In this episode, Nick Kemp shares his love for one of his favorite Japanese words: tanoshimi (楽しみ). It’s not just about enjoyment—it’s about looking forward to something, a concept deeply rooted in Japanese culture that Nick found fascinating during his early days in Japan.
Anticipating enjoyable moments
Nick: So this leads us to this idea of if things are worth doing, or if they're worth living for, hopefully many of them involve tanoshimi. And tanoshimi is one of my favorite words. It's perhaps one of the first words I really learnt in Japan. And I used to hear it all the time.
And I understood it's something to look forward to, but it also just means enjoyment in general. I found that very unusual when I first went to Japan. Because we just wouldn't say that, not as often. We wouldn't be saying "Oh, that's something to look forward to." We just wouldn't say that. But I would hear it all the time.
And I'm thinking of, I'm gonna go see Forrest Gump. I'm gonna see a movie, and they're like, "Tanoshimi ne." And it's like, what is this word? They're always saying this word. And I thought was such a great word, because it validates this future thing that will be enjoyable.
It's like you have enjoyment looking forward to it. And then you obviously experience enjoyment when it happens. So I really like that. And it still remains one of my favorite words, but it was also very unusual at the time when I first heard it.
Shinichi: I think it's so cultural.
Nick: Yeah. Obviously it ties into ikigai, this idea of having things to look forward to. And also, if we're struggling with life, having things to look forward to can give us the motivation to persist and persevere.