What is the Ikigai Initiative?

IKIGAI is a Japanese concept that comes originally from two words; “Iki” meaning “life” and “Kai” meaning “value,” thus to live a life of value. Ikigai does not translate easily into English, but a Japanese dictionary defines Ikigai as “joy and a sense of well-being from being alive” and “realizing the value of being alive.” The essence of Ikigai is to find your life purpose, your reason for existing and your motivation to get up every single day. Ask people in Japan what their Ikigai is, and they will tell you that “my children are my Ikigai,” “my work is my Ikigai,” or “volunteering for my neighborhood is my Ikigai.” Ask another woman and she will tell you, “arranging dried flower petals into an art piece at a senior center with her friends” is her Ikigai. A person may have more than one Ikigai at any given time, and their Ikigai may change over time. People find different interests every day, and their source of joy changes accordingly. Your Ikigai is something that will grow and change with you. In Japan, there is a term that says that for every 10 people, there will be 10 different Ikigai. Ultimately, knowing your Ikigai is about knowing yourself.

Our lives start as a blank slate, and all with varying genetic makeups and circumstances, but science confirms that we can all have a happy and meaningful life, doing specific things to improve our situation, whatever or however they occur. Science has also proven that people with a sense of purpose live a longer and healthier life. There is a positive correlation between having a purpose of life and a decreased mortality rate. The philosophy behind Ikigai says that our life purposes await us at the end of our journey(s).

The Ikigai Initiative, with its collaboration of partners, workshops and books are readily available to help children, adults, senior citizens, people with special needs or anyone in the journey to discover their Ikigai.

Who is behind the Ikigai Initiative?

Inspired by the values instilled in him by his father and mother, Gerry Yahata continues his parent’s legacy of “helping and giving whenever you can.” Born and raised in Kaimuki, Honolulu, Hawaii, Gerry’s upbringing has been a mixture of Eastern and Western ideas and traditions. Being told that “you were not smart enough to attend public schools,” Gerry was fortunate to be able to attend a variety of religious-based private schools giving him a unique perspective of Christianity mixed in with his parent’s Buddhist family upbringing.

Gerry graduated from the University of Hawaii with a degree in Education, and started his initial job as an elementary teacher with the DOE. With the DOE having an abundance of teachers, thus not assuring new teachers of permanent placement, he started a journey to have and pursue a variety of career opportunities which ultimately gave him views of work-life from different perspectives. Gerry had work/career opportunities as a DOE teacher, construction laborer, bank finance officer, bank training officer, compliance officer, church administrator, hospital training coordinator, UH-Manoa program officer, author and last but most importantly, full-time caregiver for his mother.

The Ikigai Initiative is Gerry’s next opportunity to continue his parent’s legacy of “helping and giving whenever you can.” He has written books for children and families that will hopefully bring and instill the values of the Fruit of the Spirit. Gerry also conducts workshops helping people find happiness, kindness, and ultimately, their purpose in living, IKIGAI.