Home-bound under the rising sun: The story of Japan’s Modern-day Hermit
Home-bound under the rising sun: The story of Japan’s Modern-day Hermit
Genre: Social Journalism
Intro
Tales of magical
dragons and princesses from space… are the stories I grew up with thanks to
Japan. Going up as a 90’s kid had the benefits of savoring a gold rush of
Japanese animation ( Known as anime) which became very popular due to low cost
of dubbing it with English verses creating new animation from scratch. When a new Japanese themed section appeared at
my local bookstore I would dash over to it to see if my favorite series were
available…if there was candy/snacks imported from japan then that would be an
added bonus. This was the highlight of my child and is why I have always had an
appreciation for Japanese culture and dreamt about traveling to Japan. However,
in a land that has become popularized over the years...there are citizens of
this very land who separate themselves from the outside world for years of a
time. They are known as Hikikomori (Japan's modern hermit).
What are Hikikomori?
I heard the term Hikikomori toss around for years without
truly knowing what it meant, especially due to a langue barrier. With how it is
portrayed it can be easily assumed that the Hikikomori are just painfully shy
but that isn’t the case. It can be very mentally torturous cycle of depression
and anxiety for many. I first got a glimpse of what it could be like through an
animated series called Welcome to the NHK whose main character is a hikikomori
who has been hiding away in his apartment for years. The main character spent
most of his waking hours playing video games and reading comics but he wasn’t
some lazy loner but individual who had hopes and dreams of becoming a video
game creator and living a “normal” life. He dealt with crippling anxiety that
stopped him (at first) from creating relationships and following a career path.
Also, currently I am reading a comic
series that follows the adventures of a young hikikomori who just lost his
family and his to deal with life struggles on his own. While being a hikikomori
is showcased in some Japanese media as being as comical it is a growing concern
that is starting to affect Japan as a whole.
Due the growing number of Hikikomori the research has been
growing to shine light on the crisis. According to Business Insider the medical
community first had first noticed the Hikikomori during the mid 80’s and due to
previous surveys that were admitted, it was believed that the condition was
limited to young people but the government has since noticed hikikomori grow
older and face longer periods of reclusiveness. While there are estimates that
there are 500 thousand Hikikomori in Japan it is believed that there are at
least a million.
It should be noted
that the Japanese government officially defines hikikomori as people who
haven't left their homes or interacted with others for at least half a year. (
As initially reported by GQ Magazine)These
people have hidden away from society for many reasons and can be on different
levels. One person's condition can be so harsh that they don’t have the energy
to make it to the toilet and another could suffer from obsessive compulsive
disorders and shower several hours a day or clean their shower tiles for hours.
Another type will spend their whole day playing video games and reading comics.(
As initially reported by Business
Insider)
Unique to Japan?
One question that is often bought up is “are Hikikomori
unique to Japan ?” According to the Japanese government it appears the answer
would be yes, but many would argue that Hikikomori are the result of Japanese
culture and as a result one would have to be a citizen of Japan to be consisted
one. I sought out and found 3 individuals who are recluses who share many
traits of their Japanese counterparts. I asked each of them if they believed
that the term Hikikomori should be a global term. The first person who will be
referred to as James Smith is from Australia stated that “Hikikomori should not
be a global term. I will use the term when I talk to my shut in friend but
avoid the term when chatting online” He goes on to say that he was sick of
people trying to emulate Japanese culture and using the term, often they become
a shut in just for the meme or want to fit in. His sentiment appeared often
online…many felt that using that using the term Hikikomori was becoming trendy.
Another
recluse who will be referred as Kent Johnson and is from India states “I think 'hikikomori' is
just a Japanese term for a depressed person. I mean the first time I saw a
hikikomori documentary, I was like ok, so why do Japanese call depressed people
a 'hikikomori'? So, I think there's no problem in calling a depressed person,
'hikikomori' if he/she shows the later's symptoms.” With this idea it comes
down to what the actual word means/how it is translated. According to an article by of BBC World Service and
other sources Hikikomori means withdrawn. Due to translation it possible that
native Japanese speaker would call a foreigner a Hikikomori. Finally the last
person who goes by Rembraandt
states that“it should be universal because it seems only the Japanese
understand it. In the west we’re known as weirdos and lazy and it’s hurtful. It
just hurts us more." This statement shows the power of language…the term
Hikikomori is becoming a respected medical term and many other countries don’t have
such a term.
Habits
Habits
The idea of staying indoors for days let along weeks at a
time can drive someone stir crazy due to this it begs the question “what does
their day consist of?” I asked smith and he said “I wake up and shit post until I can sleep, music plays
24/7 I usually cry a lot. I used to play games all day but anhedonia took that
and anime from me. My room is dark 24/7”. Similar to Smith Johnson plays video
games and watches TV...however he goes on to say that he tends both his
breakfast and lunch together due to waking up so late. When it comes to his college
education he state he study for his exams but goes to school twice out of 5
days. Unlike some of the extreme cases that happen in Japan Smith does appear
to have some outdoor contact when attending school and has also stated that he
goes for a run at night sometimes.
