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PODCAST

The Ikigai Podcast

Nick Kemp - Ikigai Tribe

Nick Kemp from Ikigai Tribe reveals what ikigai truly means to the Japanese and how you can find it to make your life worth living. Discover how you can find meaning, purpose, and joy in your day to day living, with this podcast. From interviews with professors, authors and experts to case studies of people living their ikigai, you"ll learn about the power of rituals, why having a daily morning routine is vital, how to find your confidence, how to improve your relationships, and why you should start

society & culture philosophy

All Episodes

40:00

Ikigai, Zero Waste and Local Wisdom in Kamikatsu with...

The Ikigai Podcast ·

2026/09/29

A former would-be astronaut helps a tiny town in Japan teach the world how to live lighter. Yuki Ohata returns with Satoshi Nonoyama, founder and CEO of Pangea, to unpack why Kamikatsu, Tokushima has become a magnet for sustainable tourism, study tours, and corporate learning trips. This conversation is recorded in Japanese with interpretation support, and it’s packed with practical lessons you can steal for your community, your team, or your next trip. We start with Satoshi’s origin story: ...

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34:47

Wisdom of the Shoguns with Maoko Miami

The Ikigai Podcast ·

2026/09/22

The fastest way to lose your edge is to confuse information with wisdom. We sit down with Tokyo-based Japanese calligrapher and author Naoko Omikami to talk about her new book, *Wisdom of the Shoguns: Valuable Life Lessons from Japan’s Greatest Warriors*, and why it’s designed to be read slowly, not binged. We get practical about the history without turning it into a lecture, clearing up the roles of samurai, shogun, and daimyo, and even the marketing choices that shape a book’s title for gl...

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30:25

Beyond Myself 8: Eight Powers for Navigating an...

The Ikigai Podcast ·

2026/09/08

The world is changing fast, and “just be strong” is not a plan. I’m joined by my good friend, clinical psychologist and author Professor Daiki Kato to share the thinking behind his new book Beyond Myself 8 and the BM8 framework: eight practical psychological powers that help us stay steady, connect deeply, and move forward with purpose when life feels uncertain. We dig into why non-cognitive skills like resilience, self-efficacy, empathy, and tolerance matter as much as any technical ability...

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44:47

How Ikigai Can Support Recovery from Workplace Trauma...

The Ikigai Podcast ·

2026/08/31

A single ignored greeting can sound small until it becomes the daily signal that you do not belong. We talk with Dorothy Dalton, a global HR leader and inclusive workplace champion, about what gender balance looks like when you have lived through normalized sexism, and why so many organizations still fall short on psychological safety and fair treatment. Dorothy shares how workplace harm has shifted from overt harassment to covert exclusion: being left out of emails, frozen out of meetings, ...

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27:10

Life Needs A Role with Yūki Ōhata

The Ikigai Podcast ·

2026/08/24

A grandmother stops farming and something quietly disappears: her energy, her rhythm, her reason to get up. That single story becomes the thread that ties everything together as we talk with Yuki Ohata, representative director of Sanchi No Mikata in Shizuoka, about Ikigai as a lived practice instead of a business buzzword. Yuki’s work sits right at the intersection of purpose, Japanese agriculture, and community building, and it offers a surprisingly practical model for rural revitalization.&...

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57:36

Trust and Leadership: An Entrepreneur’s Journey in...

The Ikigai Podcast ·

2026/08/20

Japan can look easy from the outside: huge buying power, world-class retail, and consumers who love quality. Then you try to sell there and discover the real barrier isn’t your product. It’s trust, context, and the unglamorous work most brands skip. We sit down with Timothy Connor, CEO of Synnovate, a bilingual and bicultural entrepreneur who has called Tokyo home for more than 30 years. Timothy shares how he went from learning Japanese and working in rural Iwate to building deep expertise i...

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53:05

Beyond Engagement with Olesia Kyrylchuk

The Ikigai Podcast ·

2026/08/03

On this episode of the Ikigai Podcast, we talk with Olesia Kyrylchuk about what happens to purpose when life gets disrupted, from relocating to Japan after the war in Ukraine to rebuilding belonging through community and work. We connect the global engagement slide to a deeper meaning problem and lay out a practical path for HR leaders who want work to feel worth doing. • Olesia’s move to Japan, cultural adaptation, and carrying home in her heart • Building new ibasho through community,...

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52:03

Ikigai And Belonging

The Ikigai Podcast ·

2026/07/08

One Japanese word can change your life. It did for us, and it’s how we met Kumiko Sugiyama, a Japanese language coach, business Japanese trainer, and ICF Associate Certified Coach who blends language learning with coaching, communication skills, and a deep love of Japanese culture. We talk through Kumiko’s real-world path across sales, parenting, startups, community work, and finally teaching Japanese to executives and engineers. Then we dig into her informal Ikigai survey of 100 people and ...

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40:39

Reflecting to Thrive with Chie Sawa

The Ikigai Podcast ·

2026/04/14

On this episode of The Ikigai Podcast, I talk with Chie Sawa, founder of Thrive Life Design, about why all leaders need a sanctuary to pause and reconnect with themselves. We also explore reverse culture shock, the power of co-reflection, and how structured tools like Tarot readings for reflection can create clarity without crossing into therapy. We explore: • Chie’s journey from Japan to the US and back • Reverse culture shock and feeling out of place at home • Why s...

