This paper aims to look into the patterns of Japanese family, its change over the time and mode of continuity. Japanese family system has gone through many changes over the time. Before World War II Japanese family system was called the ie system and ie means family or household where continuity was the essential feature of the ic. The affairs of the ie were managed by the Head and he was supposed to be given privileges. Relations between members were organized hierarchically. Women were underprivileged and supposed to obey male members. With the introduction of the new constitution in 1947, democratic family system based on the equal rights of husbands and wives was instigated. Immediate after the postwar period, many traditional families had been fragmented to one housing unit per family or one room per family. Eventually, many middle class urban families in Japan are functioning as families but without the substance expected of the traditional family unit. Even at present, we can see "Week-end Families" and "Sunday Strangers Family". Japanese family system is still changing and facing a serious crisis. This paper tries to look into that aspect as well.