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Abstract
This paper describes the unexpected unfolding of the co-research about 'hikikomori' phenomenon which was conducted with hikikomori insiders as co-researchers. Her narrative practice which includes electronic outsider-witness practice, the absent but implicit questions, and documentation of alternative stories, puts individuals' diverse experiences into collective contexts, challenges the dominant discourses, and elicits insiders' collective stories of not only their social suffering but also their wisdom, skillful responses, values, hopes, and dreams. This paper also suggests hopeful possibilities of responding to collective problems through creating 'communitas'.
Key words: insider knowledges, hikikomori, outsider witness, externalising, absent but implicit, community therapy, documentation, communitas
Domina nt discou rse a rou nd Hikiko mori phenomenon
The Ministry of Health and Welfare in Japan defines hikikomori as a phenomenon where one stays inside one's home for more than six months without any (physical) social participation, such as school, work, and other forms of social interaction outside of the home (Saito, 2007). Hikikomori is an increasingly and internationally recognised phenomenon. Wikipedia, a common source of dominant knowledge, says that there are more than 3 million hikikomori people in Japan (Wikipedia, n.d.). The same Ministry states that the hikikomori phenomenon is commonly associated with a long list of mental health 'disorders' such as anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and pervasive development disorder (PDD). Hikikomori people are most often either pathologised or socially blamed as lazy, weak-minded, spoiled, internet-addicted young people, who potentially pose threats to future generations.
To briefly situate myself within the context of this co-research project, at the age of twenty I moved to Vancouver in Canada from Japan (where I was born and grew up), without plans but with reckless hope to experience adventure and inspiration. I was rebellious, money-less, and fearless. When I first heard about the hikikomori phenomenon from my friend who works closely and passionately with hikikomori people, I felt like I was a complete outsider to such an experience. At the same time, however, I had a strong feeling that their single story seemed too incomplete. The majority of books and articles on the hikikomori phenomenon are written by so-called 'experts' who have never experienced hikikomori life firsthand but somehow felt equipped to title their books as 'manuals' on how to exit hikikomori...