Furusato (a place to belong)
Guest User
· by miyukiphd
· (Originally posted) February 8, 2018
Furusato is a very familiar concept to Japanese people. Furusato does not mean merely a place where we grew up (hometown), but a place that feels safe and the place where we created a history with our family, extended family and friends to whom we can connect deeply.
While moving around during childhood does not always have negative effects, adults who don’t have Furusato may have to make extra efforts to establish a place they belong to and sustainable and meaningful connections with others. More specifically, some clients of mine reported that they had moved around every 2 years in childhood – “I had to say good-bye to friends of two years and then had to fit in to new peers (but knew I will have to leave in two years anyway)”. Those children grow up into adulthood with beliefs, such as “I don’t fit in” and may keep searching for their perfect place.
I heard that indigenous Australian people feel sick if they are away from their homeland for a long time. So, they have to go back to their homeland regularly. In Japan, it is customary for most people go back to their Furusato twice a year to reconnect with their family and their land of origin. There seems to be many similarities between indigenous Australians and Japanese in terms of respect to our ancestors / history / land.
Do you have a place you can call “Furusato”? Where is it? What kind of emotions come up when you think of events, things, people, and/or places related to your Furusato?
It has been over 17 years since I moved to Australia, but Tokyo is still my Furusato where I have many fond memories, family and friends. My family has lived in the same place in Tokyo for over 60 years now. Australia is such a wonderful county, yet my Furusato is Tokyo, which provides me with a sense of safety and connection to my ancestors, my family and friends who know my childhood. Having people who share old memories is an important contributor to a sense of safety and belonging.
What I found after having lived overseas for a long time is that there is no perfect place anywhere. I have seen refugees who had come to Australia to secure their safety. Some of them told me that they would like to go back if possible, as they are losing their identity and feeling empty in a safe country. But, most of them can’t go back to their Furusato.
Perhaps not many people live in their Furusato forever. There may be many who live outside of their Furusato happily. These people may have made their new place Furusato, or they go back to their Furusato regularly to recharge their sense of belonging.
Do you have Furusato and a sense of belonging?