noriko, at 27, is an unmarried, unemployed young woman, completely dependent financially upon her father and living (at the film’s beginning) quite contently with him. her two most important traits, which are interrelated, are her unusually close and affectionate relationship with her father and her extreme reluctance to marry and leave home. of the first trait, the relationship between father and daughter has been described as a "transgenerational friendship," in which there is nevertheless no hint of anything incestuous or even inappropriate. however, it has been conceded that this may primarily be due to cultural differences between japan and the west and that, were the story remade in the west, such a possible interpretation couldn’t be evaded. the second trait, her strong aversion to the idea of marriage, has been seen, by some commentators, in terms of the japanese concept of "amae", which in this context signifies the strong emotional dependence of a child on its parent, which can persist into adulthood. thus, the rupturing of the father-adult daughter relationship in "late spring" has been interpreted as ozu’s view of the inevitability—and necessity—of the termination of the "amae" relationship, although ozu never glosses over the pain of such a rupture.