Inheritance
Marriage and inheritance are deeply interrelated. This section introduces the inheritance pattern by the Kumagai as an example of the inheritance system from the Kamakura period to the Sengoku period. There have been a number of studies on the Kumagai , which developed lordship from the Kamakura period to the early Tokugawa period based in Miri no shō, Aki Province (current Hiroshima Prefecture).[1]
Kamakura period
1185~1333
Muromachi period
1336~1466
Sengoku period
1466~1578
The Profile of the Kumagai
The Kumagai originated from Kumagai-gō in Musashi Province, and Kumagai Naotoki was appointed to jitō of Miri no shō in Aki Province as a result of his success in the Jōkyū War in 1221. Later, he and his younger brother Sukenao fought over the distribution of the territory, and in 1264, they decided to divide the manor in the proportion of 2 for Naotoki and 1 for Sukenao, and named the former “the main manor” and the latter “the new manor.”
Kamakura Period
1185~1333
- sōryō system +divided inheritance-
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Sōryō (the heir of a family) inherits the main part of the family property.
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Non-heir sons and daughters inherit the remaining portion of the property.
In the Kamakura period, the Kumagai's territorial rule was characterized by the division and control of Miri-no-shō. For example, in Kamakura period, there was a unilateral jitō who governed only the one part of the manor, as shown by the fact that in 1303, Kumagai Yorinao, the unilateral governor of Miri-no-shō, along with the nun Myōhō who was a widow, and her son Naomei, sued the eastern jitō-dai (deputy land steward) Genshū of Kabe shō.. Moreover, in 1396, Kumagai Naotsune's daughter, Toratsuru, was appointed by Ashikaga Naoyoshi as the jitō of the upper half of the two-thirds of Miri-no-shō. It is known that in the first half of the 13th century, Miri-no-shō was divided into three parts, or one-third, and then villages were formed within those parts, and then villages were further divided into separate parts. Also, women inherited territories and were given the position of jitō shiki (the office of steward).[2] It is noteworthy that a widow is included in the discussion in 1303, which was discussed earlier. This is a consequence of the fact that women held the position of head of the district, and thus she appeared as a party in the discussion. It can be said that women retained the same authority as men to inherit territories as jitō and to be in charge of discussions regarding territorial division.
Muromachi Period / Sengoku Period
1338-1573
– single inheritance + ichigobun –
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One person who is qualified as an heir is selected to inherit exclusively.
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Restriction of inheritance to non-heirs and daughters (ichigobun)
In a letter of transfer by Kumagai Tomimichi in 1365, it was stated that he had adopted Nobunao Shiro and had transferred his domain to him in perpetuity, but regretted it due to his injustice and transferred it to his own son Munenao Koshiro in perpetuity. In addition, it is written that they stopped dividing the territory among the women and switched to single inheritance. However, despite this description in the letter, it was also found that Mitorii in the main manor of Miri-no-shō being given to his daughter Kora in 1438, and a portion of Miri-no-shō being given to his daughter Imouto in the same year for their lifetime. [3]This was due to the emergence of the new inheritance system, ichogobun during the transition from divided inheritance to single inheritance. It was implemented mainly to prevent the loss of property due to the divided inheritance. The property was transferred to illegitimate sons, girls, and widows only for their lifetime and after death, it was returned to the designated person, such as a sōryō (the heir of a family).[4] In this way, the system of ichigobun still remained for a while even after the change to single inheritance began to be practiced.
In short, when comparing the Kamakura period with the Muromachi period after the shift to single inheritance, the assignment of the position of jitō disappeared and only the family property was assigned for one’s lifetime. Although the authority as a landlord was left in the hands of women, they lost landownership. From this point of view, it is clear that women were excluded from the field of public rights, such as land rights and public security, both of which were in conflict with private rights.
The background to this qualitative change in the female's property possession
The process of shifting from divided inheritance to single inheritance in the sōryō system is parallel to the change in the women's possession of domains.[5] This means that the downside of divided inheritance became more apparent as time went on, and this led to a decrease in women's land holdings. Divided inheritance has the aspect of strengthening the family unity, but it also causes the division of territories. As stated earlier, since the territory is divided, the land becomes smaller each time it is inherited. Therefore, the only way to overcome this situation was to participate in wars and obtain new land from the shogunate as goon (favor) to expand the territory. Unfortunately, however, after the confiscation of the land held by the Imperial Court in the Jōkyū War and its distribution to the warriors who had contributed to the war, there was no opportunity for the Kamakura shogunate to acquire land to give to the warriors who had contributed to the war. In addition, the Mongol invasion was a war in which the Kamakura warriors were able to overcome the national crisis of the invasion by the Yuan army. However, this war only drove out the Yuan forces and the Kamakura shogunate did not acquire any new land. Therefore, the insufficient reward for the warriors who had distinguished themselves in the war raised the dissatisfaction among lower ranking vassals, and this led to the downfall of the shogunate.[6] Under these circumstances, female's share of the property began to decline. In the days when there were enough territories to share among all the children including legitimate children, illegitimate children and women, women were also given the ownership of land as jitō. However, as the amount of land that could be divided decreased, restrictions were placed on female possession of family property.[7]
[1] Miyazaki 1992, p 441
[2] Tonomura 1990, p. 604.
[3] Tonomura 1990, p. 622.
[4] Kurushima 2004, p. 240.
[5] Wakita 1984, p. 92
[6] Tonomura 1990, p. 613.
[7] Wakita 1984, p. 94
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