In this issue: How to use Kaizen to achieve your goals, a track from one of the best-selling Japanese rock bands, & the lore and legend of durian.

How to Use Kaizen to Achieve Your Goals

Japan’s top exports are tangible things: computer parts, automobiles, electrical machinery. But the nation’s core lifestyle philosophies have had one heck of an impact on the world, too.

Concepts like misogi, ikigai, omoiyari and omotenashi — which champion tenets of purpose, patience and mutual respect — carve a roadmap to a more rewarding life. They’re more than trendy booklets to be purchased at the airport; when applied at a personal level, they can help you improve your relationships, or physical health, or daily workflow.

Omoiyari, for instance, is a reminder “to have sympathy and compassion towards another person.” It’s why Japanese strangers return found wallets at a rate unlike anywhere else in the world, and why Japanese soccer players clean locker rooms before leaving them (sometimes even leaving origami cranes for good measure).

One of the most enduring Japanese lifestyle principle is kaizen. It loosely translates to “change for better,” and here we explain how embracing kaizen could help you achieve your goals — this week, next month and next year… InsideHook

X Japan - Tears

The Lore and Legend of Durian

Believed to have first been grown in Borneo, the durian is native to Malaysia and Indonesia, and is also grown in Thailand and the Philippines. In these countries, as well as in Singapore, and most recently China, it is much beloved. Malaysians proudly refer to it as “raja segala buah” or the king of all fruits. Farmers do not pluck this fruit from the tree, but wait for it to fall to the ground when it is ready to be eaten.

Mohana Gill, a fan of the fruit, and author of several books on Malaysia’s food culture, including the folktales collection How the Durian Came to Be and Other Stories: Myths and Legends of Southeast Asian Fruits compares the taste and texture to “smooth custard – it is creamy and slightly sweet.”

Pavan Kharbanda, a finance professional in Kuala Lumpur waxes poetic when he describes the taste of the durian.

“It is smoky and creamy, the beginning and ending notes are different and I find that unique among fruits,” he says.

Kharbanda also notes that Malaysian love for the durian also possibly arises from pride in the fruit being native to the country; he calls it the authentic taste of Malaysia.

“There are so many stories and myths around this fruit that point to the fact that it is the most favorite among Malaysians,” says Nadge Ariffin, a local historian, who also says that it is inseparable from local culture… Whetstone

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