Solo. Lonely. Alone. The Japanese word for this condition is botchishort for Hitoribotchimeaning “alone”. Ten years ago, few people in Japan would admit being Botchi, especially during the holidays – tacit connotations were too horrible: alone at Christmas? What are you, a weird?
Ok, this is a slight exaggeration, but the societal pressure to find a partner and settled was very real – especially for women in the twenties and the early 1930s. I had friends who literally exhausted the lights and would avoid any contact at Christmas, just to escape the dam dam like: “So, what are your projects on the 24th?”