Did you know that the Japanese have an above-average life expectancy? Their healthy lifestyle and positive mindset certainly play a significant role in this! The Japanese culture is known for placing great importance on self-exploration and leading a happy, as worry-free life as possible.
This wisdom is now gaining popularity in our part of the world as well, and various Japanese life philosophies and concepts are being promoted in documentaries and books. Since it can be challenging to keep track of the many theories out there, we have selected five concepts for you that we believe could enrich your life:
1.Mono no aware
2.Wabi-sabi
3.Mottainai
4.Kaizen
5.Ikigai
Let’s take a closer look at these terms and explore how we can integrate these concepts into our daily lives to invite more inner balance, acceptance, and fulfillment.
1. Mono no aware
Mono no aware encourages appreciation of the impermanence of things, a concept that requires our daily attention to accept and embrace.
What is mono no aware?
Often translated as “the pathos of things” or “empathy toward things”, mono no aware is about developing an awareness that things do not last in this life. “Mono” means “things” while “aware” can be translated to “feeling” or “sentiment.”
When we live with mono no aware, we embrace life’s ephemeral nature, finding beauty in transience. It doesn’t require us to change our lifestyles but asks us to exhibit less control over things and people. It teaches us to accept that all things come and go.
Important to mono no aware is that presence and acceptance mean embracing all of our feelings, including the difficult ones that might not make us feel good. Sitting with the sadness of loss is part of mono no aware. It is about presence in the moment, a state of mindfulness.
Practicing mono no aware
To bring mono no aware more into our lives, one writer suggests choosing an object within your reach and holding it, ideally something important to you. Feel its shape, weight, and texture in your hand. Consider how you came to have this thing—what had to happen to bring it into being? Imagine its future after you are gone. Sit with these thoughts for a moment.
We can carry this kind of presence into our daily lives. Go for a walk and look up at the clouds: think about their constantly shifting shapes—this is the only time you’ll see this shape. Watch a squirrel scamper up a tree, living a life in ignorance of all your concerns and fixations. Listen to the sound of someone’s voice when they talk to you, a voice that no one else in the world has.
2. Wabi-sabi
Wabi-sabi is a philosophy about finding beauty in imperfections. It’s closely connected with the art of kintsugi, which we’ll also discuss below.
What is wabi-sabi?
Wabi-sabi combines two concepts in Japanese, with the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy translating “wabi” as “subdued, austere beauty” and “sabi” as “rustic patina.” This combination of beauty and imperfection combines the idea behind wabi-sabi: nothing lasts, nothing is ever finished, and nothing is perfect.
It shares a similar view of impermanence that mono no aware shares, but wabi-sabi is more present in the appearance of things. An ancient design principle in Japan, wabi-sabi has helped define the appearance and artistry of objects for centuries.
Wabi-sabi tea bowls demonstrate the philosophy in practice. Their uneven shapes, discolorations, and uneven patterns are all part of the wabi-sabi philosophy. Tea ceremonies in Japan use these bowls to serve tea in what they call “unpretentious environments”. Cracks on the surface, paint chips, faded colors, and previous repairs are all embraced as part of the aesthetic and ceremony.
Wabi-sabi and kintsugi
Translating literally to “golden repair”, kintsugi uses golden powder in glue to repair broken ceramics. Once repaired, the objects bear their scars in beautiful gold. The imperfections contribute to and enhance the look of the objects. It becomes something new.
Its connection to wabi-sabi is how it teaches us to see something broken or damaged not as useless, but as changed and with potential for renewal. To repair something isn’t to make a lesser version of it but to help it evolve into something new.
Practicing wabi-sabi
To practice wabi-sabi, we can reconsider “imperfection”. In our work, hobbies, and appearance, we can ask ourselves: am I striving for unattainable perfection, criticizing every mistake I make? Are they really mistakes?
Another way to practice wabi-sabi is to repair broken things instead of throwing them away. See how its repairs become part of its aesthetic, perhaps even improve its usefulness. We can use kintsugi or find another method of aesthetic repair.
3. Mottainai
Expressing regret over wasteful behavior, this phrase is influential in the Japanese environmentalist movement.
What is mottainai?
The phrase “mottainai” is commonly translated in English to “What a waste!” The Kōjien, widely considered the most authoritative dictionary of Japanese, lists several definitions for the term, including giving thanks, behaving poorly towards a deity, and expressing regret over something not being used to its full potential.
Mottainai can be used in many different contexts:
1. When something can still be used, and it is being thrown away. E.g., throwing away the wrapping paper at Christmas when it could be reused next year.
2. When something has been over-used. E.g., leaving the heater on all night and wasting electricity/gas.
3. When an opportunity has been missed. E.g., missing out on the opportunity for a financial investment.
4. When one’s talent or abilities are not being used. E.g, being a talented musician who never practices.
5. When something is too good to be used. E.g., serving an expensive bottle of wine to guests who don’t appreciate it.
6. When someone is hesitant to accept something of such high quality. E.g., rejecting compliments because you don’t feel worthy of them.
