What is Ikigai

The Japanese Concept of Ikigai

What is your purpose for waking up in the morning? Most of us probably don’t think about this, and if we were told to find the answer to this "big" question as soon as we open our eyes tomorrow and only then get out of bed, many of us might feel it's better to go back to sleep, unable to find a reasonable answer. If so, the Japanese concept of Ikigai might help you.

This philosophy was born in a country with one of the longest-living populations in the world, and now this concept is gaining popularity outside of Japan.

Although the word Ikigai has no direct literal translation in English or Urdu, it is derived from two Japanese words: Ikiru (to live) and Kai (to achieve what you hope for). Together, these words create the concept of a "reason for living" or a "purposeful life." Here, the word Gai comes from Kai, which can be translated in English as "shell."

This concept has ties to Japan's classical history, known as the Heian Period (794 to 1185 AD). According to Akihiro Hasegawa, a psychologist and associate professor at Japan's Toyo Eiwa University, this concept promotes a value-based way of thinking in the lives of Japanese people.

Akihiro says that to find your reason or purpose for living, you start with four fundamental questions:

• What do you love?

• What are you good at?

• What does the world need from you?

• What can you do that you can be paid for?

For non-Japanese people, the concept of Ikigai lies in finding the answers to these four questions and balancing them, and this is the explanation of this great Japanese philosophy. Unlike for non-Japanese, for the Japanese, it is actually a slow process, and Japanese people often don't connect it with "work" or "income." Work or income can be a part of some Japanese people's overall Ikigai, but not the whole of it.

Evidence of this exists in a research study. In 2010, a survey was conducted on 2,000 men and women in Japan. Only 31% of them identified "work" as their Ikigai.

Gordon Matthews, a professor of anthropology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and author of the book What Makes Life Worth Living?: How Japanese and Americans Make Sense of Their Worlds, stated in an interview with a foreign publishing house that people can better understand Ikigai with the help of two other Japanese concepts: Ittaikann and Jiko Jitsugen. Ittaikann refers to "a sense of unity with a purpose, a group, or an assigned role," while Jiko Jitsugen can be related to "self-realization."

Gordon Matthews says that by practicing Ikigai, you can embark on a path to a better life because you have a "purpose for living." However, he believes that this Japanese concept should not be seen as the only choice for living. He says, "Ikigai is not some big or extraordinary idea. We should just take this concept as 'a true thing.'"

Okinawa, an island located west of Japan, has an extraordinarily high number of people who live to be 100 years or older. Experts also know such regions as Blue Zones. Dan Buettner, an expert on "Blue Zones," says that Ikigai is ingrained in the lives of the residents of Okinawa.

Thanks to a specific diet and a social support network, the people here live for a long time because, through this concept, they succeed in finding a purpose in life. In this regard, Dan Buettner gives examples of a karate master, a fisherman, and a grandmother who all lived to be over a hundred despite living three different kinds of lives.

However, Buettner also believes that simply believing in Ikigai is not enough. All these people also took action to achieve their purpose. He says that as you get older, your Ikigai also changes. For people whose Ikigai is their work in their current life, once they reach retirement, they will need to find a new Ikigai since they no longer need to look for work.

                              

Researchers believe that people who live in "Blue Zones" not only live longer but also live better lives compared to others. These people lead active lives even in their 80s and 90s and do not suffer from the degenerative diseases that often affect people in industrial countries at that age.

Besides the island of Okinawa in Japan, the island of Ikaria in Greece, the Barbagia region in Italy, the small town of Loma Linda in California, and the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica are also considered "Blue Zones," where most residents live to be over 100 years old. People living in all these Blue Zones have many shared characteristics, including Ikigai. The people of Okinawa call it Ikegai, while the residents of Nicoya call it Plan De Vida.

The purpose of both is the same: these people ask themselves every morning what their purpose is for getting up in order to live a healthier and happier life. According to experts, people who live a purposeful life and make a practical effort to achieve their goals live seven years longer than the average person.