The Asahi Shimbun summarizes current statistics on hikikomori in Japan in an article titled “Hikikomori rate highest in 40s, yet support targets youth.” The article is thorough in examining the statistics, including all prefectures, most major cities, and many local governments. In Nagano Prefecture, for example, older hikikomori constitute over 63 percent of all hikikomori.
Hesse on solitude
Brain Pickings offers a nicely-done item on Hermann Hesse and solitude, titled “Hermann Hesse on Solitude, the Value of Hardship, the Courage to Be Yourself, and How to Find Your Destiny,” with related quotes on suffering, creativity, and other themes from various poets, writers, and thinkers.
URL: https://www.brainpickings.org/2019/01/15/hermann-hesse-solitude-suffering-destiny/
Darren Rogers: “busy” Canadian hermit
The National Post of Toronto describes Darren Rogers, “the recluse of Cockburn Island.” Rogers has resided on the island for fourteen years. The island is a summer resort with up to two-hundred vacationers, but with the end of summer, he is left alone. “As island caretaker, Rogers looks after road maintenance, building repairs, safety equipment, tending to the needs of the summer residents — ‘it’s all rolled into one job,’ he says. His years working as a farm hand on various dairy farms in Ontario and operating heavy equipment have prepared him for the physical labour. But his work experience wasn’t the only thing that got him the job. ‘The biggest thing here is you have to be willing to live out here,’ he said. ‘It’s not a five-day-a-week job, it’s 24/7.'”
Russian hermit in vain
A Newsweek item describes a hermit saga in Siberia, not an unfamiliar theme. The item title tells the tale: “Hermit Hides in The Woods For 24 Years, Fleeing Murder He Didn’t Commit.” The article summarizes: “Believing he had killed his wife and daughter in a drunken rage, Nikolai Gromov fled to the dangerous Siberian taiga, avoided wolves, bears and even tigers. But when he finally returned to civilization 24 years later, Gromov, now 72, learned the murder never occurred.”
URL: https://www.newsweek.com/hermit-siberia-murder-1461810
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BBC Radio 4: “The Philosophy of Solitude”
As part of its “In Our Time” series, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a discussion of the “Philosophy of Solitude” with host Melvyn Bragg and several philosophers back in June 2014. The site mentions the Hermitary website in its list of “Links and Further Reading.” The entire 43 minute program is available for listening on demand on the web site or for download.