Abstract
It is a traditional Japanese custom for parents togive their daughters Kimonos at the time of their wedding to be used throughout their married life.
We conducted a research study into the intentions for this custom from the mothers' point of view, by the following method.
The Fishbein method (concerning social behavior), that is, an intention to perform behavior = (their attitudes against social behavior), weight1 (individual bias) weight2 was used.
The samples consisted of 424 mothers whose daughters were junior college students, living in Aichi and Gifu Prefectures. In this area, it iscustomary for brides to display their Kimonos to their relations, friends and neighbors, in what is called “Isho-mise.” Therefore, the content of this report has three major points : (1) the customs concerning Kimono wear, (2) the number of Kimonos prepared by mothers for their daughters' married life, and (3) the displaying of the Kimonos.
The results are as follows :
1) Customs concerning Kimono wear : Strong influences of individual bias caused this behavioral intention. As a result, half of those studiedsupported the tradition, while the other half supported reform.
2) Preparation of Kimonos for married life : Strong influence of their attitudes against their society caused this intentional individual behavior. As a result, most mothers wanted to be moderate, what we call, “Hitonami” (ordinary).
3) Displaying of Kimonos : Mothers' attitudes against individualism is equally influenced by their own individual bias and the societal norms ofAichi and Gifu Prefectures, resulting in a compound behavior. As a result, the majority do not wish to display their Kimonos.
