Kiku: The Japanese Art of Listening and Being Heard

«Kiku: The Japanese Art of Listening and Being Heard» — is not only a profound sociolinguistic study written by Dr. Haru Yamada, but also an absolutely unique practical guide that can radically change your life!

Haru Yamada based her work on the ancient Japanese character «kiku» — «to listen with fourteen hearts». It depicts an ear and fourteen hearts, symbolizing connection with the interlocutor through all possible channels: voice, tone, intonation, pauses, body language, cultural context, and even silence.

The author, who experienced a severe head injury and temporary loss of voice, proves from personal experience: the ability to listen is not a passive skill. Listening with 14 hearts helps not only to navigate space (it's very easy to hear the right stop in Tokyo), to politely say «no» (sometimes company leaders cannot refuse when employees accidentally mistake them for bartenders at a banquet and ask for a «Cosmopolitan»), to build trusting relationships, to understand people from different generations and cultures, to recognize lies, and to heal loneliness.

«Kiku» — is an invitation to rediscover the joy of being heard and to learn to hear others in such a way that everyone feels noticed, understood, and truly alive.