Mieko Kamiya, the mother of ikigai, came up with the term ikigai-kan (the feeling of ikigai) to help people understand that ikigai is about emotions and feelings. Nowadays, the concept of ikigai is being used in the West to represent something grand -- a lofty goal. That is why someone who studied the concept in depth, like Nick Kemp, believes that people should understand what ikigai is all about -- that it is something that people feel, rather than a goal to achieve, thus, he decided to use ikigai-kan as his book title.
Grab a copy of IKIGAI-KAN: Feel a Life Worth Living. Visit https://ikigaikan.com/ for more details.
Ikigai is something you feel.
Why did I title my book IKIGAI-KAN? What does ikigai-kan mean? Kan means feeling, emotion, awareness, and perception, so the title could translate to ikigai feeling. Something that we should understand is that ikigai is something you feel – it’s not something you chase, it’s not something you achieve.
Ikigai is very much about your emotions and feelings. So that’s why I titled the book ikigai-kan. I also wanted to recognise the mother of ikigai, Mieko Kamiya, who actually came up with the term Ikigai-kan to emphasise the point that ikigai is something we feel.
I’d like to quote from the introduction in the book, about what ikigai-kan is all about:
“It is good to be alive, and feeling ikigai is an extraordinary sensation, a sensation known as ikigai-kan. The feeling that life is worth living, it is the feeling you have when you have a zest for life, it is the feeling you have when you get uncontrollable giggles with an old friend.
It is a feeling of warmth you experience when you hug someone you love and who loves you. It’s the feeling you have when you feel that your life is moving forward. It is a feeling you have when you overcome a struggle and discover your potential. Ikigai-kan is the emotional response to life experience that makes life feel worth living.”
So know that you understand what ikigai-kan means, grab a copy of the book and you can explore it deeper. IKIGAI-KAN: Feel a Life Worth Living.