If the household head had important functions in his household
and in the
community, his disappearance could have major consequences for his
family and members of the community. In agricultural communities in
early modern Japan, where the village was organized and run by the heads
of the households, and where small-scale family/household farming
required the integration of family members under the leadership of the
household heads, the death of the household head was a major concern
for both family members and the community at large. In two Northeastern
villages in Japan, for example, it has been shown that the death of the
household head actually increased the probability that female members of
the household would also die, even after controlling for other household
and individual factors. This increased mortality was occasioned by
economic stress resulting from the loss of a core labour component of the
household, from psychological stress occasioned by the loss of a family
member, and finally from the loss of power by the household which
operated within the stem family system.
Our focus in this article is on the age at achieving the headship of
a
household, and to whom the headship of the household might be
transferred. Japanese families in pre-industrial times are said to have
followed the stem family rule, which was characterized by non-partible
inheritance and succession by just one child. In this system, one child
continued to live with the parents while his or her siblings all left home
at
some point. The eldest son was the preferred successor but some regions
selected the eldest child, even if that child was a daughter, or the youngest
child. Headship in this family system involved a number of specific
responsibilities: to represent the family in the village organization,
to sign
contracts and negotiate agreements, to manage the family's labour
force
and finances, and to practise the religious rites of the family. The survival
of the family line indicated by the continuation of household names and
properties (and businesses) depended, therefore, upon obtaining and
training capable heirs. Thus focusing on the transfer of headship provides
a clue to the kind of strategies which were followed by peasants.