About this episode
The episode explores the Japanese concept of Ikigai in coaching practice, emphasizing its cultural nuances and relational aspects.
Show Notes: Simon Western is joined by Yoko Kunii Aldous - lecturer, coach, hypnotherapist and cultural translator - to explore the deeper roots of this Japanese concept, revealing it to be less a “life purpose formula” and more a way of being-in-the-world. Yoko reflects on her journey from Japan to the UK and how living between languages and cultures opens up inner landscapes. She shares the real history of Ikigai - not as a productivity hack, but a pre-capitalist way of locating oneself in community and cosmos - and interrogates why the popular Western Venn diagram (“what you love, what you’re good at…”) oversimplifies and erases its cultural nuance. Drawing on Japanese concepts, Yoko frames language as a worldview where nature, spirit, and objects are integral to self-understanding. She speaks of spirituality in everyday life - from cherry blossoms to chopsticks - and explains why Ikigai should be seen as fluid, shifting across life stages and relationships, rather than as a fixed endpoint. The conversation explores the tension between individualism and collective responsibility, asking whether one can truly have Ikigai without caring for the village. From embracing…
People in this episode
Host: Simon Western
Guest: Yoko Kunii Aldous
Topics covered
- Ikigai
- coaching
- cultural translation
- individualism
- collective responsibility
Keywords
- spirituality
- wabi-sabi
- self-understanding
- community
- cosmos
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: MA, MSc
Places: Japan, UK, Ikigai
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