Summary,

“watakushi no Furusato watakushi no Nihon”
It was interesting to me how I a Japanese citizen could completely relate to what is said in the article. The article portrays a strong image of Japan which initiates a culture of “reviving the golden age”, reviving the past which we all miss or could even be said as looking back to what life was for the forefathers and on what all this superficiality is built on.
Japan, as we all know is a country rich in history, traditions and culture. Many countries have a similar system but what makes Japan unique is the perseverance of its people to preserve them on a consistent note. Many of our cultures die out over time , but a certain period later we understand the value of it when we start becoming alien towards it.

The article talks about how the Japanese have imbibed the “Furusato” culture of going back to the nostalgia which is created in the mindsets as a result of many factors and because of the continuous, monotonous life style they follow giving less importance to how they live . Its during these 2 times of the year during Oshogatsu and Obon, that we feel like visiting out furusatos.

Furuatos have been marketed to a certain extent by all the major marketers for different results. Furusatos represent the life of the villages , going back to the villages , understanding their respective culture.
The importance of going back to their roots through the idea of Furusatos is clearly displayed in the expedition with a lot of problems done by the Fuji’s . Even after knowing about the issues of traveling , sick children and arguments with wife, they still pursue the trip.

Opinion

While reading through the article I was getting a strong urge or a feeling which portrayed that the concept of Furusato even though in its generic meaning is pristine and profound but over here is a strategy strongly and strategically implemented by the some corporations , one of them could be the Airline companies , like the ANA which is said in the article .
The concept going back to the village is important in any sense, this no matter what gives an understanding of life beyond what is seen. Even though it towards the past , the past invites its future to look upon it .
Personally , in Japan and Japanese always believed in the knowledge about the past and only with the right knowledge about the past that one could well for the future. This is what I feel it is all about , there is definitely a clear aspect of Nostalgia involved in it but like a lot of systems implemented , not all of is bad. Having a sense of Nostalgia towards anything makes one give more importance towards it at least in thoughts. Because of this a lot of the culture and traditions in Japan will never fade away thanks to this. The idea is not to mislead anyone or the new generation terming furusato but showing them what it was in real in the past to understand and importance of the greenness not in the fields they see but also in the hearts they carry back to the cities .