Heir -

Japanese: 嫡子 - ちゃくし

A term in the family system under the Ritsuryo system, that is, a form of a biological child, corresponding to an illegitimate child, which is used in three different ways: first, the heir to the family, second, the eldest son of the legitimate wife, and third, the child of the legitimate wife. Of these, the legitimate son in the first sense could only be raised by a person of rank of eighth rank or higher under the Taiho Code. However, this provision was revised under the Yoro Code, and its application was expanded to ordinary people. The legitimate son was selected by the deceased, but the order was determined by law, and the first person in order was the eldest son of the legitimate wife. The privilege of the legitimate son was that, for people of rank, he was given preferential treatment in the Innoi and Iko systems, and the privilege of people of rank and commoners was that they could expect financial benefits through inheritance laws based on the principle of illegitimate and illegitimate children being separated. The meaning of the legitimate son in the Middle Ages was as ambiguous as it was in the Ritsuryo system. Among these, the status of the legitimate son, meaning the heir to the family, was determined by selection, as in the previous era, but the status of the legitimate wife's eldest son was elevated, and he maintained his status as the legitimate son unless the deceased performed an act of disinheritance. Such a legitimate wife's eldest son was called a natural legitimate son, and conversely, a legitimate son selected by the deceased over the legitimate wife's eldest son was called the legitimate son. In the early modern period, the trend of hereditary stipends emerged among the samurai class, and when it came to inheritance, lords demanded that the legitimate son be someone "in line," and vassals could no longer choose an heir based on their own love and hate. As a result, the status of the legitimate wife's eldest son was further elevated.

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

Japanese:

律令制における家族制度上の用語，すなわち実子の一形態で，第1に家相続人，第2に嫡妻の長子，第3に嫡妻の子の3様に雑然と使用されている庶子に対応する。このうち，第1の意味の嫡子は，大宝令においては，内八位以上の有位者だけが，これを立てることができた。しかし，この規定は養老令にいたって改正され，一般庶民にまで，その適用が広げられた。嫡子の決定は，被相続人の選定によるが，その順位は法定のそれによるべく，その第1順位者は，嫡妻の長子であった。嫡子の特権は，有位者については，蔭位，位子制において優遇を受けることであり，有位者，庶民を通じての特権としては，嫡庶異分主義に基づいた相続法によって，財産的利益を期待できることにあった。中世における嫡子の意義も，律令制におけるそれと同じく多義である。このうち，家相続人を意味する嫡子の地位は前代と同じく選定により定まったが，嫡妻長子の地位は高まり，被相続人が廃嫡行為をなさないかぎり，嫡子たる地位を保持した。このような嫡妻長子を生得嫡子と称し，これと反対に，被相続人が，嫡妻長子をさしおいて選定した嫡子を取立て嫡子と称した。近世にいたり，武士階級においては，封禄世襲化の風が生じ，相続にあたって，主君は「筋目ノ者」を嫡子とすることを要求し，家臣は自己の愛憎で，相続人を定めることができなくなった。その結果，嫡妻長子の地位は，さらに高められるにいたった。

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