Definition of "hikikomori" [hikikomori]

• The phenomenon whereby an individual becomes a recluse from society, typically confining him- or herself to the house or a single room for a very long period. (noun)
• A reclusive person of this kind. (noun)

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• "I think there's a big social and spiritual crisis in Japan, a turning inwards and becoming isolated, which we call hikikomori."
• "Among them are cheeseball, which refers to someone or something lacking taste, style or originality, and the more disturbing phenomenon of hikikomori, the Japanese word for the acute social withdrawal that occurs in some teenage boys."
• "A few days after our post on 'hikikomori' - the extreme social withdrawal increasingly seen in Japanese adolescents - the New York Times published an in-depth article on the controversy surrounding the phenomenon."