【翻譯練習】ikigai，長壽幸福人生的祕訣？
Is this Japanese concept the secret to a long, happy, meaningful life?
作者：Laura Oliver
來源：https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/08/is-this-japanese-concept-the-secret-to-a-long-life/
你每天早上起床睜開眼睛，為的是什麼？光是回答這個大哉問，大概就讓你想縮回被窩。若果真如此，那麼日本的「ikigai」(日文「生き甲斐」) 概念或許有所幫助。
ikigai 概念的發源地日本，是世界上人瑞最多的國家之一，而 ikigai 所代表的活得久、活得好的信念，也逐漸在日本以外地方流行起來。
ikigai 沒有英文的直譯，這個詞是日文「生きる」(拼音 ikiru，意思是「活著」) 和「甲斐」(拼音 kai，意思是「理想的實現」) 的組合，合在一起就創造出「生存的理由」這樣的概念，也就是要擁有人生的目的。
ikigai 也找得到歷史連結：「甲斐」本來是指貝殼，在日本的平安時代 (西元 794 年至 1185 年)，貝殼是很有價值的物品。臨床心理學者、東洋英和女學院大學副教授長谷川明洋表示，「甲斐」後來衍伸出「活著的價值」的意思。
有專家建議，要尋找活著的理由或目的，首先得探討這四則問題：
對於想要快速理解 ikigai 概念的西方人而言，找出這四則問題的答案並從中達成平衡，可以是一種辦法。但是對日本人而言，ikigai 是更為緩慢的過程，而且通常跟工作或收入扯不上關係。
2010 年一份針對二千多名日本男女的調查當中，只有 31% 受訪者認為工作是他們的 ikigai。
香港中文大學人類學教授麥高登 (Gordon Mathews) 著有《是什麼讓人生值得活著？：日本人與美國人的世界觀》(What Makes Life Worth Living?: How Japanese and Americans Make Sense of of Their Worlds) 一書，他在回答英國《每日電訊報》(Telegraph) 的提問時說道，人們對 ikigai 的理解方式，其實常被詮釋成另外兩種日本的概念：ittaikan (日文「一體感」) 和 jiko jitsugen (日文「自己実現」)。ittaikan 指「一個人隸屬或貢獻於一個團體或角色中的感覺」，jiko jitsugen 則是指自我實現。
麥高登說，ikigai 確實有機會為你創造更美滿的人生，「因為會有個目的在那裡，讓你知道為了什麼而活下去」，不過麥高登也提醒，不應把 ikigai 當成一種生活方式的選項：「ikigai 並不是什麼尊爵不凡的聖物，就只是擺在那裡的一件事實」。
位於日本本土西南方的琉球群島，百歲人瑞人數超乎尋常地多，而且經常出現在探討 ikigai 的文章裡 (但不包括麥高登的文章)。
研究藍色寶地 (Blue Zones，世界上長壽者比例最高的地區) 的專家丹．比特納 (Dan Buettner) 認為，ikigai 的概念普遍流布於琉球群島島民的生活中。比特納說，搭配特殊的飲食、以及「模合」這種當地人組成的友伴支援網絡，島民奉行的 ikigai 概念給了他們生活的目的，讓他們活得更久。比特納舉了三名年逾百歲者為例，分別是空手道高手、漁民和已經當到先高祖母 (曾祖母之祖母) 的老婦。
比特納在 BBC 訪談中說道，單是內心知道自己的 ikigai 還不夠－－這些長壽的人都有把心動化為行動。研究者強調，ikigai 會隨年齡而改變。對於那些為了工作而活著的人來說，退休會是一種解脫，然後開始尋找新的 ikigai。
What's your reason for getting up in the morning? Just trying to answer such a big question might make you want to crawl back into bed. If it does, the Japanese concept of ikigai could help.
Originating from a country with one of the world's oldest populations, the idea is becoming popular outside of Japan as a way to live longer and better.
While there is no direct English translation, ikigai is thought to combine the Japanese words ikiru, meaning "to live", and kai, meaning "the realization of what one hopes for". Together these definitions create the concept of "a reason to live" or the idea of having a purpose in life.
