cont....The Creative Family: A Base for a Creative Society

cont….     Within the traditional extended family of Japan, love was often overpowered by the strong shadow of the household. On the other hand, there was a distinct family tradition, a kind of family culture which was carried by the vertical connections through the generations. Its customs determined the unique traditions of each family.
                         A style of life and its standards, ways of looking at things, and the way in which the family related to the rest of society were all conveyed from father to son, from mother to daughter, from mother-in-law to daughter-in-law. In the process, the precious experiences of family forebears were interwoven with the wisdom of life.
          Parents taught their children how to live as human beings, provided them with an outlook on life and assisted
them  in developing a world view. Social customs were conveyed from person to person; such things are etiquette and
social behavior, how to manage household finances, raise children, and do well in the world were all taught by parents
to their children.
          But even these advantages were not enough to offset the deficiencies which eroded the human love necessary to
unceasing life-force for the familial organism. Love, then, is the most important bond for the contemporary nuclear
family.
However, the three-generation family in which the grandparents are in good health is preferable, since life with the
Older couple means that the family can learn its traditions. This makes up for the deficiencies in wisdom attendant upon
the nuclear family. When I consider the family of the future, I think life with the grandparents would be the idea.
Realities do not easily permit that, but even where husband and wife are living alone, they should not cut off contact
with the grandparents or older people with their wealth of life’s experience.