At the Origins of Ikigai. Nagomi. The Ease of Being in Japanese. The Philosophy of Balance

“Behind the silence and restraint of the Japanese lies a centuries-old secret to achieving well-being and harmony in life. This book describes the Japanese path to self-realization and inner peace – the path of nagomi.” (Ken Mogi) Scholar and writer Ken Mogi, author of the global bestseller “Ikigai. The Meaning of Life in Japanese,” introduces an original life philosophy deeply rooted in the history, traditions, and culture of the Land of the Rising Sun. Nagomi can be considered the foundation of many well-known Japanese concepts – wabi-sabi (the philosophy of embracing impermanence and the transient nature of everything around us, the ability to notice the beauty in the fleeting and the unfinished), kintsugi (the art of seeing beauty in brokenness and honoring the difficulties and trials that leave their mark on us), zen (the ability to restore inner balance, unaffected by external influences)… Thus, by understanding nagomi, you can better grasp the essence of other key ideas in Japanese aesthetics and ancient ideals.