Hearing a song from the past and expressing nostalgia in Japanese

LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL

Hearing a song from the past and expressing nostalgia in Japanese

A picture of the writer with his sibling and grandparents sits alongside double “Best of” CDs by British rock group the Beatles. Music by the band continues to conjure memories for the writer of staying at his grandparents’ home. | ANSEL SWINDELLS

By Ansel Swindells
Contributing writer

Nov 7, 2024

Certain sensory experiences have the power to take us back to a certain place and time, prompting what are often termed autobiographical memories.

Such a phenomenon is most famously depicted in French novelist Marcel Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time” (1913), or “失われた時を求めて” (Ushinawareta Toki o Motomete) as it is in Japanese. In the case of Proust’s 主人公 (蝉丑耻箩颈苍办ō, protagonist), the memories are triggered by food, specifically a madeleine cake.

プルーストの主人公は、紅茶に浸したマドレーヌを食べた瞬間、子供の頃の思い出が蘇ります (Purūsuto no 蝉丑耻箩颈苍办ō wa, kōcha ni hitashita madorēnu o tabeta shunkan, kodomo no koro no omoide ga yomigaerimasu, The moment that Proust’s protagonist eats a tea-soaked madeleine cake, memories of his childhood are brought back).