Ikigai

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ikigai (生き甲斐, 'a reason for being') is a Japanese concept referring to something that gives a person a sense of purpose, a reason for living. It is often compared to similar concepts such as mission, dream, vision and meaning of life.[1]

Meaning and etymology[]

The Oxford English Dictionary defines ikigai as "a motivating force; something or someone that gives a person a sense of purpose or a reason for living". More generally it may refer to something that brings pleasure or fulfilment.[2]

The term compounds two Japanese words: iki (生き, meaning 'life; alive') and kai (甲斐, meaning '(an) effect; (a) result; (a) fruit; (a) worth; (a) use; (a) benefit; (no, little) avail') (sequentially voiced as gai), to arrive at 'a reason for living [being alive]; a meaning for [to] life; what [something that] makes life worth living; a raison d'être'.

Overview[]

Ikigai can describe having a sense of purpose in life,[3][4] as well as being motivated.[5] According to a study by Michiko Kumano, feeling ikigai as described in Japanese usually means the feeling of accomplishment and fulfillment that follows when people pursue their passions.[6] Activities that generate the feeling of ikigai are not forced on an individual; they are perceived as being spontaneous and undertaken willingly, and thus are personal and depend on a person's inner self.[7]

According to psychologist Katsuya Inoue, ikigai is a concept consisting of two aspects: "sources or objects that bring value or meaning to life" and "a feeling that one's life has value or meaning because of the existence of its source or object". Inoue classifies ikigai into three directions - social ikigai, non-social ikigai, and anti-social ikigai - from a social perspective. Social ikigai refers to ikigai that are accepted by society through volunteer activities and circle activities. An asocial ikigai is an ikigai that is not directly related to society, such as faith or self-discipline. Anti-social ikigai refers to ikigai, which is the basic motivation for living through dark emotions, such as the desire to hate someone or something or to continue having a desire for revenge.[8]

National Geographic reporter Dan Buettner suggested ikigai may be one of the reasons for the longevity of the people of Okinawa.[9] According to Buettner, Okinawans have less desire to retire, as people continue to do their favourite job as long as they remain healthy. "Moai", the close-knit friend group, is considered an important reason for the people of Okinawa to live long. In 2016, a book based on the concept, entitled 'Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life', was published by Penguin Books, written by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles.[10]

Early popularisation[]

Although the concept of ikigai has long existed in Japanese culture, it was first popularised by Japanese psychiatrist and academic Mieko Kamiya in her 1966 book "On the Meaning of Life" (生きがいについて, ikigai ni tsuite).[11] The book has not yet been translated into English.

The term has also been used as the name of the FinTech app ikigai money.[12] The app combines digital banking and wealth management, giving its users the ability to "spend, save and invest" through one app,[12] describing it as "self-care for your money".[13] The app, which was crowdfunded, has been featured in the Independent,[14] Tech Crunch[15] Finextra,[16] and Glamour magazine.[17]

Importance[]

In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, ikigai was thought to be experienced towards either the betterment of society ("subordinating one's own desires to others") or improvement of oneself ("following one's own path").[18]

According to anthropologist , for an older generation in Japan, their ikigai was to "fit this standard mold of company and family", whereas the younger generation reported their ikigai to be about "dreams of what they might become in the future".[19]

A 2012 study in the suggested that having the feeling of ikigai influenced the functioning of the frontal lobe.[20] Multiple studies[vague] showed that people who do not feel ikigai are more likely to experience cardiovascular diseases. However, there was no evidence of any correlation with development of malignant tumors.[21][22]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Mapping out Your Life Diagram: Identifying Your Aspirations". The Sustainabilitist. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
  2. ^ "ikigai". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 24 July 2021. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  3. ^ Schippers, Michaéla (2017-06-16). IKIGAI: Reflection on Life Goals Optimizes Performance and Happiness. ISBN 978-90-5892-484-1.
  4. ^ Mathews, Gordon (1996). "The Stuff of Dreams, Fading: Ikigai and "The Japanese Self"". Ethos. 24 (4): 718–747. doi:10.1525/eth.1996.24.4.02a00060. ISSN 0091-2131. JSTOR 640520.
  5. ^ Schippers, Michaéla C.; Ziegler, Niklas (2019-12-13). "Life Crafting as a Way to Find Purpose and Meaning in Life". Frontiers in Psychology. 10: 2778. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02778. ISSN 1664-1078. PMC 6923189. PMID 31920827.
  6. ^ Kumano, Michiko (2018-06-01). "On the Concept of Well-Being in Japan: Feeling Shiawase as Hedonic Well-Being and Feeling Ikigai as Eudaimonic Well-Being". Applied Research in Quality of Life. 13 (2): 419–433. doi:10.1007/s11482-017-9532-9. ISSN 1871-2576. S2CID 149162906.
  7. ^ Nakanishi, N (1999-05-01). "'Ikigai' in older Japanese people". Age and Ageing. 28 (3): 323–324. doi:10.1093/ageing/28.3.323. ISSN 1468-2834. PMID 10475874.
  8. ^ Inoue, Katsuya (2000). Psychology of Aging. Chuo Hoki Shuppan. pp. 80–99, 144–145. ISBN 978-4805818954.
  9. ^ Buettner, Dan (September 2009). "How to live to be 100+". TED. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
  10. ^ García, Héctor; Miralles, Francesc (2017). Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0143130727.
  11. ^ Kamiya, Mieko (1980). "『生きがいについて』 ("On the Meaning of Life" in Japanese)". Japan: Misuzu Shobo. ISBN 4622081814.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b "ikigai money". apps.apple.com. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  13. ^ "ikigai - Self-care for your money". ikigai.money. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  14. ^ "10 ways to protect your financial interests". The Independent. 2021-07-14. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  15. ^ "New challenger Ikigai combines digital banking and wealth management". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  16. ^ "Ikigai launches in UK". Finextra Research. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  17. ^ Seal, Clare. "6 simple rules to manage your finances after lockdown that everyone can stick to". Glamour UK. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  18. ^ Manzenreiter, Wolfram; Holthus, Barbara (2017-03-27). Happiness and the Good Life in Japan. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-317-35273-0.
  19. ^ Ozawa-de Silva, Chikako (2020-02-11). "In the eyes of others: Loneliness and relational meaning in life among Japanese college students". Transcultural Psychiatry. 57 (5): 623–634. doi:10.1177/1363461519899757. ISSN 1363-4615. PMID 32041496. S2CID 211078070.
  20. ^ Ishida, Riichiro (2012). "Reducing Anxiety in Stutterers through the Association between "Purpose in Life/Ikigai" and Emotions". Global Journal of Health Science. 4 (5): 120–4. doi:10.5539/gjhs.v4n5p120. PMC 4776915. PMID 22980384.
  21. ^ Sone T.; Nakaya N.; Ohmori K.; Shimazu T.; Higashiguchi M.; Kakizaki M.; Kikuchi N.; Kuriyama S.; Tsuji I. (2008). "Sense of life worth living (ikigai) and mortality in Japan: Ohsaki Study". Psychosomatic Medicine. 70 (6): 709–15. doi:10.1097/PSY.0b013e31817e7e64. PMID 18596247. S2CID 10483513.
  22. ^ Tanno K.; Sakata K.; Ohsawa M.; Onoda T.; Itai K.; Yaegashi Y.; Tamakoshi A.; et al. (JACC Study Group) (2009). "Associations of ikigai as a positive psychological factor with all-cause mortality and cause-specific mortality among middle-aged and elderly Japanese people: findings from the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study". Journal of Psychosomatic. 67 (1): 67–75. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2008.10.018. PMID 19539820.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""