Hakikomori is a name Japanese Sociologists have given to a growing population of Japanese citizens who have kind of “dropped-out” of society to become recluses in their homes, which inevitably become cluttered and toxic. 

Not only is that an apt metaphor for our lives in general, but it speaks directly to the reason Sanctuary Home Wellness exists - to serve populations like the Hakikomori, starting here in the south west United States.

Early research into why these mostly Japanese men are ending up essentially as socially withdrawn hoarders reveals one consistent thing, that is the feeling of SAFETY Hakikomori tend to derive from remaining in their familiar controlled environment. They feel safer there than in the outside world. 

Thankfully in Japan, resources are becoming available for Hakikomori as the condition is gaining more visibility and understanding. But here in the United States, Sanctuary Home Wellness is here to reach American Hakikomori with the message that it is NOT SAFE to live in clutter, and that WE UNDERSTAND, that for MANY PEOPLE, intervention is needed to help get things in order, and a respectful, trauma-informed provider of such services is needed.

It is with all compassion and respect that we track this phenomenon as it emerges in Japan. The Hakikomori phenomenon has a great deal of adjacency with our work as we deal with essentially much of the same Hakikomori symptoms with some of our clients. Our research team sees a great deal of value in staying on the cutting edge of best practices when it comes to intervention, treatment, and rehabilitation. 

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