For a time, the Japanese had a reputation for living in harmony with each other. Their tendency was to stay as a team in everything from activities, hangouts, wine parties. At one time, it was rare for a Japanese man to have a solitary lunch. Someone is having lunch alone, like himself, in solitude - an unimaginable scene. It seemed so unusual and bizarre to everyone that if anyone wanted to eat alone, he would go to the bathroom and eat in secret. Please tell, whats the story of them big puppys ..... they have to go to toilet.

But gradually this trend is changing. The attitude of 'Let's go alone' is increasing among the Japanese. Do they believe in the slogan 'Go Solo' to a nation that used to be so negative about loneliness? No one has to go to the toilet to get rid of the stigma of loneliness, but the sacrifice is going on so that everyone can experience loneliness in all walks of life. The design of restaurants is changing, solitary shura drinking is being encouraged instead of drinking at bars, personal comfort at work is being given priority and much more. In the overall life of the Japanese, this awakening of the attitude of living alone, living alone, living alone has been called ‘Ohitorisama’.

The most reliable English translation of Ohitorissama may be ‘Party of One’. That is, everyone is enjoying, but not collectively, the one who does his own thing. The hashtag Ohitorissama has been on the popular social media Instagram for some time now. Over the past year and a half, there has been a skyrocketing trend of support for Ohitorisama among the Japanese. Along with social media, newspapers and magazines are also showing a significant rate of people arranging meals for one person in a restaurant, people are going out on a thrilling adventure on their own, and almost everyone is coming to the cinema halls without a partner.

Once upon a time, there was a very common scene in restaurants, 'Hitori Yakiniku', which, when translated into Bengali, turned out to be roasted meat. That means everyone will sit around a relatively short table and have fun and talk together and everyone will eat meat grilled together. But this scene is now on the verge of losing due to Ohitorissama. Due to the irresistible attraction to Ohitorisama, the Japanese are now going to restaurants alone, roasting meat themselves, instead of enjoying the event in groups; Each one individually. This transformation is not just about food. Institutions that provide karaoke facilities are now arranging single karaoke in large numbers. About 40% of the total karaoke customers now love to sing to the tune completely alone.

This practice of getting the Japanese out of a culture of factionalism is not limited to eating and chatting. The idea of ​​living alone is very much in their minds. In other words, they are willing to go it alone in the overall course of life. It is also having an effect on marriage. People are now more comfortable being single than ever before. In 2015, only 54% of Japanese between the ages of 20 and 59 were married. With the decline in the number of marriages, the number of divorces is also increasing. Under the present circumstances, the marital life of every three married couples ends in divorce.

In the eight decades following Japan's first census in 1920, the number of unmarried people (both men and women) never exceeded 5%. Until 1990, marriage was a universal phenomenon in the socio-economic context of Japan. In other words, people will get married when they are adults. This was the case. This picture began to change after 1990. The 2015 census found that 23.4% of men and 14.1% of women were unmarried.

It is estimated that by 2040, one in three men and one in five women will remain unmarried for the rest of their lives. The number of marriages per year may be proof that Japan is really moving towards this situation. The total number of marriages in 1973 was 1.1 million (11 lakhs) which decreased to 5 lakh 90 thousand in 2018.

One of the reasons behind staying unmarried is not finding a suitable partner for one's needs. The presence of males in the total population of Japan is much higher than that of females. In many cases, men are willing to marry, but because of the low number of women, they do not find a suitable mate. In the case of these men, living alone is basically forced. The number of unmarried men in Japan is about 3.4 million more than unmarried women. It should be noted that this problem is not only in Japan but also in many developed countries of the world. China, for example, is noteworthy. There are 30 million more men than women in China, and the picture of being unmarried there is pretty much the same as in Japan.

This trend of social change is not limited to Japan. Decreases in the birth rate, increasing age of marriage and aging of a significant population are responsible for the lonely life of the citizens in the country. Euromonitor International, a London-based market research firm, predicts that the trend of renting a home alone will increase by a record 128% between 2000 and 2030. Last year, only 8,64,000 babies were born in Japan, the lowest since 1899.

In some lands, loneliness is commonplace, and people are not surprised or surprised by loneliness at any age. US actress Christina Hendrix is ​​posting her picture on Instagram with the hashtag Solodate (#solodate). Another beauty name, Emma Watson, admits to being alone with great pride and confidence. He introduced himself in front of the media as a self-partner and he expressed his happiness quite strongly. In some western countries, loneliness has become so commonplace that there are even guidelines on drinking and reading books in solitary confinement

By getting used to traveling alone, women are taking it as their profession and thanks to this they are being able to play a strong role as influential personalities in social media. But the issue of Japan is not as normal as those countries or it is not a good tradition to say. So it remains to be seen in the years to come how Japan will use this new policy of its citizens walking alone in every aspect of the state.

This article is about the solo culture of Japan. All the references are hyperlinked within the article. 

Feature Image: epochtimes.com