農村直系家族の世代交替における世帯主権限の移行

抄録

The Japanese family, particularly in rural areas, has been so far the stem family system whose specific characteristic lies in the continuity of a family group as an entity transcending that of each of successive generations. In order to guarantee the continuity, one of the children of a family is retained in the family as heir and kept living with parents after marriage, succeeding later to the position of the household head. The present writer's focus of inquiry is upon the process by which the status of the household head is transferred from father to son. His status is assumed to consist of a number of roles, but these roles may not be as a whole transferred at a time. The process of gradual transfer of these roles, if studied closely, will perhaps throw light upon the way the continuity of a family group is guaranteed. To examine this assumption, the writer conducted field research in a rural community in Kanagawa Prefecture and obtained the following results;
(1) Transfer of household headship in the post-war period, compared to that in the preceeding period, is generally found to start, and also to finish, much later in the life of father and son.
(2) The delayed transfer has been brought about, first of all, through the prolonged span of life of fathers. However, because of the smaller number of children, it has become possible for the household head to help all of his children make an independent living. While this is another reason for delay in transfer, it means also a redefinition of the status of the head. Since status transfer has been made in changing post-war circumstances, it implies also changes in the role obligation of father and household head.
(3) A more important factor contributing to the change of transfer, seems to be the post-war decline of the social norm concerning the support of retired parents.
(4) Also relevant are the new types of farming, especially dairy farming, adopted by middle and upper class form households, which tends to a division between farm management and household economy. Whereas the former is transferred to the son earlier, the latter remains in the hands of the father for a longer time, causing a prolonged period of transfer.
(5) The observed tendency indicates that transfer is getting to be postponed later. Whereas the above tendency is derived from the growing number of young farmers abandoning farming to enter non-agricultural industries, it may indicate as its underlying significance the very possible shift of the stem family to the conjugal family in the future. The father may have difficulty finding an heir upon whom to transfer household headship.