Sunday, May 17, 2026
The Emotional Pillars of Life
（人生を支える心の柱）
Yesterday, at the Business Leaders’ Morning Seminar, I heard a story that left a deep impression on me. During his five-minute speech, the speaker talked about his mother, who was in her late eighties and living alone. One day, she fell ill, and her doctor told her that she needed to be hospitalized. The speaker helped her pack her belongings and accompanied her to the hospital. But just before being admitted, his mother quietly said:
“Before I go in… just once, I want to visit the tobacco shop I used to run. I want to see with my own eyes what it looks like now.”
As I listened to his story, I found myself remembering how small tobacco shops were everywhere in Japan when I was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s. They were a common sight in everyday neighborhood life — small shops with local women sitting behind the counter.
When his mother visited the shop, many longtime neighbors came out one after another to welcome her. She ended up spending several hours chatting with them and reminiscing about the good old days.
Then something remarkable happened. She regained her energy and spirit, and in the end, she no longer needed to be hospitalized.
The speaker said that this experience reminded him of an anecdote: “A sick sailor regained his health once he returned to his ship,” a metaphor I had never heard before.
His speech also reminded me of the well-known Japanese saying, Yamai wa ki kara (“Illness begins in the mind”). The mind and body are deeply connected, and a healthy mind supports a healthy body.
She recovered because she returned to a place where she once felt fully alive — a place where she had lived with a sense of ikigai (purpose) and enjoyed talking and laughing with her neighbors. The tobacco shop had been her emotional home (kokoro no ibasho), a place where she felt a deep sense of belonging. Her neighbors had been her emotional anchors (kokoro no yoridokoro), providing her with comfort, connection, and emotional support.
Four decades ago, we lived in closely knit communities where everybody knew one another. Today, however, many people live in a society with weaker community ties, where people avoid interfering in each other’s lives. As a result, although we live surrounded by others, many people feel emotionally disconnected, struggling with loneliness and isolation even though they may appear physically healthy.
Today, we live in an age of 100-year lifespans, where people tend to live much longer than before. Yet as they retire and grow older, many gradually lose these important emotional pillars of life. They lose their sense of purpose and meaning, and some end up living lonely and emotionally isolated lives.
Even after retirement, I want to stay active and engaged throughout my life (shōgai geneki). I want to maintain a sense of ikigai, continue working, and contribute in my own small way until the very last day of my life.
