ikigai

The Oxford English Dictionary defines {{transliteration|ja|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 fulfillment.{{Cite OED|term=ikigai|id=74433529|access-date=24 July 2021}}

The term compounds two Japanese words: {{nihongo3|meaning 'life; alive'|生き|iki}} and {{nihongo3|meaning 'effect'|甲斐|kai}} (sequentially voiced as {{transliteration|ja|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'.

In their book, Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life, Héctor García and Francesc Miralles explain, "This Japanese concept, which translates roughly as 'the happiness of always being busy,' is like logotherapy, but it goes a step beyond." The Japanese government posted an article about the topic on their official website in 2022 stating, "A broad concept, it [ikigai] refers to that which brings value and joy to life: from people, such as one’s children or friends, to activities including work and hobbies."

{{transliteration|ja|Ikigai}} can be described as having a sense of purpose in life,{{Cite book|last=Schippers|first=Michaéla|url=https://repub.eur.nl/pub/100484/|title=IKIGAI: Reflection on Life Goals Optimizes Performance and Happiness|date=2017-06-16|publisher=Erasmus Research Institute of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam |isbn=978-90-5892-484-1|language=en|access-date=2020-03-05|archive-date=2021-02-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204022827/https://repub.eur.nl/pub/100484/|url-status=live}}{{Cite journal|last=Mathews|first=Gordon|date=1996|title=The Stuff of Dreams, Fading: Ikigai and "The Japanese Self"|journal=Ethos|volume=24|issue=4|pages=718–747|issn=0091-2131|jstor=640520|doi=10.1525/eth.1996.24.4.02a00060}} as well as being motivated.{{Cite journal|last1=Schippers|first1=Michaéla C.|last2=Ziegler|first2=Niklas|date=2019-12-13|title=Life Crafting as a Way to Find Purpose and Meaning in Life|journal=Frontiers in Psychology|volume=10|pages=2778|doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02778 |issn=1664-1078|pmc=6923189|pmid=31920827|doi-access=free}} According to a study by Michiko Kumano, feeling {{transliteration|ja|ikigai}} as described in Japanese usually means the feeling of accomplishment and fulfillment that follows when people pursue their passions.{{Cite journal|last=Kumano|first=Michiko|date=2018-06-01|title=On the Concept of Well-Being in Japan: Feeling Shiawase as Hedonic Well-Being and Feeling Ikigai as Eudaimonic Well-Being|journal=Applied Research in Quality of Life|language=en|volume=13|issue=2|pages=419–433|doi=10.1007/s11482-017-9532-9|s2cid=149162906|issn=1871-2576}} Activities that generate the feeling of {{transliteration|ja|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.{{Cite journal|last=Nakanishi|first=N|date=1999-05-01|title='Ikigai' in older Japanese people|journal=Age and Ageing|language=en|volume=28|issue=3|pages=323–324|doi=10.1093/ageing/28.3.323|issn=1468-2834|pmid=10475874|doi-access=free}}{{cite journal |last1=Okuzono |first1=Sakurako S. |last2=Shiba |first2=Koichiro |last3=Kim |first3=Eric S. |last4=Shirai |first4=Kokoro |last5=Kondo |first5=Naoki |last6=Fujiwara |first6=Takeo |last7=Kondo |first7=Katunori |last8=Lomas |first8=Tim |last9=Trudel-Fitzgerald |first9=Claudia |last10=Kawachi |first10=Ichiro |last11=VanderWeele |first11=Tyler J. |title=Ikigai and subsequent health and wellbeing among Japanese older adults: Longitudinal outcome-wide analysis |journal=The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific |date=2022 |volume=21 |pages=100391 |doi=10.1016/j.lanwpc.2022.100391 |pmid=35141667 |pmc=8814687 |doi-access=free}}{{cite journal |last1=Miyazaki |first1=Junji |last2=Shirai |first2=Kokoro |last3=Kimura |first3=Takashi |last4=Ikehara |first4=Satoyo |last5=Tamakoshi |first5=Akiko |last6=Iso |first6=Hiroyasu |title=Purpose in life (Ikigai) and employment status in relation to cardiovascular mortality: the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study |journal=BMJ Open |date=2022 |volume=12 |issue=10 |pages=e059725 |doi=10.1136/bmjopen-2021-059725 |pmid=36216422 |pmc=9557793 |doi-access=free}}{{cite journal |last1=Wilkes |first1=Juliet |last2=Garip |first2=Gulcan |last3=Kotera |first3=Yasuhiro |last4=Fido |first4=Dean |title=Can Ikigai Predict Anxiety, Depression, and Well-being? |journal=International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction |date=2023 |volume=21 |issue=5 |pages=2941–2953 |doi=10.1007/s11469-022-00764-7 |pmid=35250405 |pmc=8887802 |doi-access=free}}

According to Japanese psychologist Katsuya Inoue, {{transliteration|ja|ikigai}} is a concept that consists 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 {{transliteration|ja|ikigai}} into three directions – social {{transliteration|ja|ikigai}}, non-social {{transliteration|ja|ikigai}}, and anti-social {{transliteration|ja|ikigai}} – from a social perspective. Social {{transliteration|ja|ikigai}} refers to {{transliteration|ja|ikigai}} that are accepted by society through volunteer activities and circle activities. An asocial {{transliteration|ja|ikigai}} is an {{transliteration|ja|ikigai}} that is not directly related to society, such as faith or self-discipline. Anti-social {{transliteration|ja|ikigai}} refers to {{transliteration|ja|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.{{Cite book |title=Psychology of Aging |last=Inoue |first=Katsuya |publisher=Chuo Hoki Shuppan |year=2000 |isbn=978-4805818954 |pages=80–99, 144–145}}

