ABSTRACT
ALMOSTEVERYWEEKinJinseiAnnai,thereisaletterfromadaughter-in-
lawcomplainingabouthermother-in-law;andabouteveryotherweek,
thereisaletterfromanangrymother-in-law.What'ssounusualaboutthis?
Haven'tmothers-in-lawanddaughters-in-lawbeenquarrelingsincetheinventionofthefamily?Andwithoutthosefamiliarbattlefrontswouldn'ta
lotofadvicecolumnsallovertheworldbedestinedtoend?It'strueenough thatafewin-lawproblemsrevealedinJinseiAnnaiaresimplyJapanese
manifestationsofaconflictfacedbypeopletheworldover.Childrendo
growupnomatterhowdifficultthisisforsomeparentstoaccept,andtheir
spousesandparentsareperfectlypositionedtobecomerivals.Theold
Americanbromideinwhichmixedemotionsaredefmedaswatchingyour
mother-in-lawgooveracliffinyournewCadillac,makesitspointbecause Americansexpectthistypeofrelationshiptobeaminefieldofpotential
hostility.OnewouldbemissingaverysignificantfeatureoflifeinJapan,
however,iftheselettersweredismissedasmereexpressionsoftheuniver-
saltensionbetweenspousesandparents.
