The film "In This Corner of the World" portrays Imperial Japan through the lens of a young girl, Suzu. In the film she gets married to Shusaku, a man which proposed to her. She barely knows him and lives at his home with his parents in Kure for a large duration of the film. I have heard of and seen these kinds of traditional families comprised of a husband, his parents, his wife and their children in other forms of pop-culture but were those kinds of proposal marriages common or at least present in the 30's and 40's?
Eventually, food rationing takes it's toll on the family and prices for many products (caramel as an example from the movie) increase drastically. I am aware of intensity of the rationing that the Japanese government implemented but how accurately does the film portray the effect it had on the average person in Japan?
Until 1950's marriage like Suzu was very common case in Japan.
My grandparents also married like as this in the 1920's.
In the Empire's Civil Code marriage need approved by chief of household head, father. It meant marriage is not personal ties but contract between two family. Father could decide marriage of children by his will. Decision was mainly made by economical and social necessity. Because socializing with opposite sex in youth were limited, most children accepted parents decision.
Of course there were person who married with themselves selected but it often accompanied friction with parents and relatives.
In "In this Corner of the World", Shusaku's father seemed to approve his children's select for marriage smoothly. But in the expanded version titled "In This Corner (and Other Corners) of the World (2019)", background of marriage revealed and it shocked Suzu . At first Shusaku wanted marriage with Rin but rejected by father. As a condition to give up marriage with prostitute, Shusaku demanded marriage with girl whom he met only once.
I recommend you viewing this expanded version.