One theme
that appeared to keep coming up was Anime. Like Smith Rembraant watched anime
as well and like myself had stumble across the concept of a Hikikomori thank to
the anime Welcome to the NHK. Anime like
any form of entertainment can be an escape from the pressing matters of the
outside world. As a viewer I can truly appreciate it to the vast stories that
are created…you can find show from dealing with a struggling basketball team to
magical soda cans that can transform into magical girls. I wasn’t lying about
the soda can one either… there is somethings for everyone.
(Posters of an anime character from Smith's room)
While there
are a lot of habits that Hikikomori share like playing video games and watching
anime there are unique habit that each induvial can have. For example Rembraant states “ “I collect
glade air freshener because when you’re in a room almost 24/7 scent is super
important, I love the colors of the cans and the scents” He goes why that some
days he does get freaked out about germs and
vacuum and clean the walls and organize everything. But also fall into periods
where he falls into depression and his room becomes “ a wasteland of plates and
cereal bowls and empty bottles of water.” This actually lend to another topic…state
of living space.
(Collection of air fresheners from Rembraant's room)
While
researching the Hikikomori often I can across images of them in their rooms. On
first glance some of them could be confused for hoarders with the mounds of
items of the floor but if you can’t bring yourself to leave your room…how can
you take out the trash? Unlike hoarders they don’t necessarily have an
attachment to the items in their homes, it’s the opposite…it can create a
feeling of self-loathing and a representation of not being able to go outside.
I asked Smith what his living space was like and he informed me that he had
trash all around him and that his place was full of bottles. Rembraant as well
stated that his room was covered in trash. However Johnson lives with his
parents and stated that “In India, most young adults live with their parents
only, so it has not been much of a problem for me”
(Bottles from Smith's room)
What causes it?
What causes a person to become a Hikikomori is still highly
debated. One cause maybe the fact that a rising number of Japanese families
have only one son in which they force their hopes and dreams upon. Due to a
heavy workload their fathers do not get to spend time with and as a result few
of them have male role models, then there is the added pressure of persistent
gender roles which puts them in charge of if not all economic responsibilities
to the household. All of this causes the men to have a mental and physical breakdown.
Yet another explanation could be found in Japan’s cultural shift from a
collective-minded society to a more individualistic one, especially amongst the
younger generation who are seeking ways to express their originality and
sometimes this rebellion causes them to become a hikikomori.
In Japanese there’s a very popular saying, a protruding nail
will be hammered down. Long standing social norms and very high expectations
from parents and a culture of shame make Japanese society a breeding ground for
feelings of self-hatred and a desire to escape. Also, Japanese parents feel a
strong need to support children no matter what and the fear of public ridicule
often prevents them from seeking mental health care for them.
However, one controversial point that kept coming up in
hikikomori research is the isolating influence of modern technology. One factor
regularly discussed is the role of technology like the Internet, social media
and videogames as stated in Business insider. Now social media and Internet usage
has been on the rise since the late 90’s. Being a child of the 90’s I have seen
the evolution of the internet from an something that was causally used for
email and instant message to being used for everything from bidding on Ebay to signing
up to college courses. Through with the now high usage of the internet it comes
with new mental health concerns and has raised debates in mental health research.
Many hikikomori are avid internet and videogame users and research has noted
high levels of technology use, but it’s far from universal and the nature of
the relationship is still unclear. ( As initially reported by Business Insider )
It should be noted through that online and computer games
have change the way we of play, with kids spending even more time indoors with
a controlled virtual environment and not in the unpredictable real world has
have consequences. Social media and the internet has made face to face contact
less common. Using the internet a person has the ability to narrow down who
they want to talk to and how they are viewed. Now society has no risk, no
direct communication, it’s easy to hit the reset button and reverse and there's
low experience of failure. ( As initially reported by BBC ) This makes people unable to create real
world relationships and has them staying online where they are more conformable.
However the longer the hikikomori remain apart from society, the more aware
they become of their social failure. It
then becomes a cycle of self-hate as they lose whatever self-esteem and
confidence they had, and the prospect of leaving home becomes ever more terrifying.
As a result their homes become their safe haven.
What can be done?
Mental health treatment has been on the rise in Japan and
now there are various programs being created to help hikikomori, one is New
Start which runs a "Rental Sister" program, Where female volunteers…some
who were originally from other countries visit hikikomori's houses and chat to
them from the other side of their bedroom door to try to get them out. This
while a good start can end up being a lengthy process at it usually takes a
"rental sister" one to two years to coax hikikomori out their
bedrooms and the program can also be a costly one and can cost the household up
to $8,000 USD per. Even though she is right outside their door the women will
regularly contact the recluse, starting with letters due to them often ignoring
verbal conversation. The process takes months as he goes through the motion of
opening them, writing back, chatting on the phone, talking through the door
before finally allowing her in. Many more are required before he ventures out
with her. The goal is to get him to go live in New Start’s dorm and participate
in its job-training program.( As initially reported by BBC )
There are also hikikomori who have set up a newspaper to
shed light on the country's recluses. This paper was established in November
2016 and is know as the Hikikomori Shimbun ("shimbun" is Japanese for
"newspaper") discusses hikikomori and hopes to serve as a link
between hikikomori and the outside world, according to Japan's Asahi Shimbun.
So more and more awareness is being shined on the Hikikomori and with that new
forms of treatment are being made available. So while it may be a slow and tedious
process for those affected with time those of the land of the rising sun will
rise again and venture out gaining their place in society again.
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