The real meaning of “okaerinasai”, the Japanese phrase used when someone comes home, are words that make you happy.

If you are learning Japanese, you may know of an expression used when someone comes home. The person who returns says “tadaima” (I’m home), while the person who welcomes you home says “okaerinasai” (welcome home). But did you know that “okaerinasai” is a very strange Japanese word? What is the true meaning behind it?

The literal translation of welcome home is “go home”?!

Don’t you think this is a strange word to say to someone who has just come home? Actually, this is not a word to say to someone who has just returned.

In Japan, human feelings are called “ki”. When you go outside, you meet and pass many people. Unlike at home, many people worry about what others think of them and keep their stress from work or school to themselves. Such negative ki can also attach itself to other people, causing them to think negatively. The word “welcome home” is used to get rid of such negative ki. In other words, they are not talking to the person who has returned, but to the ki that has followed them.

The ideal home is one where negative ki is not brought into the house, but where all family members bring positive ki to each other. This is what the word is for.

Japan believes that words reside in ki

The Japanese language has a word called “kotodama” (lit. word spirit/power), and “okaerinasai” is one such example. Today, most Japanese people use the word “okaerinasai” without really knowing what it means, but it was once a word with great power.

Incidentally, for kotodama to be effective, they need to be uttered aloud with intention, but they are just spoken as everyday words in the average Japanese household today. I think it’s better to say the words with true intention.

I’m not sure if the Japanese language will be effective against negative ki outside of Japan, and I believe that it is beyond human comprehension anyway, so why don’t you try it at home, while believing in its effectiveness?

ABE KENGO

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