In my attempt to study other cultures this book was very fulfilling. It helps you to bring that balance into your health, work, relationships, and sense of self by combining philosophy and advice. Happy to recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC digital copy. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are my own.

Let me begin by stating that I LOVE the concept of ikigai!!!

The Way of Nagomi, unfortunately, did not resonate with me in the same manner.

3 stars out of respect for the author and the fact that The Way of Nagomi is likely is just not the right book for me at this time. I may keep in on my "to be read" list and will update this review in the event that my opinion changes.

Written well but I didn't get into it. Realized I never got back to it and figured I should submit a review for what I read. Love the idea just not my cup of tea right now.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I have always had a thing for Japan and its culture and people. I have been reading a lot more things on it in the last few years. I have heard the word Nagomi before and I thought I understood it, but I was a bit off. This book helped me put the actual meaning better in my head and how to reach for myself. It is something that I will go back to when I need it.

Short review: I didn’t particularly get much from this book. For every decent self-help-ish tome I read, there’s a huge pile of those that sound amazing and utterly fail to hit any kind of mark – and this falls into the latter category.

The idea is great: finding balance and peace in everything. Who wouldn’t want that?! I’m not too surprised that this isn’t a how-to manual (those really don’t exist, hahah), but of all the approaches to explain the concept to the reader, this just felt like the most wishy washy – dare I say, laziest? – attempt to do so.

Instead of discussing the concept directly, we instead move through topics including food – which is probably the best chapter, to be honest, and I did think the allegorical nature here really was going to make the whole concept come to life: mixing flavours, balance with nature – it’s actually a pretty good section. However, we then glide through relationships, work, health, and more, and are frequently invited to see how ‘Nagomi’ applies here, too. Well, yes: the blurb did say ‘in everything’. And that’s cool, really, but I felt more like I was reading a superficial pass on various areas of Japanese culture, with the phrase “and nagomi” kind of shoved in there at some point. Even that might not have been so bad, but I didn’t feel I was learning much about Japanese culture, either, just a sanitized, idealised, high-level pass over some concepts: “Oh, we have restaurants that serve rice with everything, but some are less traditional” – urm. Yeah?

I’m willing to accept that the flaw could be mine in getting so little from reading this. Perhaps there is no better way to introduce philosophical concepts than leading the reader by the hand and saying “there’s balance to be had everywhere”. But, cynical Western consumer than I am, I was looking for something a little bit more than some vague stories that rather seemed to peter out as the book went on.

Still, not a bad read, just… another in the vaguely pointless pile, alas.

I'm delighted when I knew Ken Mogi was writing another book after Ikigai. Because Ikigai is such a life changer for me, This book tells a different topic but shared a similar writing concept, which is very easy to read and understand.
I heard the concept of Nagomi for the first time when reading this book. Nagomi, in short, as the world changing so, do we. Nagomi is about accepting change and influence from the outside without losing our color. I learn many life lessons from Nagomi. Topics include: maintaining happy relationships, even in disagreement; learning new things while staying true to ourselves; finding peace in whatever we do; striking a harmonious balance, and achieving calm resonates with me.
It's a valuable book and very suitable to read in the New Year's vibe like now :)

I've always been interested in other philosophies, and The Way of Nagomi sounded like a nice introduction to a way of life I had never heard of before. Specifically, nagomi as a way of creating a balance within your life through separate but connected aspects of life.

Ken Mogi breaks the philosophies of nagomi down into several key subjects such as self, relationships, life, and creativity. It was fascinating seeing how the philosophy of nagomi was interpreted through the lens of each of the aspects of one's life. But I also appreciated how the individual aspects were referenced in how they interconnected with everything else.

Each chapter was a very basic definition combined with lovely little illustrations, personal anecdotes, and additional historical context to further illustrate each subject. I was less interested in the personal memoir bits, and would have liked a much deeper dive into the historical formations.

Thank you to The Experiment and NetGalley for this ARC.

A nice little book about balance and the art of living in Japan. Having lived there myself for almost 10 years, the thoughts and stories told here felt familiar and nostalgic to me and captured the beauty of nagomi and of Japanese culture.

I wouldn't categorize this book at self-help so much as an introduction to this philosophy and history of nagomi within Japan, which Mogi presents as the heart of many more well-known philosophies/practices from Japan (such as shinrinyoku - forest bathing - as just one example). There were interesting examples of the application of nagomi in each chapter - food, self, relationships, health, learning, creativity, life, society, and nature - which could definitely inspire a new way of thinking in any or all of these areas of life.

While I don't necessarily agree with all of Moji's philosophy, and have experienced harmful sides to some of the examples of nagomi he shared in a positive light, establishing greater balance within, with others, and the natural world is something to aspire to and there are certainly many good practices to take away from The Way of Nagomi.

