Groom - Son-in-law

It is also written as 聟. It means a spouse (husband) of a daughter, but especially refers to a husband who is adopted by a daughter who is to inherit the "family" under the "family" system, so it refers to a so-called "married couple" or "adopted son-in-law". In the Heian aristocratic society, marriages were established in the form of "invited groom" (shozei marriage), that is, a "married couple" was welcomed into the daughter's family, and even after that, the "married couple" was in the female family, and children were raised there. The status of the groom was also appropriate, and he was treated as a "guest", so to speak, and talented people of noble status were especially favored. However, in the medieval samurai society, the "married couple" system became common, and grooms were only welcomed into "family" that lacked male children due to the inheritance of the "family", and their circumstances changed dramatically, and they were almost exclusively limited to "adopted son-in-law". This pattern remained widely in general rural areas, and the "groom = adopted son" would eventually become a "full member of the village = head of the household," but as a "family member" and as a "villager," he was often a "newcomer" from another village, so he was naturally placed in a subordinate position and had to undergo various trials. Folk proverbs such as "Don't marry if you have three go of rice bran" and "Three generations of the groom will prosper the family" show the state of affairs of the groom in the past. The groom was forced to endure many hardships at home, but as a "villager," he was also forced to undergo various trials because he was a "foreigner." The young people's group was unmarried, but it was common custom for the groom to join the group for three years and work as a "men's servant," or to pay an excessive entrance fee, and the custom of "bullying the groom" was also widely seen, and at the beginning of the marriage, even in "village events," he faced various trials according to traditional customs. In particular, even threatening events such as "barrel-laying" were widely seen in association with the "marriage ceremony," which, although a kind of magical ritual, was in fact carried out with the meaning of "marriage-bullying." However, although the form and reality of the "marriage ceremony" have completely changed with the reform of the family system and the change in the general public's attitude, the desire to inherit the "family" is unlikely to disappear easily, so the situation of the so-called "marriage ceremony" will likely still continue in reality.

[Toshimi Takeuchi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

聟とも書く。娘の配偶者（夫）のことであるが、とくに「家」相続者としての娘に迎えた「夫」をいい、「家」制度のもとでは娘の親と養子縁組を伴うので、いわゆる「入婿・婿養子」をさした。平安貴族社会では「招婿(しょうぜい)婚」、つまり娘の家に「婿」を迎え入れる形で結婚が成立し、その後も「婚舎」は女方にあって、子女の養育もそこで行われた。婿の地位もそれに相応し、いわば「客人」的扱いで、高貴身分の才人はとくに優遇もされたらしい。しかし中世武家社会では「嫁入婚」方式が一般化し、婿は、「家」継承のため男子を欠く「家」に限って迎え入れられる形になって、著しくその境遇が変わり、ほとんど「婿養子」の形に限られることにもなった。一般農村にもこうした形は広く残り、「婿＝婿養子」はやがて「村の正員＝家長」となる身分ではあるが、「家族」としても「村人」としても多く他村からの「新入り」であったから、おのずから従属的地位に置かれ、またいろいろの試練も受けねばならなかった。「米糠(こぬか)三合あったら婿にゆくな」とか「婿三代続けば家が栄える」といった俚諺(りげん)は、かつての婿の境涯を示している。入婿は家でも多く忍苦の働きを強いられたが、「村人」としても「他村者(よそもの)」ゆえいろいろの試練を課せられた。若者仲間は未婚者集団だが、とくに入婿は3年間は入団して「下働き」にあたるとか、過分の入会料を提供するというのは一般の風習であったし、また「婿いじめ」という風習も広くみられ、結婚当初は「村行事」のなかでも、伝統的習俗のままいろいろの試練にあった。とくに「樽(たる)入れ」などという「婿入り」に伴う脅迫的行事さえ広くみられ、一種の呪術(じゅじゅつ)的儀礼ながら事実は「婿いじめ」の意味をもって行われた。しかし家族制度の改変と一般風潮の変化で「入婿」の形も実態も一変したが、なお「家」継承の願いは容易に消失しそうもないので、いわゆる「婿」の境遇は実態上まだ存続するであろう。

［竹内利美］

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