Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life

The rather exotic sounding name of this book, ikigai, as the authors explain, is relatively straightforward. “This Japanese concept, which translates roughly as “the happiness of always being busy,” is, “like logotherapy, but it goes a step beyond.” Logotherapy, they explain, “…helps people find their purpose in life.”It is a good book. My overall rating of the book has little to do with the quality of the writing or the underlying concept. The former is quite good and the latter is valid. My rating is strictly personal and relates more to who might be considering adding it to their reading list. Not a “don’t,” for sure. More like, “understand it for what it is.”For those who are ardent fans of all things philosophical and psychological, as I am, this is a good book that plows relatively little new ground. Finding purpose in life, keeping busy, eating well, and finding connection to the world around you is important. It’s ground, however, that has been covered by many authors over the years.If you haven’t sampled of these past triumphs you will enjoy this book very much. It is a great and easily read introduction to the topics of longevity and the benefits of living in the moment. And it chronicles many of the philosophies and prior contributions to the topic, from Buddhism to Stoicism, with a stop at the Serenity Prayer. Eastern, and particularly Japanese, contributions are given extra attention. Wabi-sabi and ichi-go ischi-e, for example, are explained in some detail, but remain an overview. Relatively newer concepts like antifragility are also explained. It even covers the Six Healing Sounds introduced by Sun Simiao in the sixth century. (This one was new to me.)A lot of the book turns on Ogimi, in the Okinawa Prefecture in Japan, which holds the distinction of being the oldest village on the planet. (In that many of the residents have lived very long lives.) It’s a delightful visit. Having lived in China for nine years and having visited Japan many times over the course of more than three decades, I have a deep fondness for places like Ogimi. I’m not sure, however, that they aren’t byproducts of the totality of Japanese culture. Could they take seed in places like California or Virginia, for example?Part of my ikigai is to be a nice person and not think disparagingly of anyone. And I am not here. This book was an interesting read for me, and may be a revelational read for you. I make no judgment on that. I just give you my experience as a reader.This book would, in my opinion, make an excellent gift for anyone in your life that might need a little boost or is otherwise hard to buy for. There is absolutely nothing here that could meet with controversy or resistance. It is decidedly upbeat throughout.And that is saying a lot of good things about any book.

I strained my eye sockets rolling my eyes while reading this book. Honestly, you'd get more value out of reading one of the free magazines at the entrance of Whole Foods. You may not learn anything, but you'll also not have to spend any money to not learn anything.The most valuable thing I gained from this book was the Venn Diagram on the back cover, and even that isn't original. It's someone else's diagram. Screen capture that and print it out.The rest of the book is basically saying, "You need an ikigai. We met some people who are old. We like Japanese culture. Here's some possibly-related behaviors. ... Don't worry about genetics or anything scientifically-proven. We have anecdotes ... some are related; some will just appeal to your emotions. ...Ooh, here are some other Asian activities that may or may not be related to living a long time. By the way, I know we're supposed to be talking about ikigai, but we're more interested in living a long time, so we're going to focus on longevity for most of the book. Here are some quotes from other books because we don't have any original thoughts of our own. Here's a list of things you should do that someone else came up with. "If you love platitudes that have no real substance behind them, if you've been known to join a cult or two in your life, if you're easily swayed by broad statements with anecdotal evidence, ... basically, if you're incapable of choosing any path at all in your life and you want someone to point in about 20 directions you can go, you'll love this book.183 pages into the book, we get to one of the most maddening statements that perfectly summarizes this whole book: "There is no perfect strategy to connecting with our ikigai. But what we learned from the Okinawans is that we should not worry too much about finding it." ... Really? Then what was the purpose of this book?"Life is not a problem to be solved." (Great. Then we don't need any self-help books at all. Let's just eliminate that category of books altogether.) "Just remember to have something that keeps you busy doing what you love while being surrounded by the people who love you." (Did you seriously not know this before reading this book? Did you believe you were a prisoner to not doing anything at all ... or doing things you hate ... around people who despise you?)What an utter waste of time this book was. Please don't waste yours.

The book felt disjointed. It wandered all over the place touching multiple concepts, but there was really very little substance to any of it. It felt like a series of loosely-rated articles that reviewed works or research by other people all presented together in one book. The stories from the supercentenarians were lovely and most of the comments from them made me smile.The chapter discussing yoga, tai chi, etc. was a joke. I thought the wrap-up chapter might finally bring it all together, but it fell short, too. There were a handful of quotes by others that I found interesting. The venn diagram in the beginning, which can readily be found on-line, is the most thought-provoking part of the book.

This is a beautifully designed but extremely shallow book. The notion of "Ikigai" seems like a kind of footnote to the discussion of the Singapore diet and lifestyle--and I learned more about that from an article I read in an airline magazine many years ago. Usually I don't like to post negative reviews of books, but this seemed to me like such a lazy endeavor that I had to speak out.

