Sister Heir - Anekatoku

If the firstborn child is a girl, she will take precedence over the eldest son, who is a younger brother, and this is one of the types of non-selected (determined) inheritance, i.e., primogeniture, among the inheritance methods seen in Japan. It can also be called primogeniture. In reality, the older sister does not become the heir herself, but her husband, who is an adopted son-in-law, becomes the heir. The reason for the existence of the older sister as the heir is thought to be that it is economical to find a husband early and have him inherit the family estate, as this would increase the labor force. In addition, it is said that there was a secondary reason that some people willingly became adopted children to avoid the conscription system that was implemented during the Meiji period. The older sister as the heir, along with the youngest son as the heir, is characterized by not sticking to the ideology of the patriarchal family system of eldest son inheritance, which is common in the situation. This practice is mainly common in farming and fishing villages in the Tohoku region, and is also seen among merchant families, but not among samurai families. Among samurai, the eldest son inheritance was the only priority. In Yamagata Prefecture, there is a proverb that says, "A son-in-law adopted into the family for three generations is the source of a wealthy man," which is thought to be related to the fact that when choosing a son-in-law, one must carefully consider and choose a hard-working man. The southern limit of the distribution is the former Niihari District of Ibaraki Prefecture, but it is hardly practiced today.

[Takenori Noguchi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

初生子が女子である場合、下に弟である長男がいてもそれに優先して家督の相続を行うもので、日本にみられる相続方式のうち非選定（決定）相続、すなわち長子相続の一つの型に属するものである。初生女子相続とよぶことも可能である。実際には姉自身が相続者となるわけではなく、その夫である婿養子がなる。姉家督の存在理由としては、早く婿をとって相続させたほうが労働力のプラスになり経済的であるからなどと考えられている。また明治時代の徴兵制施行に際し、それを逃れるために進んで養子にいくといったことも副次的な理由として存在したという。姉家督は、末子相続とともに、長男相続による家父長制的家族制度が普遍的な状況において、そのイデオロギーに固執しないところに特徴があると考えられる。この慣行は主として東北地方の農漁村に多く、商家の間にもみられるが、士族の家にはみられない。士族の間ではもっぱら長男相続が優先した。山形県あたりには「三代婿養子は長者のもと」という諺(ことわざ)があるが、これなどは婿養子を選ぶ場合、慎重に検討してまじめな働き手を選ぶということと関連するとみられる。分布は茨城県の旧新治(にいはり)郡地方が南限であるが、現在慣行としてはほとんど存在していない。

［野口武徳］

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