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, work, and a Ukrainian playback theatre group
• What playback theatre is and why stories create meaning and connection
• A 25-year HR path shaped by philosophy, burnout, and returning to the “calling”
• Why employee engagement is falling and how AI accelerates purpose questions
• The gap between job satisfaction and true engagement
• A three-layer view of workplace well-being: meaning, health, environment
• Beyond Engagement program for HR leaders using Ikigai, Ibasho, rolefulness, and kokorozashi
• Practical outcomes including a meaning and belonging heat map, diagnostics, and burnout tools
listeners, if you're interested in in this, if you work in HR, go to IkigaiTribe.com and then on the website you will see the a link to all the details. You can email us or you can reach out to us on LinkedIn if you have any questions.

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 what it reveals about how Japanese people experience purpose: not as a single “dream job,” but as something felt in daily life, relationships, hobbies, and contribution. We share examples that range from personal joy to family wellbeing to meaningful work, and we look at why Ikigai often sounds more practical and relational in Japan than it does online.

From there, we explore Ibasho, the “place to be” where you can show up as yourself and feel a sense of belonging. Kumiko explains how shared-interest communities build warmth, safety, and growth, and we connect it to positive psychology, strengths, and motivation. We also reflect on loneliness, social withdrawal, and why in-person community may become even more important as AI changes work and connection. Along the way we touch on beautiful Japanese concepts like ohitorisama and yutori, and how language can shape wellbeing.

Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s searching for meaning, and leave a review with the Japanese word that has colored your life.

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 sociology and women’s rights shaped her path
• Building Thrive Life Design beyond psychotherapy
• What “thrive” means as steady life expansion
• Sanctuary as a space to pause, breathe, and renew
• Reflection vs naisei and why being heard matters
• Reflection as a tool with clear limits
• Rumination, resentment, and when therapy is the better path
• The Reflection Room as a flexible one-on-one space
• Soul Story Tarot as a reflective structure not fortune telling
• Utori as the felt sense of inner room
Book a session with Chia.

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

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 practice.

We dig into attention as the currency of consciousness and why so much of our suffering springs from where we place it. Mae explains how untrained attention leaks into loops, resentment, “why me,” and autopilot narratives that exhaust us. Through yoga, breathwork, and meditation, she rebuilt a foundation that made acceptance possible. Arugamama—what is is—doesn’t minimize grief; it removes the fight against reality so we can feel fully and act wisely. The turning point is learning to observe thoughts as thoughts and feelings as temporary signals, not edicts.

Mae’s Kizuki Journaling method brings this to life. Each session weaves one theme and three finely tuned prompts with a guided meditation designed to loosen mental grooves. The first two prompts surface honest clutter; the third reframes with precision, often triggering an “aha” you can’t unsee. We share real moments from a workshop, including reconnecting with a bold, generous childhood self, a reminder that clarity often reveals what was always there. Mae also opens up about a recent insight: spotting the story that kept her small in English-language work and choosing expansion over safety.

If you’re feeling stuck in a “why” loop, overwhelmed by noise, or ready to trade fear for clarity, this episode offers tools and a humane mindset to help you move. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review with the biggest insight you’re taking forward. What truth can you see today that you can’t unsee tomorrow?

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 needs identified by Dr. Mieko Kamiya to help people reconnect with what truly matters: resonance, belonging, self‑actualization, and everyday life satisfaction. She shares how Millennials and Gen Z are rejecting linear careers, opting instead for rolefulness—the healthy balance of many roles across work and life. We dig into why “return‑to‑office equals engagement” is a false promise, how boards miss the human core of culture, and why simple behaviors like greetings, real conversations, and gratitude are powerful levers for trust. You’ll hear how women leaders are reframing caretaking and career, reclaiming self‑care as a valid role, and finding presence both at home and at work.

Tina reframes ikigai from a buzzword to a daily practice: checking in with the seven needs during morning coffee, a walk, or a shared meal. If even one need is met, the day carries meaning. We connect this to the creator economy, where younger workers value autonomy and making things that reflect their voice—music, products, code, stories—while using technology as a tool, not a master. The conversation moves from Okinawa to boardrooms to everyday rituals, showing how remembrance, not reinvention, can transform careers and cultures.

If you’re craving purpose, balance, and a more human way to work, this conversation offers practical ideas and language you can use today—whether you lead teams or lead your own life. Enjoyed this one? Follow, share with a friend, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.

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 as the engine (purpose), kintsugi as the mechanic (repair), and Utsuwa as the chassis (capacity). Instead of sprinting toward bigger goals with a fragile frame, he explains how to grow stability, increase margin, and keep a low center of gravity—so you can hold success without arrogance and failure without shattering. The result is spacious leadership: decisive when needed, humble by default, and relentlessly human. Expect concrete practices, from tidy-desk resets and shorter meetings to one-on-ones that create trust and autonomy. You’ll hear how emptiness—yohaku—is not a void to fear, but the space where insight lands and innovation begins.

Shigeki shares a four-question diagnostic to test your capacity, plus three habits to expand it: accept your cracks, lower your center, and practice the void. We also connect these ideas to modern overload—constant notifications, social feeds, and AI—and map out how to remove noise so your best thinking can surface. If you’ve ever felt like you’re pouring an ocean of complexity into a teacup, this conversation offers a sturdier bowl and a calmer hand.

If the ideas resonate, follow the show, share this episode with a friend, and leave a quick review—what will you remove this week to make room for meaning?