When a Japanese person returns home, they say tadaima — 'I'm home now.' The person inside responds okaeri — 'Welcome back.' Like ittekimasu and itterasshai, these are not optional pleasantries. They are the daily architecture of belonging. Tadaima says: I have returned to the place where I am known. Okaeri says: you are recognised, you are welcomed, you belong here. Children say tadaima when they come home from school. Adults say it after decades of marriage. The words never lose their meaning because the need to be welcomed never diminishes.

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