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49:27

Reflections on A Year Of Ikigai with Nicholas Kemp

The Ikigai Podcast ·

2026/04/06

Caitlin Kight returns again to host the Ikigai Podcast to interview Nick on his new book, A Year of Ikigai. In this episode, Nick shares how Japanese voices, careful cultural research and daily prompts, helped him write a book that the reader can actually use. This epsidoe covers: • A 365-day reflective journey built around roles, relationships, rituals, contribution, and belonging • How this book differs from Western ikigai takes and why Japanese perspective matters ...

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42:18

Unlocking Cross-Cultural Communication in Japan with...

The Ikigai Podcast ·

2026/03/30

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61:28

The Power of Awareness: How Kizuki Moments Transform...

The Ikigai Podcast ·

2026/03/10

What if the feeling you’re most afraid of could become your clearest compass? Our conversation with Mae Yoshikawa begins in the hard places—parental divorce, a mother’s early-onset dementia, and the sudden death of a spouse—and unfolds into a practical path for turning pain into insight. Mae introduces Kizuki, the Japanese idea of an awakening moment of clarity, and shows how these flashes can be invited through disciplined attention, safe emotional space, and a deceptively simple journaling ...

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52:17

Aligning Work with Purpose: A Conversation with Tina...

The Ikigai Podcast ·

2026/03/03

What if the problem isn’t workload, but identity? We sit down with coach and HR leader Tina Bagwell to explore how many of us let a single role—the job—define who we are, and why that narrow frame leads to exhaustion, disengagement, and a loss of joy. Tina’s journey starts in Okinawa, where simple rituals, community, and omotenashi left a lasting imprint that later shaped her approach to leadership, culture, and coaching. Across global teams, Tina uses the Ikigai‑9 assessment and the seven n...

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50:18

Expanding Your Inner Capacity: The Utsuwa Philosophy...

The Ikigai Podcast ·

2026/02/24

What if the key to better work and wiser leadership isn’t adding more tools but building a bigger vessel? Shigeki Nishimura—author, cross-cultural leadership coach, and former global executive—joins us to introduce Utsuwa, the Japanese concept of inner capacity. Drawing on two decades in Germany and a career bridging Japanese precision with European efficiency, Shigeki shows how a clay tea bowl can rewire your approach to stress, focus, and team culture. We dive into a powerful triad: ikigai...

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10:59

A Year of Ikigai

The Ikigai Podcast ·

2026/02/16

Nick celebrates the launch of A Year of Ikigai and read the book’s introduction, separating myth from meaning and showing how purpose lives in daily moments. Nick shares why Ikigai is felt more than defined, and how small sources of value build a life worth living. This episode covers: • what ikigai means in simple, daily terms • why popular Western takes miss the point • the problem with the four-circle Venn diagram • the kanji roots pointing to protection and beauty • intrinsic valu...

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45:12

Turning Pain Into a Gift: The Kintsugi Life of Kiki...

The Ikigai Podcast ·

2026/02/10

A single fall changed everything. When our guest, life coach and digital nomad Kiki Fukai, crashed into a tree on a routine run, she shattered her skull and—unexpectedly—found a new way to live. What followed wasn’t a quick comeback story. It was a careful rebuild guided by kintsugi, the Japanese art of mending with gold, and a daily practice of acceptance that turned constant pain into a steady reminder to live with intention. We start with the real texture of nomad life: the rush of open i...

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48:56

Anxiety as a Compass: Exploring Ikigai, Empathy, and...

The Ikigai Podcast ·

2026/02/03

Anxiety isn’t a malfunction to be silenced; it’s a message asking to be heard. We sit down with therapist and educator Catherine Deeks Gnocchi to rethink fear through the lenses of evolution, mindfulness-based psychotherapy, and Japanese ikigai—revealing how anxiety can guide you back to your values and toward a life that actually fits. Catherine breaks down the nervous system in plain language: anxiety mobilizes the sympathetic “protect” response, while empathy and connection restore the pa...

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41:35

Discovering Ikigai Through Art and Martial Arts: A...

The Ikigai Podcast ·

2026/01/27

Start with a vision, test it in the dojo, and forge it in a studio where code becomes sculpture. That’s the journey we explore with Tokyo-based French-Spanish artist and independent curator Baptiste Tavenir, whose life bridges Japanese martial arts, musicology, and 3D-printed fine art in ways that feel both unexpected and inevitable. We talk about the leap that changed everything: leaving a Paris lab for Budo University and discovering that discipline, patience, and community dynamics aren’t...

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31:48

The Transformative Power of Travel: Insights from...

The Ikigai Podcast ·

2026/01/15

What if your next trip did more than entertain you—what if it changed you? We sit down with Jake Haupert, founder of the Transformational Travel Council, to unpack how intentional journeys can help you stretch, learn, and grow into new ways of being. Rather than racing through bucket lists, Jake invites us to slow down, clarify our why, and design experiences that align with values, purpose, and community. We explore a practical framework built on the hero’s journey—departure, initiation, re...

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55:21

Japanese Wisdom for a More Meaningful Life with Saori...

The Ikigai Podcast ·

2025/12/23

What if the words you use could change the way you breathe? We welcome author Saori Okada back to share the heart of her new book, Wisdom of Japan, a collection of 60 concise concepts designed to calm a rushed life and rekindle everyday meaning. Saori opens up about crafting short reflections that still feel true, and the painstaking process of pairing each idea with a ukiyo‑e print so the art deepens the lesson on the page. We journey through kokoro—the Japanese view of mind, heart, and spi...

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138 results

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