Now in the Oxford English Dictionary, “Ikigai” is defined as “a motivating force; something or someone that gives a person a sense of purpose or a reason for living”.
You’ve probably heard of it. It’s been promoted world-wide as an ancient Japanese formula for leading a good life.
However, as someone who lived and worked in Japan for a while, and never once heard this word uttered by a Japanese person, I was a little sceptical of its authenticity.
Of course there is no doubt that it is a legitimate Japanese word. Those who have studied for N3 level of the JLPT will recognise that 「生き」 (iki) is the verb meaning “to live” and that ［～甲斐」 (~gai) added to the stem of a verb means “worthy of VERB” or “worthwhile VERBing”. So “ikigai” literally translates as “worthy of living”, in other words “doing something that makes your life worth living”.
So far so good. But is it actually a well-known philosophy in Japan? Do Japanese people discuss their life’s purpose using this term “ikigai”?
Not so much. Whilst a Japanese person might use this term, it is not in common usage. It is certainly not the well-established concept that various English-language self-help books are promoting it as.
Unfortunately this all seems to be a case of someone latching on to a word from an “exotic” Eastern language, and repurposing it for Westerners as the solution to personal growth.
The fact is that Japan still remains mysterious and “exotic” for many people. It’s a well-developed country with a fascinating ancient history, and amazing new technology. It’s so tempting to think that the Japanese must have everything figured out in terms of how to live. (A short stay in Japan will reveal that they are actually just as confused as the rest of us).
If you want to read more, I highly recommend checking out this article on Medium by Rahil Chadha, from the Medium publication Japonica.
He puts it much better than I can: “ikigai is largely a misappropriated Japanese word, retooled into a capitalist weapon for motivational consultants”.
Ouch.
Calligraphy by Vicky 