Since the turn of the century, a new type of rolelessness has emerged: hikikomori. Initially a phenomenon that originated in Japan, this type of rolelessness has since spread to many other countries.
Hikikomori is a form of severe social withdrawal where mostly adolescent and young adult Japanese men shut themselves in their bedrooms for years. An exploration of the etymology helps explain the concept. Hikikomori is a noun formed from the compound of two verbs: hiku, meaning "to pull," and komoru, meaning "to shut oneself in one's room," "to hide away," or "to stay inside." Hikikomori is used to refer to both the person who shuts themselves away from society and the condition experienced by that individual.
To paint a picture, shut-ins live for years or even decades in their bedrooms, taking no part in society and refusing to leave home to attend school or work. Like troubled teenagers who never grow up, they spend all their time surfing the internet and playing computer games, with no desire to venture outside. Often driven by shame and uncertainty, the parents of shut-ins exacerbate the problem by allowing their adult child to remain in their bedroom, leaving meals at the door like room service in a hotel.
Dr. Tamaki Saito, a psychologist and professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Tsukuba, is Japan’s leading hikikomori researcher. He defines hikikomori as someone who has spent six months or more not participating in society, without a mental illness being the primary cause.
In a 2019 press briefing on hikikomori, Dr. Saito estimated that the Japanese hikikomori population could be as high as 2 million, with the average duration of isolation being an astonishing 13 years. Saito has expressed grave concerns that the hikikomori population could eventually reach a staggering 10 million.
However, hikikomori is not a condition exclusive to Japan. It has become a global phenomenon, with cases found across many different cultures, including South Korea, India, Australia, Bangladesh, Iran, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States. Hikikomori is considered a global syndrome found across many cultures but is notably more common in urban areas and high-income, developed countries.
Why has participating in society become so painful and undesirable that millions of people would rather lock themselves away than embrace the opportunities life offers them?
One answer could be the lack of meaningful roles or the avoidance of roles that people do not want to take on. Hikikomori is not a mental illness. Rather, it is a non-aggressive defense mechanism and a practical strategy for avoiding the intense pressures of roles, especially those related to social interactions at school, work, and society in general.
And if we are not hiding from society, we may be hiding behind our roles—wearing masks or becoming burdened by the many hats we put on.
Masks and Hats
Noh theatre is a traditional form of Japanese drama where actors wear masks to represent different characters, emotions, and states of being. The masks are not just physical coverings but symbolic of the roles and personas the actors embody.
The use of masks in Noh theatre can be seen as a metaphor for tatemae—the public façade that conceals one’s honne, or true self. Just as Noh actors use masks to project the required persona, the Japanese often use tatemae to present a socially acceptable image. In both cases, true feelings (honne) are hidden behind a carefully constructed façade.
This cultural concept highlights the dichotomy between what people truly feel and what they express outwardly to conform to expectations. It underscores the importance of maintaining harmony, even at the cost of self-expression—often creating a tension between one’s true self and one’s public persona.
In the West, rather than wearing masks, we “put on hats”—a metaphor for taking on different roles or responsibilities in varying contexts. For example, one might wear the hat of a manager at work, a parent at home, and a volunteer in the community.
Unlike honne and tatemae, which focus on the contrast between inner feelings and external expression, “wearing many hats” emphasizes flexibility and the capacity to juggle multiple responsibilities. It speaks to outward roles, without implying a concealment of one’s true self.
The two concepts reflect different cultural preoccupations:
- Honne and tatemae navigate the space between inner truth and outward conformity, emphasising social harmony over personal expression.
- Wearing many hats reflects the pragmatic juggling of multiple responsibilities, common in individualistic and role-diverse Western contexts.
In short, honne and tatemae aim to navigate social harmony by managing the tension between personal authenticity and societal expectations, while “wearing many hats” highlights the practical need to manage different roles and responsibilities effectively.
However, even in the West—where we are not burdened by the need to wear masks—one can wear too many hats, resulting in role confusion, role conflict, role ambiguity, and role overload. We can even find ourselves trapped in a role, feeling forced to endure role captivity.