How to Read “帰心矢の如し”
Kishin ya no gotoshi
Meaning of “帰心矢の如し”
“Returning heart arrow like” is a proverb that expresses how the desire to return to one’s hometown is as straight and strong as an arrow.
This expression is used in situations where people who have been away from their hometown for a long period can no longer suppress their longing for home. It’s characterized by expressing not just nostalgia, but a strong will and impulse to actually return. Just as an arrow flies straight toward its target without hesitation once released, it depicts a state where the heart is heading straight toward one’s hometown.
As for usage scenarios, it’s employed when people who are away from home due to long-term business trips, job transfers, or studying abroad speak about their feelings toward family and familiar places. It’s also often used when feelings for home intensify during homecoming seasons like New Year’s or Obon. In modern times, it’s used not only for physical hometowns but also to express feelings toward places or people that serve as emotional support.
Origin and Etymology
“Returning heart arrow like” is a proverb that originates from Chinese classical literature. This expression was born as words that expressed how feelings for one’s hometown are as straight and strong as an arrow.
There is deep meaning in why the arrow metaphor was chosen. In ancient times, arrows were tools that, once released, would fly toward their target without hesitation. This image was the most suitable symbol for expressing the feelings of people longing for their hometown.
This phrase was introduced to Japan during an era when Chinese literature was actively studied. The intellectuals of that time learned many expressions from Chinese classics and incorporated them into Japanese culture. “Returning heart arrow like” was one of these, accepted as beautiful words expressing strong feelings for one’s hometown.
What’s particularly interesting is that these words express not mere nostalgia, but the active will to “want to return” home. Just as an arrow flies straight toward its target, it depicts how the heart heads straight toward one’s hometown.
This expression, which continues to be loved across the ages, contains the fundamental human emotion of “desire for belonging.”
Usage Examples
- As the end of the year approaches, returning heart arrow like, I can no longer focus on work
- Now in my third year of overseas assignment, the feeling of returning heart arrow like has grown stronger
Modern Interpretation
In modern society, “returning heart arrow like” has come to have new meaning that transcends traditional concepts of hometown. As globalization progresses, it’s increasingly used as words to express feelings not only toward physical hometowns but also toward places and relationships where one can find peace of mind.
With technological advancement, we can now stay constantly connected to our hometowns. In an era where we can talk to family daily through social media and video calls, the poignant feeling of “wanting to return” expressed by this proverb may not be as intense as before. However, the yearning for “physical presence” that cannot be satisfied by digital connections has become something that resonates even more deeply with modern people.
Also, with the diversification of work styles, more people have multiple bases. For them, “hometown” is not limited to one place, and multiple “spiritual hometowns” formed at various life stages exist. Now that remote work has become widespread, “returning heart arrow like” has also come to be used as words expressing feelings toward the workplace and wishes to reunite with team members.
In modern times, this proverb is evolving as words with more universal meaning that express not mere desire for geographical movement, but fundamental desires for human relationships and sense of belonging.
When AI Hears This
The moment an arrow is released from a bow, its initial velocity reaches approximately 60 meters per second. Despite encountering air resistance, this arrow travels straight toward its target through inertia. Ancient Japanese people discovered a remarkably accurate parallel between this physical phenomenon and the “straightness” of longing for one’s homeland.
Modern neuroscience shows that when strong emotions arise, the brain releases large amounts of dopamine, and thought circuits related to those emotions become preferentially activated. In other words, the stronger one’s longing for home, the more the desire to “return” dominates the brain, pushing aside other distracting thoughts. This follows the same mechanism as an arrow maintaining its trajectory despite encountering the “obstacle” of air resistance.
Even more fascinating is how the “law of conservation of energy” operates in both arrow flight and human emotions. Just as the potential energy stored in a bow converts to the arrow’s kinetic energy, the energy of “longing for home” accumulated through daily life transforms into powerful motivation for returning home.
Ancient people, despite lacking scientific knowledge, intuitively understood the “directional flow of energy” common to both natural physical laws and human psychology. This sharpness of observation possesses an accuracy that even modern cognitive scientists find astonishing.
Lessons for Today
“Returning heart arrow like” teaches modern people the importance of reexamining the places and relationships that are truly important to them. Caught up in busy daily life, we sometimes tend to lose sight of what serves as our emotional support.
This proverb teaches that true value lies in the direction your heart heads straight toward. It might be the hometown where you were born and raised, or it might be with the family you love. Or it might be a workplace with colleagues you truly trust, or a community where you can be yourself.
In modern society, there are often too many choices, leading to confusion. In such times, remember these words. Just as an arrow heads toward its target without hesitation, the answer lies in the direction your heart naturally heads.
What’s important is recognizing the happiness of having such a “place you want to return to.” And if you haven’t found such a place yet, you can slowly search for it while cherishing where you are now. Your spiritual hometown is surely waiting for you.
Comments