Japanese Self and Ikigai

The first western people to contact the Japanese were the Portuguese (Ocenario, 2021).

Portuguese heritage in Japan influenced four sectors of activity: Religion, Politics, Culture, and the Economy. The Portuguese introduced Jesuit Christianity, the first gun, and some culinary customs such as, cooking with oil, tempura and sugar. The Japanese cake, “kastera” is similar to the Portuguese “pão-de-ló” cake. That Portuguese heritage is still alive today, in the tempura dishes in Japanese restaurants, the “kastera” cake in their tea ceremonies and, as well, in several words such as: “botan”, “joro”, “pan”, “shabon”, “byõbo” (portuguese words: “botão”, “jarro”,

“pão”, “sabão”, “biombo”).

Japanese culture is inculcated from birth, with children being raised on solid foundations, much like a house is built. The values of respect for others, teamwork and the power of the group are passed on to children at school. Under adult supervision, they move together in groups going to and coming back from school. Children thank their teachers for the knowledge they impart with a formal greeting at both the beginning and end of class (kiritsu). Teachers visit their students´ home to understand what their students need to do every day to get to school and to see how they live (katei homon). This philosophy is quite like Toyota’s management philosophy of “genchi genbutsu”, or “go and see for yourself” before forming an opinion about something or solving a problem. In Europe, we say “put yourself in the others´ shoes”, to see and feel it first-hand, before forming opinions or judging. In Japan, schools do not employ professional cleaners, all the cleaning is done by the students. This is how they learn to take responsibility, to conserve assets for others to benefit from in the future, and to care for society.

Students have their meals together with their teachers and even mealtimes provide an opportunity for learning - a Total Man Concept (António, 1988). Long-term philosophy and family values can be seen in simple things such as, the school bag, the “Randoseru”, which is a very durable bag (in the beginning black for boys or red for girls), that can be passed from generation to generation.

However, while collective behaviour, respect for others, the well-being of the group and society are all paramount and seem to be common-place, the Japanese are, after all, individuals too and they have a Japanese-self. Mathews (1996) explained the Japanese-self in three degrees:

I) what is taken for granted (selves of a given society, such as language and embodied social

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20 practice); 2) the cultural shaping of self - “it can’t be helped”. “There is nothing I can do about it” (shikata ga nai) something experienced that is external to the self, such as social practices, cultural norms, and expectations that selves have considerable awareness of; and 3) the cultural supermarket that involves personal choices, cultural consumers, and creators of self. Mathews’

(1996) findings about "the Japanese self” revealed that at a certain point in Japanese history (1989-90) young people tended to live for their dreams, middle-aged people for their roles, and old people for the remnants of those roles.

An awareness of balance, sustainability and long-term vision is present in the Japanese culture in the simple, little things of everyday life. Ikebana (Japanese flower arrangements), the flowers should be placed in a balance way. People should have objectives until they die and live a long life with joy, happiness, and purpose. If you visit the Oceanário (Parque das Nações, 2021), you can see an exhibit of an underwater garden created by a Japanese called Takashi Amano. “Takashi was a nature photographer who travelled to forests all around the world, capturing the harmony of unspoilt landscapes. His exceptional art recreates nature, mixing Japanese gardening techniques with the concept of “wasi sabi”, which honours the interplay between beauty, simplicity, and imperfection. Takashi Amano believed that paying careful attention to nature can help us better understand the world and learn to preserve it. (Oceanário, 2021). Amano died in 2015 and when he recreated this scenario, he paid attention to how the plants would look like over the long-term. A long-term vision was very important in his planning and how he placed the plants.

This long-term concept is also present in “ikigai”. “Ikigai” is a Japanese word made up of

“iki” (live) and “gai” (reason). This “ikigai”, or reason for living, is pursued by the Japanese, and seen as a motor of sustainability and long-term life. For Mogi (2017), Ikigai has 5 pillars:

1) Start from the small things; 2) Free yourself; 3) Seek Harmony and Sustainability; 4) Take Joy in small things; and 5) Live in the here and now.

In the Japanese language, the word “Ikigai” can be used in different contexts and applied to small daily acts for great objectives or conquests. “Ikigai” has also been linked to good health and long life, and several medical studies have validated the connection between Japanese long-life and “ikigai”. These studies show the positive role it plays in mortality risk (Sone et al., 2008), longevity (Tanno et al.,2009), in promoting health and reducing medical expenses in Japan (Ishida, R., 2014), and in lowering the risk of incident functional disability (Mori et al., 2017). In Japanese culture, having a sense of “life worth living (ikigai)” is the most used indicator of subjective well-being. (Sone et al., 2008). Also, “Moai” which means

"meeting for a common purpose" is considered important to achieving a long-life and is the basis of the sense of community and teamwork among the Japanese.

“Ikigai” is also linked to another concept, that of “kodawari” which means that ordinary people are not satisfied with sufficient, sufficiently good is not good enough. A connection with the (Kaizen) philosophy of “continuous improvement” can be made.

Other Japanese such as the film director Hirokazu Koreeda and the writer Haruki Murakami have used “ikigai” as the basis for their works, explaining the reason for living in the enjoyment of small things. Murakami in his self-portrait put himself as a backstage runner, every step centred and never ever losing sight of the full picture o r vision that would allow him to go as far as possible. Learning from every single failure and every single happiness. (Murakami, 2007).

Also, in 2004, Dan Buettner joined the National Geographic to study the so called “blue zones” and then presented several seminars on “How to live more than 100 years”, in which

“ikigai” as a way to achieve good health and longevity was specifically discussed. Buettner studied five regions where people live longer (blue zones): Okinawa-Japan, Sardenha-Itália, Nicoya-Costa Rica, Icaria-Grécia, Loma-Linda (seven-day Adventists), California. Okinawa has the longest average life expectancy with lot of people over 100 years old. Buettner conducted several interviews among this population, and some of them cited the meaning of

“ikigai” as a joy of small things that gives a sense of living life with a common purpose that encourages a long life.

Park (2015), studying the sense of “ikigai” and social support in the Asia-Pacific Region, came to the conclusion that the Japanese, South Korean and Chinese cultural spheres share common relationships, which contrast with the United Sates and India.

Although Japan has strong collectivist values, it seems that “ikigai” is individual, a concept where dreams, inspirations and individual realisations can thrive. “Ikigai” is something discrete and in harmony with the others. Living in the here and now, respecting others and in harmony with them. Harmony and sustainability are important for “ikigai”.

It is the sense of “ikigai” connected with the third degree of Japanese-self, the cultural supermarket of Mathews (1996), that will be explored further in this investigation. Mathews used qualitative methods in his research, and during the interviews he conducted to find out what “ikigai” is, he received different answers. For a bank employee, it was his work, for a

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22 middle-aged mother, from the time she got married, it is her family, and for a young girl, Ikigai is travel.