The book does a decent job of relating the concept of Ikigai to modern day psychology (with Frankl's Logotherapy from Man's Search for Meaning among others) and a few scientific references in a simple manner. It talks about how purpose plays an important role in a man's life and the different ways in which it manifests itself. It also tackles some ways to 'find your flow' and ensure that what you do receives 100% of your attention and that you enjoy whatever you are creating.The book also discusses certain other Japanese concepts like takumi (specialized workers) and moai (connections with community or friend-circle). The brief discussions have the benefit of being to the point and simple but also pose the risk of trivializing them into regular self-help advice. The book also delves into Japanese perspectives on living life and persevering without getting caught up in artificially-created urgency. But again, maybe the authors wished for the readers to research more or meditate more on the content given the concise treatment of the same.The chapters on diet and exercises have more details and thus, may be more useful. Certain foods are dealt with in greater detail as is the concept of 'hara hachi bu' wherein one eats only 80% of what would actually assuage his hunger. The chapter on exercises includes illustrations and steps. While they may suffice for some of the purposes mentioned in the book - the philosophy behind them, progressive increments and other essential details are missing or insufficient.I was interested in the concept of Ikigai and wanted to read more about it. Despite being well-written and presenting modern applications, the book did not fulfill my requirements at all. Some of the condensed content made me think that the extended research, including on-site interviews, done by the authors for writing this book was clearly lost in translation or presentation in certain parts.The hardcover is pretty and soothing with its matte texture. Inner pages are smooth and heavy with a cream tinge. The font size is good. The spine as well as pages hold up well. Overall, the book is quite light and sturdy. Bought it for INR 460 against MRP of INR 499.

Just read a back of book and its enough dont waste like me😢

The negative reviewers seem to have largely missed the point. Or to have been looking for something they will not find in a book. Yes there are chapters on diet and exercise, and the content of these is not particularly new or surprising (however irritating it may be, these things are indeed features of a healthy lifestyle).But there is a good deal more, including the sense of purpose and meaning that is common to those who have lived to an advanced age. The way this is explored and its links to, for example, logotherapy, are helpful and illuminating. Ikigai offers a genuine recipe for living a meaningful life if you are prepared to give it some time and thought.I strongly disagree with the reviewer who wanted it to be much longer! Most books are badly overwritten and in need of editing: the value of a book is in the quality of its content, not the number of pages it fills. This one is attractively presented, says what it needs to, then stops.

I personally believe that having a purpose on in life and then giving it your all is the most important to lead a happy life. This book validates so.Ikigai is a short but not very short book based on a Japanese concept. According to this concept, we find the deeply sown purpose of our lives from within ourselves by defining our passion, mission, vocation and profession. It gives you tips as to how the simplest things in our life, like sometimes, taking a pause, are what will give us a long and happy life.I bought a hardcover because of it’s extremely pretty cover. The cover itself will soothe your mind whenever you look at it. The title does go with the book but personally for me, not as I thought it would.If you are expecting it to help you find your Ikigai, give you step by step solution as to how you can find it and reward it with millions of dollars, you’ll be disappointed. This book is full of facts, real life experience from Japan’s Okinawa and compels you to focus more on you : your health, your choices, your focus and your inner happiness. It will probably be the only book you’ll come across that tells you to take it, relax, but also burn in your passion.The language is as simplistic and beautiful as the cover and it’s content. Not many tough words and very beginner-friendly in the reading world. The structure to is great with a prologue, 9 chapters, an epilogue and a list of more suggestions for you to explore in the end.Coming to the overall feel of the book, it’s very cozy. In it’s own way, it also does help you slightly to find your own Ikigai.I thought it would be a full on hustle kind of book but I felt relaxed after this read. I was ready to take on my tasks stress-free. Though it is not something extremely crazy and different, it definitely is a one-time read for all the hustlers or non-hustlers out there who think they have to punish themselves to get what they want.

Okay. So, I normally balk at purchasing self help books and try to find some other way of gleaning the often infinitesimally small bit of useful information that they actually impart. Free months on kindle unlimited etc.If this book has done one thing, it is to reinforce that rule and remind me not to be so foolish in the future.For those of you that are considering buying this book but do not want to waste precious time, sifting through the 95% of this book that is, bulking, waffle, irrelevant, endless repetition of the work Ikigai and theories as to why people on Okinawa live longer than most on the planet....** There are two things that you need to know.1. Write down the activities, hobbies, work, that you do, that make you happy (you are half way through the book before they ask you to do this!). Things that not only make you smile and feel fulfilled but where the time passes noticeably more quickly because you are focussed on the enjoyable task at hand.2. Incorporate those activities as much as you can in your daily life.The answers are pretty much in front of you on the Amazon web page for this book. Just take a look at the pictures provided and work it out for yourself from there. It’s not rocket science.Good luck and live a happy and long life with an extra £10 in your pocket. The Scottish secret to a long marriage and happy wife.I do not receive any payment or free goods for writing these reviews. I am just happy to share my views on my purchases with fellow like minded Amazonians in the hope that you may find it helpful.