Eight Million Ways to Happiness by Hiroko Yoda

‘Yoda shows how we might ease our own suffering and reawaken a profound appreciation of the beauty of the world’ RUTH OZEKI, Women’s Prize-winning and Booker Prize-shortlisted author

Everyone is in the pursuit of happiness, but few know how to attain it. Millions around the world have turned to Japan for advice on finding their Ikigai, or summoning The Courage to Be Disliked. But hidden in plain sight are Japan’s unique spiritual traditions, which infuse so much of the country’s culture and mindset. Without Japan’s spiritual sustenance, Jiro wouldn’t dream of sushi; Studio Ghibli films wouldn’t spirit us away; and Marie Kondo wouldn’t spark joy.

For Hiroko Yoda, these traditions helped pull her from the loneliness that followed a period of grief and loss. In Eight Million Ways to Happiness, she offers the culmination of her decade-long odyssey into the spiritual heart of her homeland, from Shinto to Buddhism to Shugendo and beyond. Follow Hiroko as she trains as a Shinto shrine-dancer, ascends holy mountains with Shugendo ascetics and meets one of Japan’s last living itako, a traditional mystic. The result is a unique portrait of spirituality the way Japanese experience it, packed with life lessons for us all.

A wise and joyful journey through Japan’s spiritual traditions, and how they can help bring us comfort and happiness today – perfect for readers of Ikigai and Abroad in Japan.

About the Author: Hiroko Yoda was born and raised in Tokyo. She is a certified cultural historian, a former Tokyo editor for CNN Go and a field producer for National Geographic TV. Over two decades she has assisted countless Japanese creators in the video game, manga, anime, toy and film industries convey their artistic visions abroad. She has written popular pieces for the New Yorker, Vice and Wired, and has also appeared on CNN, PBS, BBC, and 99% Invisible. She lives in Tokyo.

01 Jan 2026
 

Eight Million Ways to Happiness: Wisdom from the Heart of Japan by Hiroko Yoda ISBN 9781526672179