Criticism of the City and Family Norms:

The urban version of Ie no Hikari

Abstract

    This paper examines the relations between criticism of the city and family norms, and reconsiders the comparison structure called ‘urban vs. rural' implied in family studies. The object of analysis is a magazine for urban blue-collar workers: the urban version of Ie no Hikari. Originally, it was published as a magazine for rural families. The urban version targeted city dwellers and was published from 1935 to 1941. This analysis focuses on articles called ‘home articles.' It can be seen that urban culture was considered wasted culture, the life of the farm village was shown as a model for rural families, and the family had both a private and a public existence. Furthermore, in both the urban version and the rural version, the importance given to the role of the “housewife” was shared. In other words, in the urban version, rural culture was reflected, and the relations between city and farm village were considered to be mutual.