Some students of Japanese culture have attributed the compulsive character structure of the Japanese to the severity of the infant's toilet and cleanliness training. However, a study of the children of Issei parents in Hawaii failed to reveal any indications of emotional trauma in the mother-child relationship referable to toilet training. Urination and defecation are not emotionally tinged in Japanese culture. The method of toilet training differs from that in the Western world but the quality of severity attributed to it may be only a projection of the Caucasian observer's own reaction to the method. Sikkema's data would indicate that Japanese parents tend to 'spoil' young children and that they early shift responsibility for the child's discipline and training to the school.