ABSTRACT
In Kurotsuchi there were only three adults over the age of thirty who had not married, and each of them had, or had had, some problems with his or her health. In general, it is regarded as most unusual for people to remain single, and young people of both sexes appear to regard marriage as inevitable.1 In this chapter, the evidently efficient means by which marriages are initially created will be considered, emphasis again being placed on changes which have taken place during the lifetime of the oldest inhabitants. In Chapter 1, the post-war legal changes with regard to marriage were indicated, and the new Constitution quoted which makes marriage an affair only of the man and woman concerned. It was also suggested that practice has not yet caught up with these legal ideals, and the case of Kurotsuchi provides further evidence that this is so. In the previous chapter, the importance of marriage to the ie was explained, and some evidence presented of the way marriage is still very much an involvement with the whole household. In case of dispute, a couple may choose to preserve their marriage rather than the ie to which they belong, but this action is still subject to social censure. However, modifications have certainly been made to previous practices, and the attitudes of young people often reflect their post-war education.
