Ikigai became known in the West as a framework for achieving grand goals: something associated with entrepreneurship and work. However, the Japanese wouldn't associate ikigai with work or money. Nick Kemp, who studies the concept in depth, believes that people should understand that ikigai is more than that. Thus, he came up with IKIGAI-KAN to help people understand what ikigai really is for the Japanese people.
Grab a copy of IKIGAI-KAN: Feel a Life Worth Living. Visit https://ikigaikan.com/ for more details.
There are lots of misconceptions about the concept of ikigai.
The first chapter title from my book IKIGAI-KAN: Feel a Life Worth Living is Ikigai: A Misunderstood Word. I’d like to read to you part of the opening paragraph:
“What is ikigai? Ikigai is a greatly misunderstood concept outside of Japan. It’s not a word from Okinawa, it’s not a Japanese secret to longevity, it’s not an entrepreneurial Venn diagram framework, it is not a pursuit of a single life purpose, and it is not something all Japanese have. Most likely, the majority of your ikigai knowledge is composed of Western misconceptions and romanticised notions.”
In the opening chapter, I go into detail as to how ikigai become misunderstood as a word from Okinawa, a Venn diagram framework, and how people believe it to be the pursuit of a single life purpose, and how there is this romantic idea that all Japanese wake up and jump out of bed knowing what their ikigai is.
So that’s simply not true, we all know Japan, like any countries, has its problems. In fact, they have several unique problems, one is hikikomori, a form of extreme social withdrawal, and I talked about that in the chapter, Ikigai: A Misunderstood Word.
So if you’d like to learn what ikigai really means in the concept of the Japanese culture, grab a copy of my book, IKIGAI-KAN: Feel a Life Worth Living, Japanese wisdom for a fulfilling and meaningful life.