Let Go: 50 Lessons from Japanese Minimalism to Set You Free

by Daisuke Yosumi

'Letting go is not a loss - it is an act of self-respect. This book beautifully reminds us that freedom comes from choosing what truly matters, and releasing the rest with gratitude. A meaningful guide for living lightly and authentically.' Marie Kondo

What if a freer, richer life doesn't come from gaining more but from letting go?

In today's world, everything is too busy, too fast, too complicated and too connected. We live in an age of too much - of goods, information, choices and demands. As we chase possessions, status and approval, we become more stressed, confused and anxious.

Let Go is not a guide to decluttering; it's a simple life strategy for finding freedom, happiness and your true self in a chaotic world.

The 50 lessons in this book offer small steps you can begin today, covering every aspect of your money, time, belongings, health, stress, mindset, habits, work and relationships.

Maximize what matters most by minimizing what doesn't matter. So let go!

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Japan

180 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 2, 2026

Reviews

[aria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crucial reading in a time of excess…made me really reflect on what I am doing this all for. My main takeaways were to really prioritize mental health, explore and connect with passionate people around you and to streamline your efforts into building a lifestyle that lines with your values. To let go is to make space for more in your life, to allow things which are authentic and good to flow to you.
Am thinking to cop a physical copy after breezing through it in the Eslite at CWB but I might just journal on an epub and try to implement into my lifestyle.
A quick and important read!

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I’ve read a bunch of the minimalism and intentional living books and this one was similar in a lot of ways to all the rest. I loved that it was a book encouraging people to be the weirdest, freakiest artists and dreamers they possibly can. I also appreciated Daisuke Yosumi’s vulnerability about his stress and anxiety trying to conform to modern life with details about how he fainted at a subway platform or ground his teeth. I loved to learn a little kanji here and there. I disliked his nutrition advice and really disliked shining a positive light on a quote from Sam Altman at the end of the book. Overall if you’ve read other minimalism books this one will be quite similar.

[Kristiane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Et godt og viktig pusterom fra en stressende hverdag.

En skikkelig fot i bakken-bok om hva som egentlig betyr noe, og hvordan vi kan få mindre stress og mer mening inn i hverdagen.

Kulturforskjeller Japan - Norge merkes, men i liten grad.

[Sheerwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good advice to live a life.

[Erving Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy read. The steps are very interesting but hard to master in our lifestyle. Definitely more of a lifestyle philosophical approach than a practical method.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A relatively short book but lots of things to think about.

[layla · Rating 1 out of 5]

eh

[Abby Fergz · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Beyond this, there are two things we must never forget. First, you were born through pain and blood. Your mother's labour liberated you from the safe but enclosed space of the womb - into this adventurous and open world. Second, people around the world, past and present, have fought and continue to fight and shed blood for our various freedoms."


Nothing too revolutionary for a minimalisim book but the perspectives of the priviledge that comes with even considering minimalisim is a good lens for me (what a burden? to have too much when there are so many that have nothing):

"Most of these people are first forced to crawl out of the abyss of despair. Not from nothing, but from far below zero, deep in the negative. Only then can they begin to slowly rebuild a minimal standard of living and reclaim a primal sense of happiness. That demands enormous effort, time and money just to regain what was lost. The pursuit of 'freedom' may come only after that.
Which is harder: letting go of the unnecessary to gain freedom and happiness, or desperately gathering the basics iust to survive? Needless to say, the latter is far harder. That question alone triggers intense guilt. And remember - having the freedom to let go by your own will is a luxury and a kind of privilege. It is different from losing or giving up. Letting go doesn't bring pain or sorrow - it brings lightness, clarity and a refreshing relief."

[Jasmine Sinclair · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started really liking this book; it was thought-provoking and interesting, although not dissimilar to many other lifestyle/minimalism books out there. But unfortunately, a few of the lessons felt empty, and some contradicted other lessons shared just a few pages before. I personally hated the positive light used to talk about AI, including a quote from Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI). For a book that talked about leaning into your passions and inner artistry, the AI stuff really threw me off.

Lesson 29: Let Go of Studying Without a Why is only 5 pages in this book and mentions AI six times. The author encourages its use as a tool, and despite saying that "you need your own language skills to guide it and check its accuracy", he then goes on to encourage the use of AI translation to support you in situations where you need a higher level of English than you have.

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This didn’t really feel like Japanese minimalism lessons as much as just an endless list of things not to do. Each one has a couple of pages of talk about why you shouldn’t do them, along with a quote by someone. So many of them were common sense, like let go of bad sleep habits and let go of impulse purchases. Many of them felt preachy, and it didn’t feel philosophical or helpful as much as just like listening to someone talk about his opinions.

I read a digital arc of this book via netgalley.

[Tanya Blinova]

I received this book as an eARC. Thank you to the author and publisher.

I was intrigued in this title after reading the description. But upon reading it, I found it a bit lacking. I didn't feel that there was anything super new or helpful. I think that some of the elements and quotes were helpful reminders about simplifying and minimalism, but they were all things I heard before. Even the section about getting rid of things talked about asking yourself if it "sparked joy." And if it doesn't to get rid of it. Sounds kind of familiar to another book...

[Diana Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

One to revisit

This book was truly fascinating. It is as simple and to the point as the topic and philosophy it addresses.
It covers so much, without trying and it’s a jewel in its simplicity and messaging. I will be revisiting this one. I loved it and would recommend it to anybody looking for clarity and calm.

[Sinimalism · Rating 3 out of 5]

The prologue was inspiring and promising, but the book itself was over-simplified rules for life, how to live correctly. Many chapters also contradicted with each other. All in all I like the message, but I would have rather read more in depth personal experiences than pedantically telling others what to do in too vague terms. 2,5 stars.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generally a nice book on minimalism. Not just for stuff, but also for your life in general. Yes, there is a questionable recommendation to use AI for translations, but it's one small paragraph and the rest of the advice is generally solid.

[Jo-Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't necessarily disagree with anything here (except for the author's claim to have kick-started the minimalist movement in Japan... really?? I could've sworn that was someone else...) but this does reinforce to me that minimalism is a pursuit of the privileged.

[Warren Rankine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic, straight forward and easy to read. It’s not just a how to book, it also goes into great detail of Daisuke’s early professional days and what set him on his path to NZ and the lifestyle of ‘less is more’. Great read.

[Perri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started out strong, and maybe something was lost in translation, but ended up finding the narrator really annoying and kind of self impressed. Quick read though, so worth it for first few chapters and some good insights. Basically, crave less stuff.

[Jerry]

review text for 901

[Justin Nguyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting perspective, not very relatable examples.

[Rashmi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains small tidbits about how to let go and unburden yourself of unnecessary things and stuff and how to make space for things that make us happy.