Let's meet Rie Ichinomiya, author of the book "Kokoro. L'armonia che cambia la vita".

In life, we need kokoro: the perfect union of body, mind, and spirit that allows us to create a harmonious alignment between what we feel, think, and do, giving us a sense of fullness we are almost never fortunate enough to experience. It is a moment of grace that can be reached in many ways: we can experience kokoro by dedicating ourselves with discipline to a hobby, such as photography or archery, but also by bringing our work or our relationships to the highest level of awareness.

History offers no shortage of examples, and this book approaches them from a female perspective, retracing the little-known stories of Japanese women who, in their own lives, embodied different aspects of kokoro. It tells us about the samurai and the poet, the politician and the educator, the rebellious actress who changed the way theatre was made. Thus, as we move through Japanese history and meet its protagonists, we weave an ideal thread between them and ourselves, between their achievements and our own search for meaning and completeness.

To follow kokoro means to live with a watchful consciousness and a steadfast heart: to cultivate the mind without losing the soul, to seek independence without forgetting compassion, to educate ourselves so as to be a luminous presence for others. It is an invitation to transform every everyday gesture—reading a book, listening attentively to someone, facing a difficult task—into an act of quiet emancipation, in which our life becomes the very ground on which freedom can blossom.