Older sister's wife

Japanese: 姉女房 - あねにょうぼう

Older wife. In the olden days, men married at a young age, and it was normal for wives to be older than their husbands. Depending on the region, they are called Anmatoji, Annekakka, Oine, Igiyamashi, Ipponbera, etc., and there are proverbs in various places such as "An older wife is a god of fortune," "An older wife will build a storehouse," and "Look for a wife wearing golden sandals." This is probably because it was thought that an older wife would be more skilled in the ways of the world and better able to manage a household, which would lead to the prosperity of the family. There are examples of villages in western Japan where nearly half of the household consists of older wives, but this is related to the tendency for marriage within the village, and there are fewer older wives in areas where marriage outside the village is more common.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

年上の妻。古くは男子の結婚年齢が低く，夫より年上の妻が普通であった。地方によってアンマトジ，アンネカッカ，オイネ，イギヤマシ，イッポンベラなどと呼ばれ，「姉女房は福の神」「オイネ女房は蔵が建つ」「ヒトツアネは金 (かね) のわらじをはいて探せ」のような諺が各地にある。これは姉女房が，年長のため世故にたけ，所帯の切盛りに長じて家が栄える原因になると考えられたからであろう。西日本には姉女房が半数近くに上る村落の例もあるが，これは村内婚の傾向と関係し，村外婚の多い地域には姉女房は少い。

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