A real, lovely word — and almost certainly not what the Venn diagram told you it means.

What a Japanese person actually thinks
Warm and completely ordinary. A Japanese person hearing 'my ikigai' expects to hear about a hobby or a family member — not about the intersection of passion, mission, vocation and profession.

Meaning

Literally: living + worth/effect
Actually: The thing that makes your life feel worth living. In Japanese it is usually small and domestic: your grandchildren, your garden, your Sunday football. It is not a career framework.

Scores

Naturalness●●●●●

Very common word, more often written 生きがい with the second part in kana.

Coolness●●●●●

Genuine and sincere. The four-circle diagram that made it famous in English was assembled in the West and has essentially no currency in Japan.

Watch out

mediumThe famous ikigai Venn diagram (love / good at / paid for / world needs) is a Western construction. If that's the meaning you want, this word does not carry it.

Get this instead

志 kokorozashi
the ambition one has committed to

If you meant purpose-as-mission rather than purpose-as-daily-joy, this is the word — and it's far stronger as a tattoo.
天職 tenshoku
one's calling; the work one was made for

The vocational half of the Venn diagram, as an actual Japanese word.

On skin

生き甲斐

Orientation: vertical

Mincho.