Mottainai and food waste
Japanese cooking frequently adopts the mottainai spirit. Wasting ingredients that could be used in the meal is a shameful practice and stems from the country’s history of poverty and intermittent famines in rural villages.
At a fishing village in Murakami, three hours from Tokyo, chef Keiko Kuwakino describes her grandmother’s refusal to waste “even a single grain of rice” and how she would remind Kuwakino and her siblings of the hard work and sacrifice required to grow it.
Chefs in Japan have cultivated creative methods of reducing waste, including pulverizing fishbones into flavorful powder, turning excess rice into a flavorful dish by pouring green tea over it, and cooking the animal organs people usually throw away into their own exciting dish using an array of spices.
Practicing mottainai
Mottainai requires that we reconsider our relationship to waste, similar to wabi-sabi asking us to reconsider imperfections. Being wasteful is expensive and environmentally unsustainable—mottainai helps guide us away from this.
When cooking, consider how you can use everything. If the recipe leaves you with unused parts of the ingredients (e.g. potato skins, basil leaf stems), research ways you can use these things. Start a compost bin for anything you throw away, and research food waste programs in your area to donate excess food.
Practice more conscious commitment to your tasks and the opportunities that arise. Recognize that it is wasteful to do something without trying to do it well, as it is wasteful to over-exert yourself and cause harm.
4. Kaizen
Kaizen is highly influential in the business sector and has been adopted by many companies in Japan and worldwide. It also has the potential for use in our personal lives.
What is kaizen?
Kaizen is roughly translated as “continuous improvement.” “Kai” means change or revision and “zen”, a common word used in English, means virtue or goodness.
With origins in post-WWII quality management techniques, kaizen follows the mottainai zero waste philosophy and applies it to improvement. Businesses adopting the kaizen philosophy discover what they can improve without adding anything new. They use existing resources to increase efficiency and boost quality control.
These 10 principles form the core of kaizen philosophy:
1. Forget assumptions
2. Solve problems proactively
3. Progress beyond the status quo
4. Forgo perfectionism, embrace continuous adaptation
5. Find solutions alongside mistakes
6. Create a collaborative environment
7. Don’t accept the obvious, always ask “why”
8. Seek multiple perspectives on issues
9. Creatively solve problems without spending
10. Always seek improvement
Practicing kaizen
Whether you implement it at work or in your personal life, kaizen is a philosophy applicable to any task, especially when considering how to improve processes. Overall, it asks for a simplistic approach to improvement:
How much can I do with the resources I have?
This invites us to look critically at our current situation and think creatively about how we can make it better. We trust in ourselves that we have the means to improve things if we use our resources purposefully.
Outside of work environments, we can apply kaizen to big projects like home renovation, gardening, time management schedules, and anything that requires careful consideration and ongoing improvement.
5. Ikigai
One of the most popular Japanese concepts, ikigai is about living a purposeful life.
What is ikigai?
“Ikigai” translates from Japanese into “reason for being”. It’s a compound word in Japanese expressing both “iki” (life/alive) and “kai”, pronounced gai (an effect/a result/a benefit).
More broadly, ikigai refers to something in your life that brings you joy. It could be the people in your life, your hobbies, or your career. Ikigai can also refer to minor things in our daily lives: the breakfast we make each morning, the sudoku puzzle we complete on the train to work, the conversation we have with a loved one at the end of the day.
Do you want to know your current ikigai level? Our test has the answer!
In the book Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life, the authors present interviews with over 100 elderly residents of Ogimi village, a village known for the longevity of its people.
Through these interviews, the book reveals the potential benefits of ikigai. When asked what their ikigai was, the elderly Ogimi residents had explicit answers. Whether gardening, making art, or seeing friends, they were busily engaged, pursuing and cultivating something each day.
Practicing ikigai
To practice your ikigai, you first need to identify it. What do you look forward to each day? What or who motivates you? Writing a list of your answers to these questions and looking at the list each day can help you stay focused. Our online test can also help you to discover your own unique ikigai.
Create a schedule that ensures you have time to pursue your ikigai. Place the ikigai high on your list of priorities, recognizing that this might mean sacrificing other things. We do this in dedication to something that matters most to us.
Japanese Concepts for Living Well: A Holistic Approach
There are central tenets throughout the concepts discussed in this article. Appearing throughout each of these approaches to living well are things like:
· Being present or mindful
· Embracing imperfections and transience
· Reducing waste
· Doing things with purpose
Considering these commonalities, imagine taking a holistic approach to these concepts. Maximize their potential for betterment in your daily life, work, relationships, and creative endeavors. Each concept has its purpose while complementing another.
For more, view the tests and articles in our balance category.
