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Comment by kazinator | Hacker News Reader

> The term was coined by psychiatrist Tamaki Saito in the late 1990s

{Citation needed.}

This seems unlikely given that "hikikomoru" is a compound verb which means to stay inside.

If it's nice weather but someone stays at home all day, the hikikomoru verb is used for that; it (still) doesn't have automatic connotations of it being a way of life.

The "komoru" part has various meanings (according to EDICT): "shut oneself in (e.g. one's room); to be confined in; to seclude oneself; to hide away; to stay inside (one's shell)" as well as "to be heavy with (e.g. smoke); to be stuffy; to be dense", plus others.

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> The term was coined by psychiatrist Tamaki Saito in the late 1990s

I interpret the term (n. hikikomori) differently to the verb (hikikomoru) from which it is derived.

The term (hikikomori): individual instance of the social phenomenon of withdrawing from society and living in persistent isolation.

The verb (hikikomoru): used in reference to a specific (non-persistent) act of staying indoors, without necessarily carrying the broader sociological meaning. Edit: as another comment points out, just staying indoors for a weekend, etc.

The verb is used in normal daily conversation amongst us without the negative connotation ( as yet, given a general context ), as explained in a previous comment.

It's basically just staying home when you could do otherwise. A normal reply to "what did you do last Sunday ?", etc.

> from which it is derived.

"hikikomori" isn't a derivation, but a very basic inflection supported by all verbs, used all the time.

It is the usage that makes it work. Their child is a shut away is pretty clear similar usage not uncommon in America.

Is there a psychologist in America who is understood to have coined "shut in" or "shut away"?

I couldn't name the specific person, but someone did. The words "shut in" didn't always have that meaning; etymonline says it happened around 1904.

Without that you could be "shut in", but that just meant you were inside something with the door shut. It didn't have long-term or social implications.

According to https://medicalnote.jp/contents/150722-000005-CTDROY the term was coined as a translation for "Social withdrawal".

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