Hikikomori

Day 30 Wednesday 8^th September 2010

Pastel blue...Dull

The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare defines hikikomori as people who refuse to leave their house, and isolate themselves from society in their homes for a period exceeding six months. It’s a condition that is becoming common in Japan especially with the younger generation. Shizuka’s young sister, Makoto, is 25 and is fast on her way to becoming a total shut-in. She hasn’t worked for over a year and rarely even goes outside now. Emails over the last year from Shizuka’s mother meant that I was prepared for the request to see if I can do something about it.  Things are obviously getting desperate if they have asked me but what the hell… First up was getting her out of bed at 9AM. “Good luck with that” said her mother. Makoto was lying on her futon buried under a pile of blankets.  The one weak point in this defensive position was her feet which were poking out from the blankets. I quickly formulated a plan of attack which consisted of tickling her feet until she emerged. This tactic worked well and before too long Mako was up and about. “Get dressed. We’re going on an adventure” I told her. Her mother was amazed. We all had breakfast and the girls went to put on makeup and do their hair and all the other crap girls must do before venturing outside. This is one of Makos problems. She takes ages to get herself ready to do anything. Continental drift begins to look like fast work compared to Makoto preparing to go somewhere. Shizuka likes to describe her as “sluggish”. After an era has passed she is finally ready. Makoto is actually quite pretty but she does herself no favours with the clothes she wears. She insists on wearing odd combinations like a skirt over track pants and strange hats. Now I’m no fashion slave but even I can tell that setting fire to her wardrobe would be a good start. So now, having promised an adventure, I have to pull a rabbit out of a hat and actually come up with an idea for one. Her parents have recently bought her a car in the hope that it would encourage her to get out and find a job.  She is not so confident driving and so it hasn’t seen much use. OK, grab a map and pick a place to go to. South of Nagoya is a peninsula called Chita. There’s a place named Mihama which in English means beautiful sand.  That’s it. We are going to this beach and providing Mako with some much need fresh air and driving practice. Shizuka isn’t fazed by this. She’s used to spontaneous outings by now.  Shizuka’s parents don’t say anything but I can see that they aren’t used to unconventional methods like this. Before Mako can protest we bundle her into the car. It’s a Daihatsu Cocoa in powder blue. “Did you actually choose this colour”? I ask her. “Yes” she replied, “I like pastel colours”. Hmmm. It looks like the kind of colour the airforce would use to paint a piece of equipment like a generator. Dull! Still it could be worse…it could be a Suzuki Tanto which is the most popular kei car at the moment. The Tanto is an affront to aerodynamics and good taste. 

Traffic lights...Duller

 One thing I notice immediately about the Cocoa is the gaping hole in the centre of the dashboard. It seems  the budget didn’t stretch to a navigation system. I will have to do this the old fashioned way. A map book is passed through the window and we are off. This map book is totally covered in Kanji characters.  Great. Navigating and learning Japanese simultaneously. Bet they don’t teach that at high school. A couple of hours later we are on the coast. Makoto is actually doing quite well with the driving. She’s only blown through 2 red lights at this point. Not much worse than the average Auckland driver. Despite Shizuka’s protests, I think that’s quite forgivable. Traffic lights here are a joke. There is usually only one unit mounted on a pole hanging over the intersection. It’s always on the far side and is mounted horizontally. If you are travelling behind a truck you can’t actually see the light until you are into the middle of the intersection.  Japanese refer to the green light as the blue light. Why? Because green is obviously a shade of blue. As with most things in Japan, driving requires a suspension of your western logic. 

Chita coastline....Dullest.

The coastline of the Chita peninsula is fairly typical of the Japan seaside. That is, it’s been totally ruined.  Anything resembling a beach has been concreted over. Seawalls and breakwaters block the view and junk and debris from the local fishing activities litter the roadsides. The smokestacks from a power plant tower over everything. Driving along the coast road the predominant colour is rust. As we get further south it improves marginally. We stop beside a clam farm and have a snack. I ponder on the different attitudes to the coastline that exist here and in NZ. At home, the coast is a national treasure. Nobody owns it and access to it is guaranteed to all. Very little development is allowed on the foreshore and coastal houses are much sought after, commanding high price premiums. Kiwis cherish their beaches and will fight tooth and nail to conserve and protect them. I think that’s as it should be.  Here a different mind-set prevails. The Japanese seem to fear the sea, building huge fortifications in an attempt to tame it. The symbol of Japans beaches is not the sand dune but the tetrapod. These huge concrete forms can be seen in their thousands along the coasts of these islands.  The other disparity is in how the people here view the sea. For them it seems the purpose of the ocean is simply to supply them with food.  Every inch of the foreshore is devoted to fishing boats, processing factories, fish farms, fish shops, seafood restaurants, boat maintenance and  boat repair. It is all privately owned and keep out signs are plentiful. There are few opportunities for leisure or lifestyle here. Nature has been reshaped to support commerce and industry. Nobody seems to care that the place is a hideous mess.  Things get a bit better on the western side. Here the factories give way to huge resort hotels but as with the sea of Japan coast, the foreshore here is lined with carparks and rusty sheds. The beach is crawling with old people scavenging for tiny shellfish.  Further to the north, airliners come in low on final approach into Nagoya’s new island airport. So unloved is the coast in this country that even these most contentious of human constructions can be safely parked on artificial islands just offshore with little opposition.  

tetrapods...the Japanse beach

Makoto seems to be in good spirits and looks to have enjoyed this tour and has driven all the way,even venturing onto the highway for the first time. Apart from her penchant for playing red light roulette, she has done well. It’s funny how the things that strike me as grim and depressing in this country don’t affect the natives, yet things that bother them seem trivial to me. We return to the house that evening, a bit to the surprise of her father who, I’m sure, reckoned that this foreigner would never be able to read a map in Kanji.