Ikigai – The Japanese Reason for Being

On the Japanese island of Okinawa, a mystical force has gifted its residents with extremely long lives. There are now 68 centenarians per 100,000 Okinawans, which is a miraculous statistic when compared with the entire UK having only 23.  

But how do these islanders consistently succeed in reaching 100 years of life? What miracle grants them such longevity? Well, you will be surprised to find that there is no miracle. They simply embrace a concept which the Japanese call, ikigai.  

What is Ikigai?

Ikigai is a Japanese term which means “a reason for life/being”. It combines two words, “iki” meaning, “life”, and “gai”, meaning, “a reason”.  

Much like Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy, ikigai is the belief that every human life holds a unique purpose that they need to fulfil to be truly happy.  

Through finding this purpose and maintaining an unwavering commitment towards it, those who practice ikigai tend to live longer, happier lives.  

But how do the Japanese achieve their ikigai? What does it entail?  

The Western Notion

When searching for ikigai on Google images, this is the first image that pops up.  

This Venn-diagram was contained within the pages of “Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life”, a wonderful novel co-authored by Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia, and one which first brought the concept of ikigai to a mainstream western audience. 

It shows that, to achieve your ikigai, it must embody all four categories: what you love, what the world needs, what you can be paid for, and what you are good at.  

If your potential ikigai only fits two of those categories, for example, what you are good at and what you love – then this isn’t an ikigai, it would be classed as your passion.  

Whilst this is a handy image for westerners to understand the concept, the Japanese don’t perceive ikigai in this way.  

Westerners envision ikigai as being a dream career that they love, helps the world, earns them money, and that they are good at doing.  

For us, this Venn-diagram can be used to find balance in our lives and is a great tool to attain happiness in an often-nihilistic society. 

However, to the Japanese, their ikigai isn’t so strict.  

The Japanese Perception

The Japanese don’t live day to day thinking about ikigai. In fact, they hardly even use the word. Through their culture, they have simply embraced it without ever really contemplating the concept.

It helps them find happiness in the little things in life. This is a vital aspect of why Okinawans believe they live for so long – because they find meaning in every small daily task.  

A typical elderly Okinawan rises at the crack of dawn, opens their curtains, gazes outside their window, soaks in the rising sun, and feels content they have reached another day on this earth.  

They then perform a series of stretches, bathe, get dressed, and go outside to tend to their vegetable garden. Once that is done, they go for a walk, say hello to their neighbours, and keep themselves constantly busy throughout the day.  

Therefore, in Japanese culture, ikigai doesn’t mean to find happiness through their dream career – it means to find bliss in everything they do. Every action done throughout the day garners them a flow-state that keeps their mind and body active and is key to their longevity. 

Each small task has a deep meaning to these people, they are grateful to be alive, and take nothing for granted. 

But to find bliss in even the most mundane of tasks, the Japanese must have a driving-force which allows them to go on.  

This is their personal ikigai. It can be anything tied to their past, present, or future. Family, friends, experiences, health, hobbies, creative exploits, future endeavours, or combinations of these are all examples of somebody’s personal ikigai.  

Once they have found it, it aids their personal development, resulting in their ability to blissfully flow throughout the day. 

It is one reason why the Japanese seem so meticulous at everything they do. I travelled to Japan and saw firsthand how fastidious they remain performing even the most futile of jobs. It is because, to them, every job is worthwhile giving their all to when they have their ikigai – a reason for being alive.  

This isn’t to say every Japanese citizen embraces ikigai, it isn’t some nationwide concept embodied by the masses. But for those who do embrace it, it helps them prosper and live long fruitful lives. 

How to Find Your Ikigai

If you are reading this, you are probably on a journey of self-discovery, and ikigai is a great model for growth.

So, how then, do you, the reader, find it? Well, it depends on what you believe your ikigai should be. 

Scrap the western notion of it having to be your dream career. When we seek self-improvement via monetary pursuits, this isn’t true enlightenment, it is merely us chasing materialism – that capitalistic model ingrained in us since birth.  

Whilst your ikigai can be your dream career, it doesn’t have to be. Embody the Japanese way of finding it in all aspects of human experience.  

Do you have children whom you love devoutly, whom you go to work at a crappy job for just to make sure they get everything they want? Then you already possess your ikigai. 

They are that driving force which gives your life meaning, and through them, you can forgive yourself for that disappointing career. You suffer it for the purpose of a higher cause, and you can strive to change it in due time. 

My ikigai is to write. Yes, I am now trying to build a career from my writing. But for a long time I simply did it because it was my passion and it brought me happiness whenever I typed out my thoughts.  

It gives my life meaning. For so many years I thought I was without a purpose. Yet my writing waited. It whispered on the side line that if I only shed my self-loathing, it could be harnessed, used as my ikigai to bring purpose to my life. 

Often, we focus on the negative aspects of our lives. We struggle to see the positives. Thus, we are always searching for something more.  

Try to find happiness in even the smallest of tasks. Be like the Okinawans. The fact you can wake up every morning and breathe in fresh air is a miracle that none of us quite understand.  

Don’t fool yourself that ikigai will completely transform your life and help you live to be a hundred. There are various other factors which have allowed the Okinawans to live for so long – such as diet, exercise, and having strong social bonds. 

Nevertheless, ikigai plays a huge part in their longevity. They are some of the happiest people on the planet because of it, and when you find yours, encompass it, and hopefully, it will manifest positivity in your life too.