Reflections on A Year Of Ikigai with Nicholas Kemp

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  
• What living in Japan and speaking Japanese changes about interpreting Japanese philosophy  
• The messy reality of writing 365 short entries, scrapping drafts, and finding themes  
• Fact-checking Japanese terms, tea ceremony concepts, and misquoted haiku  
• Why prompts matter and how action turns reflection into felt ikigai  
• Favorite entries including “What Matters Today” and the surprising “Ikigai Is Found In Revenge” reframed toward forgiveness  
• The “four A’s” thread: awareness, affirmation, agency, and action  
• Translation news and why one-word concepts reshape how we think  
• Ikigai at work, workplace belonging, and healthier coping versus quick fixes