Japanese symbol for “homecoming”

帰省

きせい

Romaji: kisei

homecoming; returning home

In Japanese, homecoming is 帰省, read きせい (kisei).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

n, vi, vs homecoming; returning home

Kanji and stroke order

帰

homecoming, arrive at, lead to

on: キ
kun: かえ.る、かえ.す、おく.る、とつ.ぐ

10 strokes · JLPT 3

省

government ministry, conserve, omit

on: セイ、ショウ
kun: かえり.みる、はぶ.く

9 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “homecoming”

Word	Reading	Meaning
帰郷	ききょう kikyou	homecoming; return to one's home

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
帰り	かえり kaeri	return; coming back
復帰	ふっき fukki	return; reversion; comeback
帰国	きこく kikoku	return to one's country
帰宅	きたく kitaku	returning home; going home; coming home
帰る	かえる kaeru	to return; to come home; to go home
回帰	かいき kaiki	return (to); revolution; recurrence
反省	はんせい hansei	reflection; reconsideration; introspection
外務省	がいむしょう gaimushou	Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.