Inheritance and Marriage in Medieval Japan

This project focuses on the changes of inheritance and marriage in medieval Japan (i.e., from the eleventh through the sixteenth centuries), and examines the status and role of women. In the latter half of the Muromachi period, the inheritance system was changed to a single inheritance in which the most talented and outstanding among legitimate and illegitimate children was selected, and restrictions were placed on inheritance for women. As for marriage, this project takes up the examples of the Kumagai (warriors) and the Hino (nobles), and discusses the similarities and differences in the principles of marriage and marriage partners of each. In terms of similarities, marriage of both samurai and court noble was influenced by the strengthening of the patriarchal system after the Muromachi period. As for the differences between the two, it becomes clear that the warrior family considered hierarchy, politics, and regionality in their marriage partners, while the noble family regarded the strengthening of ties with temples and shrines or the shogun’s family important. Further, in marriages of both, warrior and aristocrat, the women played a significant role and were regarded highly because the survival of the family depended on the marriage of daughters.