Hikikomori. Or, "withdrawl".
This is a disturbing social phenomenon in Japan where there are millions of teenagers and young adults -- mostly males -- who, one day, simply decide to stay in their rooms. And never come out. Some of these young Japanese males will stay "shut-in" for 15 years.
They are known in Japan as hikikomori, which translates as "withdrawal" and refers to a person sequestered in
his room for six months or longer with no social life beyond his home.
(The word is a noun that describes both the problem and the person
suffering from it and is also an adjective, like "alcoholic.")
Many are as young as 13 or 14 years old, while others are nearing 30 -- all with varying histories and circumstances that have pushed them to withdrawl from society. For Japan, the hikikomori represent a youth crisis.
Maggie Jones of the New York Times wrote a poignant article in Jan. 15th's magazine about the hikikomori [read it here] in which she explains that while the hikikomori at once represent a stunning & growing syndrome affecting Japan, the social dilemma finds its roots in the unique social forces pressuring Japanese youth. She writes that "like anorexia, which is prevalent in Western cultures, hikikomori is a culturebound syndrome that thrives in one particular country during a particular moment in history." It is distinctly Japanese.
The curious phenomenon may be a resistance to the extreme social pressure endured by Japanese males which starts early in their lives. "Men start to feel the pressure in junior high school, and
their success is largely defined in a couple of years," said James
Roberson, a cultural anthropologist at Tokyo Jogakkan College.
"Hikikomori is a resistance to that pressure. Some of them are saying:
'To hell with it. I don't like it and I don't do well."' Also, this is
a society where kids can drop out. In Japan, children
commonly live with their parents into their 20's, and despite the
economic downturn, plenty of parents can afford to support their
children indefinitely - and do.
I urge you to read the article and begin to draw some of your own conclusions, but the strongest hypothesis seems to be that perhaps the history of Japanese post WWII work culture is clashing with an emerging global culture of creativity & imagination, and the entrepreneurship it engenders. 
Many of these young Japanese men are creative and unique individuals. Ironically, this is very un-Japanese. Jones mentions a Japanese saying in her article that is very telling, "In Japan, the nail that sticks out gets hammered in." These kids get picked on in school and bullied for having unique talents and differences, and often struggle in the pressure-cooker academic environment. So they feel inadequate and different in a society that places value on performance and conformity. So they withdraw.
Recent Comments