ABSTRACT
T He greatest single change in Japanese family institutions lies in the increased importance attached to the emotional relationship between husband and wife, at the expense of the relationship between parents and children which was of overwhelming importance to the traditional family. We have already discussed this in general terms and shown the relative balance of ‘traditional’ and ‘modern’ opinion in this matter (see p. 127). It remains to consider in more detail the changes in ideas which have taken place, and to examine some aspects of the footing on which marital relations were actually being maintained in Shitayama-cho.
