Abstract
Although writings that admired love existed in the Meiji period, this voice came to have greater power in the Taisho period. However, in reality, even the freedom of an individual to select his/her spouse was not accepted in Taisho period, as is well known. Then, how did love harmonize with the social order at that time? This paper answers this question by analyzing the cultural norms for what kind of love and marriage were suitable to, and in harmony with, the social order that existed in the Taisho period and early in the Showa period. This analysis found that love harmonized with the social order under the cultural norm of a love that was critical of the passionate side of love as something that was blind. Such cultural norms of love emphasized that the approval of parents was necessary to the making of a rational judgment. Moreover, such cultural norms with regard to love denied temporary emotional satisfaction, and invented the logic that it is necessary to use love for the creation of descendants and the continuation of the race.
