furusato
- noun
:
pueblo natal
- The nostalgic desire for community is reflected in the popular fascination with furusato, which literally means "old village," but in popular usage approximates the English "hometown community." Furusato is frequently translated or discussed in American scholarship on Japan as "hometown."
Examples
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Many people feel a deep connection to their furusato, even if they have moved far away.
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For an annual fee, city dwellers who join such a club become honorary village residents and receive a furusato newsletter on local events and town activities.
Academic text (1997) -
No matter where one lived as a child, however, prevailing images of furusato are nearly always of a rural landscape.
Academic text (1997) -
This poem shows that the desire for furusato is heightened by the contemporary experience of "homelessness."
Academic text (1997) -
The affective power of furusato imagery is shown in its association with motherly love.
Academic text (1997) -
Reflections on time past, distance traveled, and images of a shared furusato contribute to the sentimentality of this song, as exemplified in the following verse.
Academic text (1997) -
One doesn't think about furusato when one has furusato, but rather furusato is something one ponders and laments when at a distance; then it is something one melancholically writes nostalgic songs about.
Academic text (1997) -
The sense of estrangement underlying the nostalgic quest for furusato is the theme of many popular songs and poems that poignantly lament the loss of communal belongingness.
Academic text (1997) -
If considered in relation to Doi's (1986) theory of the Japanese amae (dependency) psychology, concepts of furusato and motherhood both reflect a desire for belongingness.
Academic text (1997) -
The song captures the essence of furusato as a place filled with cherished childhood memories.
Synonyms
177
3.1
The country where someone is born or where they feel they belong
22
4.6
The country where you were born or that you feel strongly connected to
12
7.4
The country where a person is born or feels strong loyalty to
9
3.6
A country where a person was born and still feels at home
1
4.4
The land where you are born and grow up
1
7.9
A person's native country that they love
1
4.4
A house or piece of land where someone grew up and that has family memories
Surface Forms
Etymology
Furusato comes from two Japanese parts: furu 'old' and sato 'village' or 'home'. So, it literally means 'old home' and is used for the place where you grew up, the home you often miss.