The illustrations in each chapter were really nice, too!

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher, The Experiment, for an advanced copy to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to

It can be hard to find a unique self-help book. I enjoyed the shift in perspective that this book encourages, looking at everything we encounter in life harmoniously. The more real-world, tangible examples of the concepts (such as the nagomi of food) were helpful in understanding the concepts more quickly.

Nagomi brings continuity and is an underlying basis of Japense culture according to Ken Mogi. Learning the deep rich history of the potent concept of nagomi that permeates every aspect of living. Harmony. Being at peace with one's self in a world full of differences and accepting others as they are. A concept that in a world full of political, religious, and social issues has worth of exploring in each of the individual chapters.

Each chapter focuses on a section of life. Mogi focuses on social, relationships, food, and others, with details as to how to embrace nagomi with our own lives in those areas. He brings us historical examples as well as those of modern Japan showing instead of telling.

Can we embrace nagomi in our lives? After reading this book, I believe the answer is a yes, and I look forward to embracing this concept.

Great introductory work on the practice of Nagomi! Great for the metaphysical/philosophy section, will definitely be getting a copy for our growing collection. Think this will be popular in the same way that The Little Book of Hyggee was.

Unfortunately, the pdf version of this book was not readable for me due to the watermark over the pages. I will give this one a try when it hits bookshelves early next year.

Reading this was an interesting experience. I didn't know what to expect but I was certainly open to learning something new, which I did. I'm always looking for work which will result in my own self-improvement and I think if you're looking for that you'll find it here. However, I also wouldn't expect a straight up self-help book. It was more blended with cultural teachings and how they can potentially assist you.

I’ve always been interested in Japan and Japanese culture so I was immediately attracted to learning about Nagomi and what it means to the Japanese culture. The book tagline summarizes Nagomi perfectly that it is a way of finding balance and peace in everything that you do, so that you can get through all and anything life throws your way in a peaceful and happy way. The book is divided into different topics (relationships, food, life, nature, etc) and uses some core principles to support funding Nagomi.

While I found the overall concepts, culture, and ideas really interesting and gripping, the actual book writing felt very slow and somewhat repetitive in nature to me. It also felt a bit like a historical textbook in some parts and I might have appreciated more practical guidance in a succinct way more.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was an interesting book, and I learned a lot about Japanese culture and the concept of Nagomi. However, this book felt less of a self-help book and more like a history book wherein it exposed the idea of Nagomi and how it is expressed in Japanese cultural history, but didn't feel like it was actually providing any concrete tips or ways to incorporate it into everyday life. I think this book would have been improved with more direct action tips rather than a broad historical discussion. I really did learn a lot from this book, but I learned more about Japanese cultural history than I feel like I learned about the way of Nagomi. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this ARC.

The Way of Nagomi is a beautifully presented introduction to a Japanese concept called nagomi. Nagomi is about balance, comfort and calm of heart and mind so that whatever comes your way, be it good or bad, you can face it. For the author, nagomi is about enhancing the good to build your resilience to face the bad. The first chapter on food is excellent and made me want to eat Japanese food immediately.

This book is only really suitable for those with a reasonably ok life and who aren’t facing any real difficulties, e.g. a challenging medical diagnosis. That’s because the concept of nagomi takes the existence of “bad stuff” as a given rather than answering the question “why did bad thing X happen to this person.” As such, you’re only going to find some suggestions on little tweaks to reframe your life rather than nagomi being the concept that’ll revolutionise your life.

An interesting read but if you’re looking to wrestle philosophically/theologically with the problem of evil, I’d pick another book.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Such a simple and beautiful way of presenting information useful for every sector of our life to become calmer, more grounded, and happier. I highly recommend this little treasure!

This was an interesting book on Japanese culture. The themes of harmony and balance are explored from the specifically Japanese perspective. These concepts are also found in other cultures, of course, and the author is just a bit derisive of other cultures and what he might see as less harmonious societies. Overall, it was an interesting book that would be of most interest to those seeking to learn more about Japan.

A great way to learn more about living a balanced life, from a Japanese perspective. I liked how the chapters were divided into each aspect of life, ie food, nature, social etc.

Another book about a Japanese philosophy, at this point I would say one of many considering how many such books are on the shelves currently. It's not bad for goodness sake, but some times it feels like you're reading monstrous-level obviousness.

Un altro libro su una filosofia giapponese, a questo punto direi una delle tante considerato quanti libri del genere girano sugli scaffali attualmente. Non é male per caritá, ma certe volte sembra di leggere delle ovvietá di livello mostruoso.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.