National Geographic reporter Dan Buettner suggested {{transliteration|ja|ikigai}} may be one of the reasons for the longevity of the people of Okinawa.{{Cite web|last=Buettner|first=Dan|date=September 2009|title=How to live to be 100+|url=https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_buettner_how_to_live_to_be_100?language=en|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-09|website=TED|archive-date=2019-05-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506022023/https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_buettner_how_to_live_to_be_100?language=en}}{{cite web | title=Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Joyful Life | website=The Government of Japan - JapanGov - | date=2024-02-29 | url=https://www.japan.go.jp/kizuna/2022/03/ikigai_japanese_secret_to_a_joyful_life.html | access-date=2024-04-13}} According to Buettner, Okinawans have less desire to retire; they continue doing their favourite job as long as they remain healthy. {{transliteration|ja|Moai}}, a close-knit friend group, is also considered an important reason for the people of Okinawa to live long.{{Cite book|title=Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life|last1= García|first1=Héctor|last2=Miralles|first2=Francesc|author-link2=Francesc Miralles|publisher=Penguin Books|year=2017|isbn=978-0143130727}}

Ikigai was first popularised by the Japanese psychiatrist and academic Mieko Kamiya in her 1966 book, {{nihongo|On the Meaning of Life|生きがいについて|ikigai ni tsuite}}.{{Cite book|last=Kamiya|first=Mieko|title="『生きがいについて』 ("On the Meaning of Life" in Japanese)"|publisher=Misuzu Shobo|year=1980|isbn=4622081814|location=Japan}}

In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, {{transliteration|ja|ikigai}} was thought to have two primary forms of manifestation: either in terms of the betterment of society ("subordinating one's own desires to others") or the improvement of oneself ("following one's own path").{{Cite book|last1=Manzenreiter|first1=Wolfram|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AiQlDwAAQBAJ&q=ikigai&pg=PA1|title=Happiness and the Good Life in Japan|last2=Holthus|first2=Barbara|date=2017-03-27|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-35273-0|language=en|access-date=2020-10-04|archive-date=2023-03-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230318120757/https://books.google.com/books?id=AiQlDwAAQBAJ&q=ikigai&pg=PA1|url-status=live}}

According to anthropologist Chikako Ozawa-de Silva, for an older generation in Japan, their {{transliteration|ja|ikigai}} was to "fit this standard mold of company and family", whereas the younger generation reported their {{transliteration|ja|ikigai}} to be about "dreams of what they might become in the future".{{Cite journal|last=Ozawa-de Silva|first=Chikako|date=2020-02-11|title=In the eyes of others: Loneliness and relational meaning in life among Japanese college students|url=|journal=Transcultural Psychiatry|volume=57|issue=5|language=en|pages=623–634|doi=10.1177/1363461519899757|pmid=32041496|s2cid=211078070|issn=1363-4615}}

Studies have shown that people who do not feel {{transliteration|ja|ikigai}} are more likely to experience cardiovascular diseases. However, there was no evidence of any correlation with development of malignant tumors.{{Cite journal |author=Sone T. |author2=Nakaya N. |author3=Ohmori K. |author4=Shimazu T. |author5=Higashiguchi M. |author6=Kakizaki M. |author7=Kikuchi N. |author8=Kuriyama S. |author9=Tsuji I. |date=2008|title=Sense of life worth living (ikigai) and mortality in Japan: Ohsaki Study|journal=Psychosomatic Medicine|volume=70|issue=6|pages=709–15|doi=10.1097/PSY.0b013e31817e7e64|pmid=18596247|s2cid=10483513}}{{Cite journal |author=Tanno K. |author2=Sakata K. |author3=Ohsawa M. |author4=Onoda T. |author5=Itai K. |author6=Yaegashi Y. |author7=Tamakoshi A. |collaboration=JACC Study Group |title=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=Journal of Psychosomatic|volume=67|issue=1|pages=67–75|pmid=19539820|year=2009|doi=10.1016/j.jpsychores.2008.10.018}}

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An Ikigai scale has been constructed to measure the effects on mental and physical health of those people who practice it.{{cite journal | vauthors = Yoshida K |title=Evaluation of a revised "Ikigai" scale and the relationship between motivation for achievement of a purpose and mental health in senior high school students|journal= Nihon Koshu Eisei Zasshi | date = 1994 | volume = 41| issue = 12 |pages=1162–8|doi=|pmid= 7894068}}

• Eudaimonia – related concept in ancient Greek philosophy
• Joie de vivre
• Logotherapy
• Meaning-making
• {{Section link|Motivation|Types}}
• Raison d'être

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Wiktionary}}

• [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1450260/ "Factors associated with 'Ikigai' among members of a public temporary employment agency for seniors (Silver Human Resources Centre) in Japan; gender differences"], Health and Quality of Life Outcomes. 2006; 4:12 (retrieved Nov 2008).
• [http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-good-life/200809/ikigai-and-mortality "Ikigai and Mortality"] Psychology Today. 17 Sep 2008 (retrieved Jan 2010).
• [https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_buettner_how_to_live_to_be_100?language=en "Dan Buettner: How to live to be 100+"] TED talk about longevity that explains the word in the Okinawan context. Jan 2010.
• [http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200510-japans-formula-for-life-satisfaction Japan's formula for life satisfaction]. By Lily Crossley-Baxter, 11 May 2020, bbc.com.

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Category:Happiness

Category:Culture of Japan

Category:Japanese words and phrases

Category:Mental states

Category:Self

Category:Sociological terminology

Category:Words and phrases describing personality

Category:Philosophy of life