return to the starting point; back to basics
Used when someone goes back to the original purpose, fundamental principles, or initial state after a period of complication or deviation. Common in business, creative work, and personal growth contexts.
The project had gone off track, so we returned to the starting point and reconfirmed our objectives.
With a back-to-basics mindset, I'll relearn from the fundamentals once more.
Compound of 原点 (starting point, origin) and 回帰 (return, recurrence). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term is widely used in modern Japanese to express a return to fundamentals.