How Reiki Found Me: A True Story from Japan to a Hospital Room

My name is Matthew Kennedy, and I grew up in an Irish Catholic home just outside Boston, the youngest of ten kids. Ours was a family that somewhat held onto tradition, but not so tightly that curiosity couldn’t slip in. There was room to ask questions, to explore ideas, even unconventional ones, without being shut down. Looking back, it was the perfect place to begin a life that would eventually circle around something like Reiki.

In my early twenties, life carried me across the world to Japan. I landed in a small mountain town called Yamagata, in the northern part of the country—a place of deep winters and quiet beauty. Snow would pile high in the colder months, softening everything into stillness, and in the summer, the heat would settle in thick and heavy. Life there required adaptation. Even something as simple as going to the store meant learning the language, navigating unfamiliar customs, and immersing myself fully in a different rhythm of life.

Japanese wasn’t easy to learn—but living inside Japan changed everything. Day by day, word by word, it became less foreign. I learned to speak, to listen, even to read kanji—those layered characters that carry meaning within meaning. Over time, I didn’t just understand the language - I think I began to feel it.

On my days off, I would often wander. I’d hike into the mountains surrounding Yamagata, following narrow paths to small Buddhist temples or quiet Shinto shrines tucked among tall, beautiful pine trees. Sometimes I would sit there in silence, the scent of incense drifting through the air, watching the way the light moved across the wood and stone. I didn’t have a name for what I was seeking—but I knew I was drawn to it.

The people I met, and of course came to love, reflected that same quiet depth. Some practiced forms of Buddhism. Others spoke of energy, meditation, and the unseen aspects of life. It felt, in many ways, like a quintessential Eastern experience for a kid from Boston - one that opened something in me, even if I didn’t fully understand it at the time. And yet, interestingly, I don’t remember ever hearing the word Reiki.

After a couple of years, I returned home. My father, older now, was facing health challenges. Not long after I arrived, he was preparing for surgery to remove his prostate due to cancer.

I was there at the hospital when he went into the operating room, and I was there when he came out. The difference between those two moments stayed with me. After the surgery, my father struggled. He was groggy, confused, barely himself. The doctors explained that this wasn’t unusual—anesthesia can be especially hard on older patients. Still, it was difficult to watch. It felt like something had been taken from him, at least temporarily. I was realizing for the first time, my 'old man' was actually becoming an old man.

About a year later, he suffered from terrible pain right where the surgery had been. It turned out he needed a second surgery - this time to remove painful scar tissue that had formed from the first procedure. The doctor said, "Jack, we're basically doing the same surgery again, this time to remove scar tissue. Your experience will be almost identical to last time." That was concerning for me, I remembered very well the "last time."

My mother and I sat with him in the pre-op area beforehand, talking quietly, waiting.

That’s when a nurse walked in. She didn’t carry anything unusual. No equipment, no instruments. I think she had a clipboard with some papers. But what she did next caught our attention. She slowly moved her hand a few inches above my father’s body, starting at his feet. It was almost as if she were feeling for something unseen. When she reached his abdomen, she paused slightly. “Oh,” she said softly, “is this where we’re working today?”

We were more curious than skeptical. We smiled in interest, then she smiled at me and invited me to try. She guided my hand, showing me how to hover just above his body and move slowly upward.

And then I FELT IT - I 100% FELT IT !!!

There was a distinct sensation—subtle, but unmistakable. As if something changed in the air itself. It wasn’t imagined. It was… there. That was the first time I heard the word Reiki.

She explained briefly what she was doing and offered to provide Reiki for my father after surgery, to help with comfort and recovery. We looked at my dad.

“Well,” he said with a shrug and a smile, “why not?”

So we all agreed. She explained what she would do and told us that patients seem to clear up quicker and seem calmer from the Reiki. She thought it would take about 30 minutes or more. She came back with a permission note for us to sign. Back then, doctors were suspicious and even unwilling. I recall our doctor giving us a funny look when we told him we were looking forward to having the nurse do Reiki.

Two and a half hours later, we were in the waiting room when the double doors opened.

My father came out with both his hands resting comfortably behind his head. He looked directly at us—clear-eyed, alert—and said, “Well, my goodness… you’re still here.”

It was night and day from the first surgery. The doctor confirmed everything had gone well. The nurse later mentioned that he had responded very positively to the Reiki.

I was about 23 years old. And from that point on, Reiki was no longer an abstract idea—it was something personal. It was an experience!! A bonafide and personally verified healing modality that had a deep and warm connection to my heart (for my dad) and my soul (for my life)

Over the years, life moved forward. I studied international business, built a career, raised a family, and even returned to Japan many times for both business and vacation. My connection to the country deepened—not just through relationships and work, but through language. Learning more Japanese, especially business vocabulary, gave me a richer appreciation for the culture I had once lived in and came to love. And interestingly, that connection came full circle with Reiki.

Because I could somewhat read kanji, I began to understand Reiki symbols in a way that was meaningful to me - a gift. Breaking apart the characters, seeing the layers of meaning - they revealed something deeper, something even more beautiful than what appeared on the surface. Sharing that with others has become one of the unexpected joys of my journey.

At home, Reiki became something simple and human. When my children weren’t feeling well - an earache, a stomach ache - I would sometimes place my hands near them, quietly doing what I had learned. One day, my young son looked up at me and said, “Dad… don’t stop. That feels really good.” Moments like that stayed with me.

As life slowed down and my children were grown, I found myself returning to this path more intentionally. What had once been a quiet practice became something I actively studied and worked at. I completed my Reiki training and became certified—something I’m profoundly grateful for. And I’m continuing forward, with the hope of becoming a Reiki master in the near future.

Looking back, there’s a thread that runs through it all. From a curious kid in a big Boston family…and quiet temples in the mountains of Yamagata…to a hospital room with my dad…and sharing something gentle with my own children…

There’s a sense that none of it was accidental. Even small details make me smile - like realizing that Mikao Usui, the founder of Reiki, also has a connection to a place called Yamagata as well... A nice wink from the Universe

I didn’t go to Japan looking for Reiki, but somehow, Reiki found me anyway. And this has made a beautiful impact on my life - and Japan & Reiki have become my rising sun.

Matthew Kennedy