Published: 2023-12-31

The phenomenon of hikikomori and its portrayal in selected products of Polish culture

Dominika Barwińska
Academic Journal of Sociology
Section: Próby i debiuty
https://doi.org/10.21697/ucs.2023.32.2.05

Abstract

The article raises the question of how the phenomenon of shakaiteki hikikomori, recognised in Japan, is perceived and portrayed in culturally distant Polish society. For this purpose, the author uses the theory of anomie by Emile Durkheim and Robert K. Merton, as well as the concept of social construction of reality by Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann, moving around the field of sociology of knowledge. Assuming that society itself produces knowledge starting with everyday experiences and insights, through objectification and re-internalisation, the article takes a closer look at the understanding of hikikomori as revealed in online forums (shaped by every day, familial experiences), then in cultural productions such as theatre play, film or radio reportage, and finally in research-based scholary work.

Keywords:

hikikomori, hikikomori in Polish society, hikikomori in culture, self-withdrawal, social withdrawal

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Citation rules

Barwińska, D. (2023). The phenomenon of hikikomori and its portrayal in selected products of Polish culture. Academic Journal of Sociology, 32(2), 59–68. https://doi.org/10.21697/ucs.2023.32.2.05

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