podcasts

Can you take a moment to prioritise yourself?

Amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life, self-care can often be neglected. In Japan, there’s a concept known as yutori, which encourages creating mental space—an approach you can adopt and integrate into your own life in this fast-paced world.

Do you distance yourself from others or do you close the gap?
Often overlooked, the gap between us and our surroundings plays a vital role in cultivating relationships, both with others and our environment.

One shot. One life.

In Japan, Kyūdō offers a path to seek the truth. Through correct technique and form, archery becomes a spiritual concentration that cultivates the self.

If you died right now, what do you think would happen to you?

This is a question that many people have explored, yet a clear answer remains elusive. No one knows for certain if life after death truly exists, but contemplating the possibility can imbue our lives with greater meaning.

Can robots help enhance the quality of life for older adults?
As people get older, their ikigai tends to change, and in some cases, they may experience a loss of it. However, with technology, it is possible to address these challenges and help older adults rediscover lost ikigai.

“The old Japanese word ibasho has been used in everyday situations. Like, please tell me his ibasho, his roundabout, his way about. The use of this term ibasho was newly used in policymaking and research in the 1990s. The background of this is that in the 1980s, the problem of Japanese education was truancy, those who do not attend schools.

And the Minister of Education in Japan gave a report on a policy of transit in 1992. The subtitle was, ‘Give them ibasho in schools.’ So ibasho was used in policymaking. And after that, researchers in the field of education, psychology, sociology, and architecture use the word ibasho as a technical term.”

“These challenges taught me valuable lessons and helped me grow personally and professionally. We gained a deeper understanding of our strengths and weaknesses, and we honed our problem-solving skills. Moreover, these experiences allowed us to develop a broader perspective and expand our knowledge and capabilities. We learn to adapt to new situations and think creatively to overcome challenges. We discover the significance of collaboration and effective communication in achieving our goals.”

“The participants gave me the idea of losing ikigai, maintaining ikigai, recovering ikigai, or finding new ikigai. Ikigai becomes very dynamic, because it’s either lost or maintained or recovered. A lot of participants told me that during the crisis, and also after the crisis, nature was the kind of connector, and this is how I ended up being so interested on environmental issues, and sustainability, and perceptions of climate change crisis, and what does the connection of people with nature have to do with their well-being?

So during the crisis, they felt that connecting to nature helped to overcome the crisis. And after the crisis, still appreciating nature was something that was very much rooted in people’s experiences.”

“So when I started making the film when I was in high school, the comedy detective film, and showed it to people in my school, and made people laugh, that empowered me. And I felt something special about making something out of nothing. So filmmaking became my ikigai. But when I started working on carving the divine, it’s not ikigai anymore.”

“In today’s world, many people try to grow and grow and grow. They think growth is always important. Once you reach one level, then you need to grow farther. But for me, once you’re comfortable, then maybe you move to the next phase of helping others to grow, or working on your other areas of life, and so on. Just limit the growth, and then be satisfied with your own lot is taru wo shiru.

And in fact, if everybody practises taru wo shiru, then the world becomes more sustainable. Because we can sustain a kind of wealth of comfortable level for each individual, but we cannot sustain the planet if a few people want to gain so much wealth. That’s impossible.”