8/21/2010

How do you say ‘hikikomori’ in English?

How do you say 'hikikomori' in English? Term makes latest Oxford Dictionary
Aug. 21, 2010 | The Japan Times Online —LONDON: “Hikikomori,” a word that has come into common usage in recent years to signify the abnormal avoidance of social contact, especially by adolescent males, has found its way into the third edition of the Oxford Dictionary of English published Thursday...more…

Q: How do you say ‘hikikomori’ in English?
A: Japanese.

Almost every Japanese person will proudly claim they are “shy” but many are extremely shy to the painfull point of avoidant personality disorder or mental illness. The “current” concern about suffering from social phobia or social anxiety problems—Hikikomori (Wiki) is to be expected—They were raised that way.

Most, yes MOST, of the 900 engineers I worked with in Hitachi were to some degree pathologically shy and would avoid interaction with others—10 to 15% of them were just raving closeted freakazoids.

Also refer to the previous 3Yen report:
. . . . —‘Hikikomori’ in Japan vs ‘Sotokomori’ closeted freakazoids overseas

Posted by Taro in Arts/Culture | 3 Comments »

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3 Responses to “How do you say ‘hikikomori’ in English?”

1. Peter of J-List Says:
   August 23rd, 2010 at 7:31 pm

   Hikikomori is Listed in the Oxford Dictionary of English
   monday, august 23, 2010 | J-List side blog
   ….hikikomori (pronounced “hee-kee koh-moh-ree”) had officially found its way into the Oxford Dictionary of English, Third Edition, which was published last week. Translatable as shut-ins, stay-at-homes, agoraphobes or — as my daughter delicately suggested, “indoor people” — hikikomori are individuals who have pulled back from society, shunning human contact often in favor of online interaction. Although there are reclusive types in every society, the large numbers of Japanese NEETs — meaning “Not involved in Education, Employment or Training” — has the government worried, since 1.2 million citizens not working or paying taxes worries the beancounters…more…

   J-List has great T-shirts for aspiring hikikomori and otaku such as…
   
   
   

2. Kaita basura Says:
   August 27th, 2010 at 9:20 am

   Just wanted to give you a shout out from the Valley of the Sundon’tshine, great information.
   Much appreciated by us ‘hikikomori’ shit-ins.

3. DarlingClementine Says:
   August 27th, 2010 at 10:36 am

   Hello, all of us working at HP positively love your site. News.3Yen.com is always the first thing we check in the morning for weird Japan trends like Hikikomorism of otaku “basement geeks”. (Is Hikikomorism a word yet?)

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