• 昔話むかしばなし — folktale
• 大昔おおむかし — ancient times
• 昔日せきじつ — old days, past times
• 往昔おうせき — olden days
• 今昔こんじゃく — now and long ago

昔 is a compound of elements that originally represented meat or flesh (⺼) and day (日), symbolizing something that is clear from the past. It came to mean "long ago" or "former times," often invoking nostalgia or historical context.