What does (生き甲斐) Ikigai mean?
Have you ever played a single song for days if not weeks on end for just a clear lamp?
Perhaps a full combo?
Maybe even the renowned perfect full combo?
That feeling inside when you accomplished it, that spark. That’s Ikigai.
A lot of people lost that spark over the past few years, and Ikigai Arcade was created so that folks can find it again.
At Ikigai Arcade our aim is to help build and foster the existing Rhythm Game Community (RGC) in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area by making it as inclusive and accessible as possible.
Ikigai is a word originating from and deeply rooted in Japanese culture. Its meaning is both simple and complex at the same time since Ikigai is not just a word, but a philosophy.
Breaking down the word to its most pure and original form.
生き (iki) - meaning alive or life
甲斐 (kai/gai) - meaning value or worth
When translated it can mean the following:
A sense of purpose to life.
Something that makes your life worth living.
Ikigai is often described as a feeling of great satisfaction and accomplishment that follows while someone pursues a passion.
Just like the word Ikigai, these arcade games are also rooted in Japanese culture, and even more so the physical accessibility to play them. That’s where we come in.