podcasts

Kiku Day is a shakuhachi player, a PhD ethnomusicologist, and a world traveller from Copenhagen, Denmark. Her work lies at the intersections of performance of traditional shakuhachi music, contemporary music and improvisation, ethnomusicology, history, politics, meditation, and writing. She studied shakuhachi with Okuda Atsuya, one of the foremost performers of jinashi shakuhachi, in Tokyo, Japan for 11 years before returning to Europe to study ethnomusicology at School of Oriental and African Studies at University of London.

Benjamin Boas is an American author, translator, and contemporary Japanese culture consultant. He is both the Cool Japan Ambassador for the Japanese government and a Tourism Ambassador for the Nakano ward in Tokyo. He is the author of From Cool Japan to Your Japan and two other Japanese-language books about intercultural education and has written for Studio Ghibli, The Japan Times, and many other publications.

Jennifer Shinkai is a facilitator and executive coach living in Japan. Originally from the UK, Jennifer holds an MA (Oxon) in English Language and Literature from St. Hugh’s College, Oxford University. She is an ICF Associate certified coach, Points of You® Expert, and Organization and Relationship Systems Coaching ORSC® Practitioner, and coaches individuals and corporate groups around their ikigai. She also has her own podcast and YouTube channel, “Ikigai with Jennifer Shinkai.”

Rie Takeda is a freelance artist and a professional calligrapher; she has been practising shodo since the age of five, under the creative supervision of her grandmother, a distinguished Gayu calligraphy artist.

Rie teaches shodo in various countries, including the UK, Switzerland, and Germany. She produces Neo-Japonism paintings, calligraphy works, washi paper and vintage Kimono collages, illustrations, and works in body art. Rie was also a guest on episode 32 of the Ikigai Podcast, where she talked about Mindfulness Calligraphy.

Everyone wants to be the best version of themselves; some would think that to achieve that, it is vital to go after bigger goals. In Japan, however, people focus on having better relationships and reflecting on their lives rather than going after something grand. Morita therapy and Naikan are some of the Japanese psychology that may help people contemplate their lives and understand what really matters.

Have you ever contemplated the good things that happened in your life? Sometimes, we tend to focus on the negative aspects of our lives, and we forget to acknowledge the good things that occur around us. In Japan, they have a self-reflective form of meditation called naikan; this method helps people realise what they have caused others (both good and bad). Can this practice of naikan help us feel more ikigai in our lives?

Is rolefulness essential to ikigai?

Although we might not be aware of it, our roles may impact our well-being. We may have many roles in our lives, each with its own significance and impact – on people around us and on us as individuals. These roles give us a sense of fulfilment that leads to a feeling of ikigai.

When we hear the term Bushido, we imagine the Japanese samurai and think of it as something related to martial arts. But the principle of Bushido can actually be applied to some aspects of our lives and help us gain continuous improvement.

Do you have a fascination with Japan and its culture? 

After years of living in Japan and having a meaningful connection with its people, Nick developed a fondness for Japan and its culture. Seeing Japanese concepts, particularly ikigai, being misinterpreted in the West as a Venn diagram makes him uncomfortable as he knows that the idea of ikigai is more than that. With that, he wants to give justice to this concept — make people understand and appreciate its authentic beauty that is true to the Japanese culture.

Japan is filled with crafts that play an important part in their culture. Hence, they have traditions that are passed down from generation to generation to keep them alive. However, with the responsibilities being instilled with the present generation, is it possible for them to find ikigai with the work that they do?