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 (shujinkō, 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 shujinkō 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).
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