew that her daughter didn't want to teach Reiki. Viola Ebert was the first teaching master to be trained by Virginia. Barbi Lazonby was initiated as a master in 1990, deceased July 4th, 2001. Barbi started practicing Reiki in 1986, was the founding director of The Reiki Center of Florida and was a member of The Reiki Alliance.

Wanja Twan

She has written a book entitled In the Light of a Distant Star: A Spiritual Journey Bringing the Unseen into the Seen. (See my Reiki Books page for a review.) Based on this book, my best guess is she took Reiki 1 in the late summer or early fall of 1978. She took Reiki 2 on June 16th, 1979 along with Bethal Phaigh. Wanja was initiated as a master on October 12th, 1979 in Cherryville, BC, Canada along with Barbara Brown and Bethal Phaigh. The dates of her training (except for Reiki 1) are found in the book Early days of Reiki: Memories of Hawayo Takata compiled by Anneli Twan. (See my Reiki Books page for more details.)

• Contact information:
• P.O. Box 407, Kaslo, B.C. V0G 1M0
• 1-604-874-7473
• e-mail: Адрес электронной почты защищен от спам-ботов. Для просмотра адреса в браузере должен быть включен Javascript.

Barbara Weber

She obtained her Ph.D. in Humanities and for some reason unknown to me, changed her last name to Ray - so now she is known as Dr. Barbara Weber Ray. She created a new system of Reiki that has 7 levels and is called The Radiance Technique. She claims that Hawayo Takata secretly trained her (and non of the other 21 masters) in the full 7 levels of the Reiki System before making her transition. (Barbara stated in her 1st Edition book that there are only 3 levels in the Reiki system. So it appears that four were added later. Also, I met a master student of Barbara's several years ago, she told me that when she took the training from Barbara, that Barbara had recently changed the number of levels from 3 to 4. The master level was split into 2 parts, like 3a and 3b. 3a was free at that time. I assume this was around the mid 80's when Barbara trained this master. I'll see if I can contact her again.) Barbara received her first degree on August 20th, 1978, her second degree on October 2nd, 1978, and her Master level on September 1st, 1979. You can view her Reiki certificates, which are scanned in and posted on her web site at http://www.trtia.org/histpers.html. She founded the American Reiki Association, Inc. in 1980. Later (around 1982-83) the name changed to the American-International Reiki Association, Inc. (A.I.R.A). Now her organiziation is called The Radiance Technique International Association, Inc. (TRTIA). This is a not-for-profit organization that reflects the planetary outreach of Reiki (Radiance Technique). She has also written several books on Reiki, one entitled The Reiki Factor (later the title was changed to The Reiki Factor in the Radiance Technique. Revised and Expanded Edition. (See my Reiki Books page for a review.)

Kay Yamashita

One of Hawayo Takata's sisters. It is important to note that Kay Yamashita was actually initiated before any of the others. So although it is commonly believed that Virginia Samdahl was the 1st, she was technically the second. In a book by two of Virginia Samdhal's students entitled, The Reiki Handbook they called Virginia Samdahl the 1st occidental Reiki master. But for the sake of easiness, I have just not counted Kay in the numbering. Another reason to not "count" Kay is because Takata didn't count Kay either in a sense. In a letter dated 1977 from Takata, she states that she is going to retire from teaching Reiki. She states that, "I have created 3 Reiki Masters to carry on this noble work." She goes on to list them as, Master John Gray, Master Virginia Samdahl, and Master Ethel Lombardi. Kay Yamashita is not mentioned at all in this letter. In John Harvey Gray's and Lourdes Gray's book entitled, Hand to Hand: The Longest-Practicing Reiki Master Tell His Story he states on page 178, "My first training in Reiki Mastership," John continues, "was learning the procedure and attunements for the First Degree class. Then Takata had to go back to Hawaii. Before she left, she said to me, 'When I come back in three months I will tell you about the Second Degree.' 'Well,' I answered, 'I've already paid the standard fee for mastership training. What will happen if you die?' Takata became flustered and angry. 'My sister in the Hawaiian Islands knows the procedure and could train you if I died', she said. She then gave me the contact information for her sister." This clearly shows that Kay Yamashita was a Reiki master before the others, but it doesn't explain why Takata didn't "count" Kay as a Reiki master in her 1977 retirement letter.

http://www.robertfueston.com/reiki/articles/reiki_people.html