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While I'm not a native Japanese speaker, I've lived here for a decade and communicate in Japanese 98% of the time at work. "Ikigai" is just a combination of "i
by autumnstwilight 3y ago
While I'm not a native Japanese speaker, I've lived here for a decade and communicate in Japanese 98% of the time at work.
"Ikigai" is just a combination of "ikiru" (live) and "kai" (worth doing). The existence of such a word does not imply any more of a coherent or commonly followed philosophy than the existence of the English phrase "purpose in life" or the loanword "raison d’être" does. Pretty much everything I've seen about the "unique Japanese concept of ikigai" appears to be almost entirely made up by non-Japanese people.
Not that it's necessarily a bad or useless concept, but claiming this particular formulation of it is ancient Japanese wisdom appears to be a marketing effort.
- rramadass 3y agoQuite right. I have a longstanding interest in Japanese Budo and hence count myself as somewhat knowledgeable on certain ancient aspects of that culture. There is always a tendency by westerners to read/invent more than what is in the culture itself. And then the charlatans/hucksters/shysters (both japanese and non-japanese) get on the act and ruin everything. This "Ikigai" hype reminds me of the earlier hype about "Naikan Therapy", "Morita Therapy" etc.
- raskelll 3y agoI would posit that the ability to distil complex concepts into concise phrases is prevalent across various cultures and languages. Isn't it true for our Western idioms, like the popular 'YOLO' or 'Carpe Diem' (or even the very French 'raison d'être' itself)? These terms, mostly void of any formal philosophical roots, are ways of defining and affirming the value of life within our linguistic and cultural contexts. Who's to say that future generations, whether foreign or native, won't feel a sense of novelty or exoticism in analysing these phrases of old, much like the discussion surrounding 'ikigai' today?