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IKIGAI-KAN: Feel a Life Worth Living
Feel a Life Worth LivingIkigai has become one of Japan's most misunderstood words and culturally appropriated concepts. It’s not a term from Okinawa. It’s not the Japanese secret to longevity. It's not a Venn diagram showing you how to find your bliss or become a successful entrepreneur. And it’s not the pursuit of a single life purpose.
This evidence-based book clears up these misconceptions and offers an authentic perspective of ikigai in the context of Japanese culture by bringing together insights from Japan’s research pioneer Mieko Kamiya to current day experts and authors.
Japanologist Nicholas Kemp draws on insights from Japan’s leading ikigai researchers and his own personal experiences of living in Japan. His investigations shed light on a multifaceted concept that is both uniquely Japanese yet also universal, offering all readers a path forward to enjoying a life that feels worth living.
If the truth matters to you and you are fed up with Western interpretations and romanticised notions of ikigai and Japanese culture in general, then you will appreciate how this book provides an accurate cultural context so that you can apply traditional Japanese wisdom to achieve a life worth living.
Say goodbye to destination addiction and start living a fulfilling and meaningful life with the Japanese wisdom of ikigai, a life philosophy involving daily rituals, living your values, building intimate relationships, fulfilling your life roles and pursuing a life goal with a healthy sense of urgency.
A concept related to eudaimonia and existential positive psychology, ikigai offers you a way to live with motivation and resilience in times of hardship, opening yourself up to the path of self-actualisation.
This evidence-based book clears up these misconceptions and offers an authentic perspective of ikigai in the context of Japanese culture by bringing together insights from Japan’s research pioneer Mieko Kamiya to current day experts and authors.
Japanologist Nicholas Kemp draws on insights from Japan’s leading ikigai researchers and his own personal experiences of living in Japan. His investigations shed light on a multifaceted concept that is both uniquely Japanese yet also universal, offering all readers a path forward to enjoying a life that feels worth living.
If the truth matters to you and you are fed up with Western interpretations and romanticised notions of ikigai and Japanese culture in general, then you will appreciate how this book provides an accurate cultural context so that you can apply traditional Japanese wisdom to achieve a life worth living.
Say goodbye to destination addiction and start living a fulfilling and meaningful life with the Japanese wisdom of ikigai, a life philosophy involving daily rituals, living your values, building intimate relationships, fulfilling your life roles and pursuing a life goal with a healthy sense of urgency.
A concept related to eudaimonia and existential positive psychology, ikigai offers you a way to live with motivation and resilience in times of hardship, opening yourself up to the path of self-actualisation.
- GenresSelf Help
234 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 17, 2022
38 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 14, 2022
A simple search of ikigai on the internet returns several references to a Venn diagram that talks about what you are good at, what you can be paid for, what the world needs, and what you love. Unfortunately, this is not what ikigai is from a Japanese perspective, as the author respectfully explains.
“Ikigai starts with your values. You will feel ikigai if you live in harmony with your values - not those that you have inherited from or been pressured to accept by family, friends, institutions, or society, but those that you have identified for yourself. If you live in conflict or are forced to compromise your values, then ikigai will remain elusive for you.” Nicholas Kemp, Ikigai-Kan
It becomes quickly apparent that the enriching life experience that the author has gained from both studying Japanese culture and living in Japan informs much of the content of the book. The journey that you go on to learn more about the different facets of what ikigai means in it’s original context is just as much a spectrum as ikigai is to each individual.
I would recommend this book to anyone that wants to understand more deeply what ikigai means from a Japanese cultural perspective and learn more about what it means to live life with “outstretched arms.”
“Ikigai starts with your values. You will feel ikigai if you live in harmony with your values - not those that you have inherited from or been pressured to accept by family, friends, institutions, or society, but those that you have identified for yourself. If you live in conflict or are forced to compromise your values, then ikigai will remain elusive for you.” Nicholas Kemp, Ikigai-Kan
It becomes quickly apparent that the enriching life experience that the author has gained from both studying Japanese culture and living in Japan informs much of the content of the book. The journey that you go on to learn more about the different facets of what ikigai means in it’s original context is just as much a spectrum as ikigai is to each individual.
I would recommend this book to anyone that wants to understand more deeply what ikigai means from a Japanese cultural perspective and learn more about what it means to live life with “outstretched arms.”
April 5, 2023
First few chapters were great, then it turned into a lenghty examination of all the things mentioned on his podcast to fill in another hundred pages.
October 26, 2022
MISUNDERSTOOD KEY TO LIFE?
Nicholas’ book made me put into words a lot of wisdom that had been coalescing in my own mind.
There is a key here to developing a life worth living, the Japanese have been doing it for generations and have many words to describe it.
They are also the same people who have extreme social conditions of despair and loneliness. Read this book to find out how you can change your life, the benefits of Ikigai, and why the paradox of purposelessness exists in a society with such a deep and beautiful appreciation of life.
Would love to read more about the specific people and see documentaries about this process. If Nicholas has this as another project for himself I’ll be the first to sign up!
Nicholas’ book made me put into words a lot of wisdom that had been coalescing in my own mind.
There is a key here to developing a life worth living, the Japanese have been doing it for generations and have many words to describe it.
They are also the same people who have extreme social conditions of despair and loneliness. Read this book to find out how you can change your life, the benefits of Ikigai, and why the paradox of purposelessness exists in a society with such a deep and beautiful appreciation of life.
Would love to read more about the specific people and see documentaries about this process. If Nicholas has this as another project for himself I’ll be the first to sign up!
May 8, 2023
inspirational & uplifting
Thank you for amazing book which I plan to reread many times. Highlighted many pages and want to join the community.
Thank you for amazing book which I plan to reread many times. Highlighted many pages and want to join the community.
January 31, 2025
The true way to feel Ikigai
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews