Yup. I mean, how many fathers (or parents) do you see in this entire series anyway? Not that many, which is pretty disturbing, considering that going to the Nationals is a pretty big thing for them.

Nanjiroh thinks (likely not without justification) he knows his son very well, which explains the hands-off approach -- and which goes well with the idea that after all, it's very easy to understand Ryouma: he's just stupidly focused. ^^