And what about a figurative expression that means “center of one’s feelings; seat of emotions”?
胸中 (kyōchū: one’s heart; one’s mind; one’s intentions)
feelings + centerWe saw this one before.
胸懐 (kyōkai: heart; feelings) heart + heart
The second kanji here is natsu(kashii), “to yearn, miss someone, become attached to.” In this case, it means “heart.”
胸裏 (kyōri: one’s heart, one’s feelings) heart + inside
This word actually combines two body parts, because 裏 (RI, ura) means “palm” (though that’s a rare usage). It also means “sole” and “rear,” so it might seem to encompass three body parts! “Sole” does indeed qualify as an anatomical part: 足の裏 (ashi no ura: foot + sole) means “sole of foot.” But 裏 doesn’t work as “rear end,” even though it does refer to the backside of everything else (e.g., 裏窓 (ura mado: rear window, rear + window)).
