Culture
Hikkomori is a term that refers to recluse teenagers and young adults who choose to isolate themselves from social life. About a million people in Japan suffer from hikkomori (which literally means “being alone” in Japanese), which is a kind of epidemic except that this condition is not It is spread through physical contact, it is purely psychological.
The phenomenon of social self-isolation has swept the country over the past few years. About 80 percent of hikkomori are men, teenagers or young adults who don't leave their rooms. They don't go to school or work, spending their days at their parents' home, reading, watching TV or browsing the Internet, eating what their parents leave at the door.
One example of hikkomori is a 17-year-old boy whose name is not disclosed due to fears of social retaliation, who was a completely normal teenager but started hating his school for three years back. This all happened after he was the victim of bullying and anonymous angry emails. One day he came home and locked himself in the kitchen. He has stayed there ever since, refusing to go out or let anyone in. Strangely enough, the family took the teenager's position, believing that he would simply eventually outgrow him. They've built a new kitchen in the house, and the mother brings food to the teen's door three times a day. In fact, the way the boy's family reacted, that is, with extreme tolerance, is very common in Japan.
Although hikkomori at first glance resembles a psychological disorder similar to Asperger's, schizophrenia and agoraphobia, there is no evidence that they are all related to hikkomori. In fact, experts are now arguing that hikkomori is not even a psychological problem, but a social one. To understand a phenomenon that is unique to Japan, one should better understand Japanese culture and history.
Loneliness is not seen as something unnatural in Japanese culture. On the contrary, it is even sometimes encouraged. This is not surprising, given that the country was isolated from the other world until the middle of the 19th century, when the Western world began its invasion. It is the theme of loneliness that slips through the history, culture and folklore of Japan, where many mythological characters spend their lives in isolation. Some even compare hikkomori to hermits and wanderers of a bygone era who can neither fit into the modern world nor become a thing of the past.
Although this situation seems to be romanticised, the reality is far scarier. It is obvious that parents will not always be there for these teenagers, and even knowing this, one of the teenagers writes: “I know. But I can't overcome hikkomori.”
Fortunately, there is still hope and some are overcoming their self-isolation and reappearing in society. So a boy named Tadashi spent four years in hikkomori, but he gave up the idea and started selling donuts. He explained what happened to him simply: “I don't know why I lost four years of my life. I think people are still trying to figure out what hikkomori is all about.”