Ikigai also has historic links: gai originates from the word kai, which means shell. These were considered very valuable during the Heian period (794 to 1185), according to Akihiro Hasegawa, a clinical psychologist and associate professor at Toyo Eiwa University, adding a sense of "value in living".
To find this reason or purpose, experts recommend starting with four questions:
What do you love?
What are you good at?
What does the world need from you?
What can you get paid for?
Finding the answers and a balance between these four areas could be a route to ikigai for Westerners looking for a quick interpretation of this philosophy. But in Japan, ikigai is a slower process and often has nothing to do with work or income.
In a 2010 survey of 2,000 Japanese men and women, just 31% of participants cited work as their ikigai.
Gordon Matthews, professor of anthropology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and author of What Makes Life Worth Living?: How Japanese and Americans Make Sense of Their Worlds, told the Telegraph that how people understand ikigai can, in fact, often be mapped to two other Japanese ideas – ittaikan and jiko jitsugen. Itaikkan refers to "a sense of oneness with, or commitment to, a group or role", while jiko jitsugen relates more to self-realization.
Matthews says that ikigai will likely lead to a better life "because you will have something to live for", but warns against viewing ikigai as a lifestyle choice: "Ikigai is not something grand or extraordinary. It's something pretty matter-of-fact."
Okinawa, a remote island to the south west of Japan, has an unusually large population of centenarians and is often referred to in examinations of ikigai - though not by Gordon.
According to Dan Buettner, an expert on Blue Zones, the areas of the world where people live longest, the concept of ikigai pervades the life of these islanders. Combined with a particular diet and support network of friends or "moai", ikigai is helping people live longer on Okinawa as it gives them purpose, he says, who provides a karate master, fisherman and great-great-great-grandmother, all of whom are more than 100 years old, as examples.
Just knowing what your ikigai is is not enough – all of these people put their purpose into action, Buettner explains in a BBC interview. Researchers stress that ikigai can change with age. For anyone whose work is their reason for living, this will come as a relief as they approach retirement and begin the search for a new ikigai.
作者：Laura Oliver
來源：https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/08/is-this-japanese-concept-the-secret-to-a-long-life/
你每天早上起床睜開眼睛，為的是什麼？光是回答這個大哉問，大概就讓你想縮回被窩。若果真如此，那麼日本的「ikigai」(日文「生き甲斐」) 概念或許有所幫助。
ikigai 概念的發源地日本，是世界上人瑞最多的國家之一，而 ikigai 所代表的活得久、活得好的信念，也逐漸在日本以外地方流行起來。
ikigai 沒有英文的直譯，這個詞是日文「生きる」(拼音 ikiru，意思是「活著」) 和「甲斐」(拼音 kai，意思是「理想的實現」) 的組合，合在一起就創造出「生存的理由」這樣的概念，也就是要擁有人生的目的。
ikigai 也找得到歷史連結：「甲斐」本來是指貝殼，在日本的平安時代 (西元 794 年至 1185 年)，貝殼是很有價值的物品。臨床心理學者、東洋英和女學院大學副教授長谷川明洋表示，「甲斐」後來衍伸出「活著的價值」的意思。
有專家建議，要尋找活著的理由或目的，首先得探討這四則問題：
- 你熱愛什麼？
- 你擅長什麼？
- 你可以為世界貢獻什麼？
- 你可以靠什麼賺錢？
對於想要快速理解 ikigai 概念的西方人而言，找出這四則問題的答案並從中達成平衡，可以是一種辦法。但是對日本人而言，ikigai 是更為緩慢的過程，而且通常跟工作或收入扯不上關係。
2010 年一份針對二千多名日本男女的調查當中，只有 31% 受訪者認為工作是他們的 ikigai。
香港中文大學人類學教授麥高登 (Gordon Mathews) 著有《是什麼讓人生值得活著？：日本人與美國人的世界觀》(What Makes Life Worth Living?: How Japanese and Americans Make Sense of of Their Worlds) 一書，他在回答英國《每日電訊報》(Telegraph) 的提問時說道，人們對 ikigai 的理解方式，其實常被詮釋成另外兩種日本的概念：ittaikan (日文「一體感」) 和 jiko jitsugen (日文「自己実現」)。ittaikan 指「一個人隸屬或貢獻於一個團體或角色中的感覺」，jiko jitsugen 則是指自我實現。
麥高登說，ikigai 確實有機會為你創造更美滿的人生，「因為會有個目的在那裡，讓你知道為了什麼而活下去」，不過麥高登也提醒，不應把 ikigai 當成一種生活方式的選項：「ikigai 並不是什麼尊爵不凡的聖物，就只是擺在那裡的一件事實」。
