Culture Clash: Japanese Tradition vs. Western Modernization

The "culture clash" depicted in "Swaddling Clothes" is unique because it is expressed through the struggle of traditional Japanese morals and ethics sustaining itself under the powerful influence of western modernization. In this story, modernization of Japanese social life is represented primarily as an unwelcome import from the west. As the figure who most readily embraces western, modern influence, Toshiko's husband is portrayed negatively. Unaffected by the nurse's loss of moral values, he recounts "the incident" with humor and nonchalance to his nightclub friends, commenting that he was more worried that his "good rug" would be ruined. He wears American clothes that strike Toshiko as "garish" and chooses to live in a western style house. Toshiko reflects: "she dreaded going back to their house, unhomely with its Western-style furniture and with the bloodstains still showing on the floor."

This sentence is revealing...