Last year, at the age of 93, Shigeru Mizuki passed away. Here are the seven things he felt led to happiness.
Mizuki is best known for creating the manga GeGeGe no Kitaro and reviving the country’s interest in yokai.
After surviving World War II and after losing an arm, he led a long, varied life. Mizuki seemed upbeat and merry up until the end, continuing to do what he enjoyed whether that was producing new manga or chowing down on cakes and hamburgers.
Via Japanese website Grape, these maxims originally appeared in the famed manga artist’s book, Mr Mizuki’s Happiness Theory.
Number 1
‘Don’t aim for success, glory, or victory.’
Number 2
‘Keep doing the things you can’t help doing.’
Number 3
‘Don’t compare yourself to others, and you should persistently explore the things you enjoy.’
Number 4
‘Believe in the power of love.’
Number 5
‘Talent and salaries are separate, and tremendous efforts can let a person down as well as impart knowledge.’
Number 6
‘Don’t get lazy.’
Number 7
‘Believe in the world you cannot see.’
Wise words from a wise man.
Top image: Ponpokowes
Comments
7 responses to “Famed Manga Artist’s Seven Rules For Happiness”
Beautiful!
Some of the best advice I’ve ever read, what a wise dude.
Amen to that
Number 6
‘Don’t get lazy.’
No happiness for me then.
The funny thing is that Number 2 contradicts that. If being lazy is something you can’t help doing, how do you resolve that?
Right? The best advice is be yourself, mainly because you can’t help it.
I have negative things to say about ‘rules’ or ‘steps’ for happiness but I won’t because it’s not worth it.
Number 6 could use some more context, laziness can be subjective, depends on ones standards I guess.
I like those. They’re basically saying to be yourself and don’t let the world define who you should be and what your happiness is.
#6 is actually mistranslated. What it says is “怠け者になりなさい” (Namakemono ni narinasai) meaning “Be a lazy person.”
That’s Mizuki’s most famous phrase, that he used as a signature. He deeply believed in the value of taking it easy.
Thank you so much for the correction. It fits in much more with his other philosophies.
I think he was really on to something.