Corporate Emphasis and Patterns of Descent in the Japanese Family

In Japan the traditional rule of descent has been and remains patrilineal and primogenitural; that is, the oldest son in the family is supposed to succeed to the status of the family head and inherit the family property. It is true that the postwar constitution has legally abolished the status of the family head and requires an equal division of property among the children. Nonetheless, the tendency even now in most of Japan, particularly in the typically more conservative rural areas, is toward primogeniture in the succession of the family headship and inheritance of property. ¹