Ikigai, Okinawa and The Longevity Buzz

The internet and social media is ablaze with ikigai again thanks to the Netflix series Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones, but is Okinawa the land of immortals or Japan’s least healthy prefecture?

The answer appears to be both.

In episode one, The Journey Begins, National Geographic Fellow Dan Buettner travels to Okinawa, Japan where the island’s oldest residents enjoy a serene way of life motivated by a sense of purpose, or ikigai.?

Buettner's curiosity for these centenarians and love of learning is infectious. He takes you on a inspiring and captivating journey into these vibrantly living people's homes and kitchens.

Buettner describes Okinawa as the land of the immortals as it has produced the longest lived population in human history stating “they have a fraction the rate of diabetes, one fifth the rate of heart disease and very little dementia. And they are making it to 100 at a rate far surpassing the United States.”

It was with delight that I watched centenarian, 101 years young Umeto Yamashiro play Quoits, throwing rubber rings over an inclined board of spikes with incredible dexterity and accuracy.

Umeto’s advice for living a long life is;

• Always have fun.
• Don’t get angry.
• Have fun with everyone.
• Make everyone happy.
• Laughter brings us longevity?

You might want to heed her advice, at 101 she can sing and play the shamisen, a three-stringed traditional Japanese music instrument with great precision and can even dance while balancing a large sake bottle on her head.?

Buettner noted “To have that cognitive ability, that vitality, that positiveness, all in one package. I look at her and say “I want that.”?

I want it, too. And I’m sure you do, too.

In the Netflix episode Buettner makes the claim of an ikigai and longevity connection.

“There is this concept in Okinawa called ikigai. And I believe that it is one of the most powerful factors contributing to their longevity”

He also notes that Okinawans have no word for retirement. When they get to 60, 70, 80 , 90 they’re still "working", offering examples of the centenarians gardening daily or running a market stall.

But are we being misled?

Unfortunately, Buettner my be misleading us a little. While it may be true that Uchinaaguchi, the indigenous language of Okinawa, has no word for ‘retirement’, ikigai is not a concept from Okinawa, but, rather, a common word in the Japanese language.?

Most Japanese would indicate that ikigai is something they feel rather than talk about; if they do discuss it, they discuss it in the same nonchalant way as they might discuss their hobbies – and, for many Japanese, their ikigai is their hobby, which may make the concept seem not all that unique or special.?

And for some Japanese ikigai can be a vice, such as alcohol or cigarettes, that acts as a coping mechanism to help them get through their stressful work days.

In all my conversations with Japanese ikigai researchers and my many Japanese friends on this subject, not one has ever mentioned ikigai as being something to do with longevity.

What Buettner Left Out - Okinawa is Now Japan’s Least Healthy Prefecture

Tragically, today Okinawa is now the least healthy prefecture in all of Japan. On the Rich Roll podcast in March of 2020, Buettner revealed that due to the introduction of the Western diet, Okinawa has suffered the worst degeneration of all five Blue Zones, and now has the highest rates of obesity and diabetes. What was once the island of longevity is now Japan’s fast-food capital.?

“The place that has been hit the worst is Okinawa…I first went there in 1999….At the time it was producing the longest lived people in the history of the world. Now it is the least healthy prefecture in all of Japan. It’s got the highest rates of obesity, the highest rates of diabetes, and it has undergone the worst degeneration of any of the Blue Zones.”

What You Can Learn From The Netflix Episode

Okinawan centenarians do report having a strong sense of ikigai as explored in this Netflix episode. Here is what we can take from from their lived experience and wisdom.

Medicinal Foods

Eat purple sweet potatoes. The biggest take away from this episode might be to eat a lot of beni-imo, purple sweet potatoes. In the 1950’s almost 70% of? Okinawan’s caloric intake was from beni-imo. They are full of complex carbohydrates and fibre and have 150% more of the antioxidants than blueberries do.

But it is their whole diet which includes an array of foods that hold medicinal properties or health benefits, such as Mulberry leaves, squid ink, seaweed mugwort, that fuel the years of these centenarians.?

Caloric Density

Eat nutrient dense foods instead of caloric dense foods. Their foods, tofu, goya, sweet potatoes, cabbage and so on are nutritionally dense yet low on calories allowing them to satisfying large appetites without putting on the pounds.

Buettner excitedly reports:? ?"So in America ,for lunch we might eat a little hamburger, and we can woof that down in a minute for two, but in Okinawa, lunch might be this chumpuru or this stirfry, nice herbs and tofu, and they can just indulge in this huge pile of food...but that has fewer calories than a hamburger does."

Hara Hachi Bu

Practice "hara hachi bu". Okinawans consume only 2,000 calories a day practising a protocol called “hara hachi bu” eating to a point where your stomach is only 80% full. They stop eating before the feel full.

腹八分 - Stomach 8 parts full

腹 = Hara = stomach

八= Hachi = 8

分=? Bu = part

Balance

Get rid of your furniture. Okinawa’s centenarians are incredibly mobile and have great balance, spending more time sitting on tatami mats than on sofas or chairs. This means they regularly move their bodies, bending their knees to get down to and up off the floor - up to thirty times a day. This movement, that they can do with ease, is something some of us might struggle with.

And gardening seems to be their hobby of choice which gives them several hours of daily gentle low intensity exercise. These hours spent in the garden helps maintain their full range of motion, lower body strength and balance.

Moai

Have a circle of friends. Moai is a committed social circle where members pool their money and help each other in times of hardship. While it is a financial agreement of sorts, the real benefit of a moai is the social interactions where members, friends, get together to chat, sing and dance together. Human connection is the real benefit of a moai.

Ikigai

Have something in your life that gives you a sense of purpose. Buettner talks with an old man who appears to be a retired doctor. He shared the following:

‘Ikigai is a kind of mission, a sense of purpose. I think iIkigai is the main factor of the spiritual health of the centenarians. If we lose the ikigai, we will die.’

Dan adds to this stating:

‘They’re keeping their minds engaged, they’re keeping bodies moving. They could sum up their life meaning, the reason for which they wake up in the morning. They’re told constantly that “You count. We need you!” People imbued? with this constant sense of purpose, they know their values and it makes those day to day decisions very easy because you know your core.’

Romanticising ikigai

Ikigai gives you motivation to live and I personally believe that a meaningful life filled with purpose and healthy social connections can perhaps can add some years to your life, but I don’t think we can call it the secret to longevity.?

While pleasant to imagine, romanticising ikigai as merely a tranquil lifestyle restricted to one Japanese island prevents us from discovering what ikigai truly is and how it manifests in, and impacts on, Japanese culture.

Likewise, it is diminished if we simply think of it as the secret to longevity; after all, while ikigai can give you the motivation to live, and make your life more meaningful, it can’t guarantee that you’ll live to be 100.

In short, their diet, an active lifestyle, strong social connections, a playful nature and having something to live for seems to be the reasons for these centenarians' longevity.?

Don't forget to start eating those purple sweet potatoes.

Read the full article, Ikigai, Okinawa and the Longevity Buzz on my blog.