THE STAY......

It was really amazing that I was able to stay with Sakichan, and to my surprise, both sisters are caught in the situation of hikikomori. I hope I can write more, but then for ethical reasons, and to protect the cases, I would have to be patience and to filter before I upload this experience of the stay onto the blog. It will take some times, perhaps a month, or 3 months or half year later to upload a full version to the blog.

From now on, this blog will be a journey of searhing hikikomori, or working with hikikomori.

Sakichan had been caught into this situation, wandering in and out of NEET, hikikomori, Freeter for about 20 years now. She likes to get out from this situation, and began to do a lot of research by herself. She is active in the internet, active in the DayCare Center, but she has fear when it comes to real connection. I am the first one from the "hikikomori circle" that she agrees and like to see. We don't know the reasons for her to see me, or why she could take me as a friend, or how the trust could be built.

When Sakichan brought me home, she didn't expect her sister will also became my friend later. However, we started to build our friendship very soon on the first day when I reached her home. There were some comments from them, which I think could be a hints of why the family had opened their hearts to me: i. honesty; ii. righteousness; iii. professional. I think the above three comments were developed on the basis of my strong emphasis on "Let's YES be YES, and NO be NO". I didn't hide anything from them.

Another thing that I had not expect was the chance to explain the findings and the results of the study to the family, and invited them to comment and challenge the conclusions. I didn't even expect that I will show the Hiki T-Shirt that I made to them. And their first responds was laughing like crazy! Hahaha!!! What a fun! I don't know how long have it been that the family had not laughed like this. But then, it was seems to be really enjoying 楽しかった(tanoshikatta).

Sakichan said, "If it is written, 「HIKIKOMORI WE ARE」, it will defintely sells well in YAHOO SALES net!"

But then, the words, 「WE CARE」, I guess, somehow was very powerful. She was in a deep thought after the laugh. I explained to her that this is the T-shirt that I purposely made it for the conference in Walnut Creek, California on last February, so that the people that come for the Hikikomori workshop will remember the connections of the emotions/situations that we found in the research of hikikomori by end of 2008. Although it cost a lot to print the T-shirt, but I think it is worth to invest on this, and people can begin to share it with others and perhaps help to lift up the burdens of people who are struggling with hikikomori.

She felt the love though it is hard for her to believe that why people are praying for them, why people in the far away land are concern about them, but then, she seems to felt the love, 重い感じ, it was heavy.

And perhaps of this "heaviness", the drop of love was able to drip into the little room in her heart......

We do not know...... but let's wait and see what Sakichan is going to do next.

While we wait, let's PRAY!!!