9 Japanese friends explore what ikigai means to them

For months, I’ve been toying with how to define ikigai, a core Japanese prinicpal yet one that is so difficult to translate and so often misrepresented across the world. Being Japanese and speaking with my Japanese friends, we all struggle to define it.

When I first came across the popularised version of ikigai, it often took the form of a Venn-diagram, divided into four quadrants that together would form an answer to the grand question of our individual ‘purpose’. At the time, I was looking for the answer that these formulas offered a path to, but I didn’t know this was a misrepresentation of ikigai (someone had simply replaced a popular “purpose” venn diagram and replaced it with the word “Ikigai”). I read popular books on the concept, absorbed the information presented, answered the four-quadrant questions, did the worksheets. And yet still something didn’t feel right; it was sticky, it was forced.

In the West, we have a tendency to distill complex philosophies into step-by-step systems, which often leads to misrepresentation and goes against the nuanced nature of being human.

Only when I started more deeply exploring my own heritage and asking my Japanese friends and family about what ikigai meant to them, did I realise how much more expansive the concept was than the presentation of a worksheet or a formula. Of course there are overlaps with the Western presentation, but in Japan ikigai isn’t a ground-breaking light-bulb moment of realising your purpose, instead it’s a very subtle, everyday, humble approach to life. It isn’t spoken in conversation, it isn’t analysed, it's quietly lived and embodied.

The best way to describe ikigai is through people. Being so nuanced, so permeated into day to day life, so embodied, ikigai isn’t translatable in a single diluted sentence. But for my own curiosity and ability to explain to non-native speakers its beauty in its meaning, I wanted to offer a sense of ikigai through those who live it day to day.

Here are the thoughts of 9 Japanese-speaking friends on their ideas of ikigai:

I think I’d translate ikigai as ‘meaning of life’ or ‘something/someone that makes life worthwhile’ — it’s what keeps you going when times get rough, a reason to wake up in the morning and something you look forward to after a long day of work; an idol you like or a hobby you’ve picked up, the love of your life.

— Emma

In Japan I feel like the word ikigai is used quite casually and often. Anything that gives one purpose to live, anything that is worth living for, but ultimately Japanese people use the word to talk about the most important things in their life. So it can be a person, an experience, a pet, even social status. I think one can argue that ikigai should be something deeper, and that's what the west beautifies, but does it really need to be that deep? [My friend] is in a show right now, where an old man lost his wife recently and this wife loved mountain climbing. He never went with her but now that she's passed, even though he has heart problems it's his ikigai to get better and climb the mountains she loved and "go on a date" with her and see the same views as hers. It's a touching storyline because that is literally the one thing that keeps him going in his ill health and grief. Your question reminded me of him:)

— Christine

"ikigai" means the most important thing to live in your life. Usually people use this word when they found their ‘works’ will be worth it… For me, It took many times to know my ikigai is creating my art to spread and have chemistry with the near people!

— Suemi

I think Ikigai is nothing special for us. We normally don’t think about this concept in our daily lives. We also don’t think much about terms like 営み (Itonami) or やり甲斐 (Yarigai). It’s basically the same. When I listened to the Ikigai radio show you recommended, I realised that some Japanese people tend to over-explain the concept of Ikigai to foreigners. Before that, I used to think that foreigners overrated this word, but no. Actually, we Japanese do exaggerate this concept without thinking deeply. So I think that saying something obvious and clear about Ikigai might not have much meaning. I want people to understand that Ikigai is a more natural concept, like air, breathing, or walking. I don’t think too much about how I can walk correctly.

— Rie

‘Reason to live or Will to Live’ My purpose in life is to create good works, live mindfully, and make my family happy.

— Kei

From what my understanding is, ikigai is the thing that makes you want to live for the next day, that makes you want to wake up, that makes you feel purposeful, feel part of the world, feel that people depend on you. It's a way of being a part of the world and not feeling like you're a ghost amongst people but that you're withpeople.

I think for younger people ikigai will sound really different from older generations. For example my parents’ ikigai right now is my daughter, their granddaughter, and it's the thing that brings them joy, happiness. I think that's kind of the core concept — what is the thing that brings you happiness and joy on your soul level spirit.

And I think for younger folks, it'd be more a tangible things like achievements and successes, reachable goals. I think it has to do with younger generation having a lot more life energy, looking outward into the future and that's just the way that we're built. That's that time in our life. And when you become older, it's more introspective and you're moving slower in the world. And when things start slowing down, you start to notice more nuances and details.

But for me, ikigai right now in my life is a balancing between being in the present moment and finding the peace there, but still looking towards the future because I still would like to build up my career and even for my daughter, asking many big questions like what does it mean to be a female artist, and Asian female artists.

Ikigai comes alive for me when all the different pieces come together, things that I'm moving towards, and the things that are very important to me in my current life. It’s when I’m actually in the flow and putting things into action in the world and getting back that energetic response that gives that ikigai feeling. There’s so much synergy within ikigai. I think it's really the thing that makes you want to wake up in the morning that brings you happiness and joy truly in your heart centre and continuing to bring that into focus. It could just be conversations with people you know, for some people ikigai is your partner in life and your dog.

My motto for myself is art, my career, my family, my daughter. Those are the things that really are at the focal point.

— Satsuki Shibuya

One very special ikigai answer is from the 105 year old grandma of my friend Mariko. Her thoughts, translated by Riko, are:

Now that I have the rest of my life, my motivation for living is health. Before, it was こんちくしょう! [Konchikusho — rage / frustration / “fuck off” 😂]. And literature.

She has a fighting spirit, and this is what has got her through life. She likes studying now and before - she uses the word お勉強さん. She was up reading a book until past midnight yesterday. She also mentioned about disliking needlework,

‘[The key to ikigai is to] reorganise yourself and get better first. Clear your things first. Then you feel relieved and happier. Once you notice these things then you can start thinking to appreciate other people.’

— Mochizukisan (my mom’s Japanese energy healer who I occasionally see)