位於日本本土西南方的琉球群島，百歲人瑞人數超乎尋常地多，而且經常出現在探討 ikigai 的文章裡 (但不包括麥高登的文章)。
研究藍色寶地 (Blue Zones，世界上長壽者比例最高的地區) 的專家丹．比特納 (Dan Buettner) 認為，ikigai 的概念普遍流布於琉球群島島民的生活中。比特納說，搭配特殊的飲食、以及「模合」這種當地人組成的友伴支援網絡，島民奉行的 ikigai 概念給了他們生活的目的，讓他們活得更久。比特納舉了三名年逾百歲者為例，分別是空手道高手、漁民和已經當到先高祖母 (曾祖母之祖母) 的老婦。
比特納在 BBC 訪談中說道，單是內心知道自己的 ikigai 還不夠－－這些長壽的人都有把心動化為行動。研究者強調，ikigai 會隨年齡而改變。對於那些為了工作而活著的人來說，退休會是一種解脫，然後開始尋找新的 ikigai。
What's your reason for getting up in the morning? Just trying to answer such a big question might make you want to crawl back into bed. If it does, the Japanese concept of ikigai could help.
Originating from a country with one of the world's oldest populations, the idea is becoming popular outside of Japan as a way to live longer and better.
While there is no direct English translation, ikigai is thought to combine the Japanese words ikiru, meaning "to live", and kai, meaning "the realization of what one hopes for". Together these definitions create the concept of "a reason to live" or the idea of having a purpose in life.
Ikigai also has historic links: gai originates from the word kai, which means shell. These were considered very valuable during the Heian period (794 to 1185), according to Akihiro Hasegawa, a clinical psychologist and associate professor at Toyo Eiwa University, adding a sense of "value in living".
To find this reason or purpose, experts recommend starting with four questions:
What do you love?
What are you good at?
What does the world need from you?
What can you get paid for?
Finding the answers and a balance between these four areas could be a route to ikigai for Westerners looking for a quick interpretation of this philosophy. But in Japan, ikigai is a slower process and often has nothing to do with work or income.
In a 2010 survey of 2,000 Japanese men and women, just 31% of participants cited work as their ikigai.
Gordon Matthews, professor of anthropology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and author of What Makes Life Worth Living?: How Japanese and Americans Make Sense of Their Worlds, told the Telegraph that how people understand ikigai can, in fact, often be mapped to two other Japanese ideas – ittaikan and jiko jitsugen. Itaikkan refers to "a sense of oneness with, or commitment to, a group or role", while jiko jitsugen relates more to self-realization.
Matthews says that ikigai will likely lead to a better life "because you will have something to live for", but warns against viewing ikigai as a lifestyle choice: "Ikigai is not something grand or extraordinary. It's something pretty matter-of-fact."
Okinawa, a remote island to the south west of Japan, has an unusually large population of centenarians and is often referred to in examinations of ikigai - though not by Gordon.
According to Dan Buettner, an expert on Blue Zones, the areas of the world where people live longest, the concept of ikigai pervades the life of these islanders. Combined with a particular diet and support network of friends or "moai", ikigai is helping people live longer on Okinawa as it gives them purpose, he says, who provides a karate master, fisherman and great-great-great-grandmother, all of whom are more than 100 years old, as examples.
Just knowing what your ikigai is is not enough – all of these people put their purpose into action, Buettner explains in a BBC interview. Researchers stress that ikigai can change with age. For anyone whose work is their reason for living, this will come as a relief as they approach retirement and begin the search for a new ikigai.
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