noun
homeland; motherland; fatherland; native country
Refers to one's country of origin, often with emotional or patriotic connotations. Used in both formal and everyday contexts.
彼は祖国を離れて十年になる。
It has been ten years since he left his homeland.
祖国のために戦う。
Fight for one's motherland.
Sino-Japanese compound of 祖 (ancestor, founder) and 国 (country), literally 'ancestral country'. The term has been used in Japanese since at least the Meiji period to express national identity.