Youngest son inheritance - Masshisozoku

The youngest of adult siblings inherits property and status. It is also read as "basshi sozoku." After the older brothers leave their homes one after another, the youngest brother usually lives with his parents and supports them. The English term "ultimogeniture" was adopted as a term in inheritance law in the late 19th century in England, but it did not become widespread. In Japan, however, it has been noted as a folk custom that should be contrasted with the custom of the eldest son inheriting. For eldest son inheritance to become common in a society, multiple boys must reach adulthood in many families in that society. In pre-modern societies with stagnant populations, there was only about one boy per family, so there was no point in choosing the youngest son except for some wealthy polygamous families with many children. In addition, the average life expectancy was generally short, and the probability that parents would survive after the older brothers left their homes was low, so eldest son inheritance was difficult to consider. In contrast, the rapid population growth in the early modern period, when the number of boys reaching adulthood per family increased, the average life expectancy increased, and parents were more likely to survive after the older brothers left their homes, created conditions for an increase in eldest son inheritance. There is also a tendency for youngest-child inheritance to be more prevalent among mobile field farmers and nomadic peoples, for whom real estate is usually divided among older brothers, making real estate rights somewhat unclear and division operations easier. The fact that youngest-child inheritance is common in farming and fishing villages in the Seto Inland Sea and Kyushu regions may be related to the ease of dividing up real estate in sweet potato regions, where a staple food could be secured on a small surface area. Cases of fragmentary youngest-child inheritance are likely accidental cases that combine the equal division of inheritance between males, which was seen in Japan until the first half of the early modern period, with the tendency for parents who married early to support their youngest children.

[Akira Sasaki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

成人した兄弟（姉妹）の最若年者が財産、地位を相続、継承すること。「ばっしそうぞく」とも読む。兄たちが次々に独立したあと、末弟が親と同居し、両親を扶養する形をとることが多い。英語のultimogenitureは、19世紀末のイギリスで相続法用語に採用されたが普及しなかったのに対し、日本では長男子相続慣行に対置すべき民俗として注目された。末子相続が一社会内で一般化するにはその社会の多数の家族で複数の男子が成人する必要がある。人口の停滞的な前近代社会では一家族当りの成人する男子が1人前後だったから、子供の多い一部の重婚的富裕世帯以外では末子を選ぶ意味はなく、一般に平均寿命も短く、兄たちの独立後に両親が生存する確率も小さかったので、末子相続を考えにくい。これに対して、一家族当りの成人する男子数が増加し、平均寿命が延びて、兄たちの独立後も両親が生存しやすかった近代初期の人口急増過程には末子相続が増加する条件があった。また、普通は兄たちに不動産を分与するので不動産権がやや不明確で分与操作の容易な移動畑農耕民、遊牧民に末子相続が多い傾向もある。瀬戸内、九州各地などの農漁村に末子相続が多かったのも、小面積で主食を確保できたサツマイモ地帯では、不動産分与が容易だったことと関係するのかもしれない。断片的末子相続事例は、日本でも近世前半までみられた男子均等分割相続と、早婚の両親が若い末子を扶助する傾向とが複合した偶発的事例であろう。

［佐々木明］

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