japanese withdrawal syndrome
January 21st, 2006 by Lawrence David
this nytimes article is stunning. the author recounts:
One morning when he was 15, Takeshi shut the door to his bedroom, and for the next four years he did not come out. He didn’t go to school. He didn’t have a job. He didn’t have friends. Month after month, he spent 23 hours a day in a room no bigger than a king-size mattress, where he ate dumplings, rice and other leftovers that his mother had cooked, watched TV game shows and listened to Radiohead and Nirvana. “Anything,” he said, “that was dark and sounded desperate.”
for some reason (i haven’t finished the article yet), japanese adolescent males are turning themselves into extreme recluses. looks to be a fascinating read.
