Botchi's World

Wada Yuki (National Institute of Technology, Akashi College)

Good after noon every one. Do you know the word, “botchi”? It's Japanese. Have you heard it? “Botchi” is an abbreviation for “hitori botchi” which means a person who is always alone. Then, one more question, do you know the phrase, “Botchi seki”? It means “botchi seats” or “Seats for those who want to be left alone.” I am not surprised if you haven't heard of them because they just appeared in a cafeteria of Kobe University this spring. These seats are designed for botchi students. Normally, there are tables for 4 or 6 people and chairs are set around them. In contrast, botchi seats are divided into individual sections like a carrel using screens so that botchi students can block out eye contact with others. To my surprise, these seats are very popular and many students use them. If my school placed them in our cafeteria, I would really want to use them too. I haven't told you yet, but I am a kind of “botchi” myself. In my judgment, I have been a botchi for 9 years, and I'm 18 now. So, I have spent half of my life as a botchi.

Aside from “Botchi seats,” in these past few years, many kinds of services have targeted single users. Karaoke for single users; movies, yakiniku, and so on. These special services have fallen into the spotlight. And, not only services, but also comics and novels, which put botchi in a hero's position, have become very popular. This increase in bocchi recognition is leading to greater consumer demand. Last summer, I came across one of these light novels and it was amazing. It clearly expressed what botchi people would like to say and after reading it, I shouted, “The Botchi's world is coming!” The novel was ranked at the top of the light novel section in 2014.

The significant point here is that our society is beginning to accept bocchi in a very positive way and to hold them in very high regard. This is a dramatic change. But, what does it mean? And, how will it affect us?

First, I don't want you to associate botchi only with a very gloomy person. The word, “botchi,” has many different meanings, including that of an amicable person who simply prefers to work alone. Any other word could not possibly be interpreted more broadly. Each person differs depending on why they became botchi, what kind of life style they have, and so on. In general, they are people who do not complain; saying, “I don't have any friends,” “I don't have company to talk with.” They might be nice and considerate individuals; but, they simply do not reach out proactively to make new friends by their own efforts. I guess that I am a botchi of this type.

Next, school in Japan often appears to be a place for learning how to adjust one's self to group activities, rather than a place for studying. Japanese kids are repeatedly taught, “Friends are good.” “Making friends is important.” “Everyone can be a friend.” A school is a little society; an enclosed society. And, botchi kids have been treated as socially unadjusted children.

When I was about to become a junior high school student, my parents had to fill out some papers. One of them asked about my characteristics. I could see only three imposing Chinese characters written by my mother, which translate to “a lone wolf.” So, I said to my mother, “I admit that I am a lone wolf, but there are also other characteristics that express who I am like headstrong, serious.… Why only this?” And, she answered, “Well..., I don't think that we need more, do we?” I couldn't reply any more. Later, I found that my parent's judgment was right, because at the first personal interview with my homeroom teacher, she really appreciated my mother's comment, saying that it was really helpful to understand me. And, she didn't have to worry about me because I was alone.

Unfortunately, unlike my homeroom teacher, most Japanese teachers put too much emphasis on ambiguous “friendships.” To help make friends, they plan many kinds of school events and force us to participate in them. For example, school excursions, athletic meets, school festivals, and so on. Interestingly, many schools in Western countries don't have this same style of compulsory school excursion.

In Japanese schools or society, they tend to link people together and regard them as friends. They confuse mere acquaintances as friends. They place a special importance on not how to connect with others, but just connecting in general. To link together, we Japanese take part in the same events organized by schools, companies, and so on; and, we adapt ourselves to each group's code, whether we like it or not. This tradition produces very small and closed group human relationships. Ironically, that is why the bocchi “tribe” was born, and they are not accepted in Japanese society.

But, in these last few decades, Japanese human relationships have been changing; from closed ones to open ones. The botchi fad is good evidence of this. Even people who are not botchi have sympathy for bocchi ideas. Globalization, the propagation of the Internet, and many other social changes are leading to this untraditional, open society. We are standing at a critical turning point. Those who used to have to polish their technique for adapting to their enclosed society have grown tired of old ways. The young people are gasping for a break. They are now seeking different kinds of values and definitions of friendship.

Will the botchi fad fade away? No one knows, but I think this fad plays a role as a basis for preparation to present botchi as an ordinary existence. As botchi become gradually accepted and ordinary, they will evolve into a new model of Japanese who adapt to an open community. In short, I secretly expect that botchi culture will become the origin of a new type of Japanese. Someday, when the word “botchi” is not used any more, the real time for botchi will come.