Where did the term hikikomori originate?

Since 1970s, Japan has seen the emergence of a particular type of severe social withdrawal termed hikikomori, a Japanese word describing psychosocial and familial pathology (1, 2). Hikikomori comes from the verb hiki, which means to move back, and komoru, which means to come into (3).

Why are there so many hikikomori in Japan?

While many become hikikomori due to bullying or harassment from teachers, it is highly rare for the cause to be abuse or post-traumatic stress disorder. Once someone has entered the “hikikomori system” over the longer term, they fall into a vicious cycle, which Saitō expressed with the diagrams below.

What causes someone to be a hikikomori?

Kinugasa 8 indicated that most hikikomori youth have schizoid personality disor- condition in which young adults avoid social activities. It may be caused by depression, anxiety disorder or some personality disorders. In an earlier paper 1 we reviewed 82 articles about hikikomori, and will discuss some of them herein.

Is Japan a lonely country?

Japan is known as a group-oriented society that is less individualistic than Western nations. Yet, some Japanese people spend time alone, sometimes due to personal preference.

Is hikikomori only in Japan?

While hikikomori is mostly a Japanese phenomenon, cases have been found in the United States, United Kingdom, Oman, Spain, Italy, India, Sweden, South Korea, and France.

Why is Japan so lonely?

One proposed reason is increased social isolation. A decreasing proportion of elderly Japanese people are living in multi-generational housing and are instead living alone. Additionally, the economic slump in Japan since 1990 has been cited as contributing to the increase in lonely deaths.

Are shut ins common in Japan?

Prevalence. According to Japanese government figures released in 2010, there are 700,000 individuals living as hikikomori within Japan, with an average age of 31. Still, the numbers vary widely among experts. These include the hikikomori who are now in their 40s (as of 2011) and have spent 20 years in isolation.

Why are Japanese so lonely?

Do hikikomori have friends?

While many people feel the pressures of the outside world, hikikomori react by complete social withdrawal. In some more extreme cases, they isolate themselves in their bedrooms for months or years at a time. They usually have few or no friends.

Do hikikomori have jobs?

Hikikomori sell their wares on eBay and Etsy, they do freelance programming or graphic design, they trade stocks or play the foreign exchange market, and so on. Hikikomori usually work part-time, but they don’t go out and mix with others.

Is life in Japan lonely?

There are many ways to be alone. One can be a “lifetime single,” as 20 percent of Japanese now are. Likewise 8.4 percent of young and middle-aged men living alone. That’s a lot of people coping with a lot of silence.

What does the name hikikomori mean?

Hikikomori is a Japanese term to refer to the phenomenon of reclusive adolescents or young adults who withdraw from social life, often seeking extreme degrees of isolation and confinement. The term hikikomori refers to both the sociological phenomenon in general as well as to people belonging to this societal group.

What does the Japanese term ‘hikikomori’ mean?

In Japan, hikikomori (Japanese: ひきこもり or 引きこもり, lit. “pulling inward, being confined”, i.e., “acute social withdrawal”; colloquially/adaptive translation: shut-in) are reclusive adolescents or adults who withdraw from society and seek extreme degrees of isolation and confinement.

What is the plural of hikikomori?

hikikomori (countable and uncountable, plural or hikikomoris) (uncountable) A Japanese phenomenon whereby an individual becomes a recluse from society, typically remaining in a single room at home for a very long period. (countable) A reclusive person of this kind.