Retirement branch family - Inkyobunke

Japanese: 隠居分家 - いんきょぶんけ

…Under the Japanese inheritance system, where the eldest son inherits most often, it has been thought that the second and third sons should marry and eventually set up a branch family. The second type is the retirement branch family, where the second and third sons take their parents (usually both parents) with them or are brought along by their parents. In this case, it is a major issue whether the person who sets up the family will be the parent or the second or third son. …

From the original:

…However, there are some head families that do not emphasize the difference between them and the branch families, and this is especially common in western Japan. This tendency is particularly strong in areas where the system of a retired branch family in which the parent takes along the second, third, and subsequent children, the branch family, and selective inheritance are practiced, in which the ancestral tablet (memorial tablet) rituals of the parents are divided between the head family and the branch family. This is because the head family does not have anything of value that makes it superior to the branch families. …

From [Youngest Son Inheritance]

...The most common method is for the eldest son to branch off from the family in order, and for the youngest child to inherit at the end. Alternatively, the youngest child who once branched off or moved out may return to their parents and inherit. There is also a method in which the parents pass on the family to their eldest son, then take the second and third sons and daughters and retire to the family, and finally the youngest child who lives with the parents succeeds them. This is generally a system of eldest son inheritance (eldest son inheritance) and retired family branch, but this is in fact a form of inheritance that is very close to youngest son inheritance. One of the characteristics of youngest son inheritance is that although it is called youngest son inheritance, the inheritor is not limited to the youngest child, and inheritance by the eldest son or a close elder brother is also quite acceptable. ...

*Some of the terminology explanations that refer to "retirement branch family" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…長男相続(長子相続)がきわめて多い日本の相続制下にあっては，次･三男は結婚してやがて分家すべきものと考えられてきた。第2はこうした次･三男が親(ふつうは両親)を連れて，あるいは両親に連れられて分家する隠居分家である。この場合，分家者が親となるか次･三男になるかは重大な問題である。…

【本家】より

…しかしながら分家との差をさほど強調しない本家もあり，それはとくに西日本に多くみられる。親が次･三男以下の子女をつれて分家する隠居分家の制度や，両親の祖先(位牌)祭祀を本家と分家で分割する分牌祭祀，選定相続などを行っている地域ではとくにその傾向が強い。これは本家が分家よりも卓越する価値あるものを持たぬからである。…

【末子相続】より

…最も多いのは子どもたちのうち長男から順に分家して，最後に残った末子が相続する方法であり，このほかには一度分家や転出した末子がふたたび両親のもとにもどって相続する方法もある。また親が長男にあとを譲ったのち，次･三男や女子を連れて隠居分家をくりかえし，最後に親と同居した末子が親のあとをつぐ方法も，一般的には長男相続(長子相続)と隠居分家の制度であるが，これも事実上末子相続に非常に近い相続形態である。　末子相続の特徴の一つは，末子相続といいながらも，相続継承者が末子に規定的に限定されないことであり，長男や仲兄（ちゆうけい）の相続もかなり認められる。…

※「隠居分家」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について | 情報

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