At the outset let me state that there is no degree in Reiki which entitles one to the title of Grand Master. Even Mrs. Takata who brought Reiki to western world and to whom all the Reiki channels can trace their lineage did not use the title Grandmaster.

Ms Phyllis Lei Furumoto is the granddaughter of Mrs. Takata and was initiated into Reiki by her grandmother. After studying psychology at college, Phyllis worked in a psychiatric hospital and later as a university administrator.

As per the details available on her website Usui Shiki Ryoho, (The Usui System of Natural Healing) she at the age of thirty started 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.

After Mrs. Takata's death in 1980, Phyllis was recognized by the Reiki Master community as her grandmother's successor in the lineage. Even she does not use the title Grandmaster.

In 1982 masters initiated by both Hawayo Takata and Phyllis Furumoto were invited to Hawaii for a meeting. The group who came to Hawaii acknowledged Phyllis Lei Furumoto as Hawayo Takata's successor. They decided to meet again in 1983 in British Columbia. During this meeting, The Reiki Alliance was founded to honor the system taught by Hawayo Takata with continued stewardship of this practice. (http://www.reikialliance.com/en/article/our-organization)

The Office of the Grand Master was founded in 1993 after Phyllis Lei Furumoto, the recognized lineage bearer, and Paul David Mitchell, recognized as Head of Discipline, formed a partnership to maintain the strength of the system brought to them by Hawayo Takata. The purpose of the Office of the Grand Master is to be the still-point for the practice ensuring that the integrity and potential of this simple practice of Reiki be preserved and kept vital in the present and for future generations. The “OGM” offers clear teaching and guidance for understanding the form of the system as well as its universal philosophical foundation. (http://www.usuishikiryohoreiki.com/ogm/)