The Japanese termhikikomoriwas first used to describe prolonged social withdrawal in the 1990s. Since then, research across the world have reported similar prolonged social withdrawal in many countries outside Japan. This study systematically analyses the evolution of literature onhikikomoriin the past 20 years to gain a better understanding of the development of the knowledge base onhikikomorisince it garnered attention in Japan. Findings from the scientometric review indicate many perspectives on the etiology ofhikikomoriincluding cultural, attachment, family systems and sociological approaches. However, similarities with modern type depression, a novel psychiatric syndrome, have been proposed and there are signs of a recent paradigm shift ofhikikomorias a society-bound syndrome rather than a cultural-bound syndrome unique to Japan. As research intohikikomoricontinues to grow, results from the review also highlight the need for a more universally shared definition ofhikikomoriin order to better consolidate cross-cultural research for meaningful and valid cross-cultural comparisons which can help to promote evidence-based therapeutic interventions forhikikomori.