What Does This Mean?
A Japanese term for prolonged social withdrawal, in which a person stays at home and avoids school, work and outside contact; Japan's health ministry describes it as a psycho-social phenomenon rather than a single illness.
EXPLAINER
Al Jazeera English · original source ↗
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REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
""The documentary looked at how hikikomori are described in Japanese public policy.""
LORE & ORIGIN
The word combines hiku (to pull back) and komoru (to shut oneself in). Wikipedia reports that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare guideline of 2003, updated in 2010, describes withdrawal from social participation with staying at home for more than six months, typically among people under 30. Psychiatrist Tamaki Saito popularized the term with his 1998 book Shakaiteki Hikikomori.
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