A ; () is an adult man who is adopted into a

Japanese family The family is called in Japanese. It's basically composed of a couple as is the family in other societies. The Japanese family is based on the line of descent and adoption. Ancestors and offspring are linked together by an idea of family genea ...

as a daughter's husband, and who takes the family's surname. Generally in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, a woman takes her husband's name and is adopted into his family. When a family, especially one with a well established business, has no male heir but has an unwed daughter of a suitable age, she will marry the mukoyōshi, a man chosen especially for his ability to run the family business. If there is no daughter, the candidate can take a bride from outside his adopted family (fūfu-yōshi: 夫婦養子). This is done to preserve the business and name of the family when there is no suitable male heir, since traditionally businesses are inherited by the oldest male heir. Mukoyōshi is also practiced if there is no capable male heir to run the family business. This is a centuries-old tradition and is still widely practiced today. Many Japanese companies with household names, such as

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

Kikkoman is a Japanese food manufacturer. Its main products and services include soy sauce, food seasoning and flavoring, mirin, , and sake, juice and other beverages, pharmaceuticals, and restaurant management services. Kikkoman has production plan ...

, and

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

, are owned by families that have adopted this practice. This

adult adoption Adult adoption is a form of adoption between two or more adults in order to transfer inheritance rights and/or filiation. Adult adoption may be done for various reasons including: to establish intestate inheritance rights; to formalize a ste ...

may take place in marriages where the woman's family is of a higher socio-economic rank than the man's family; where the woman has no brothers who can continue the family name; when the man has been disowned by his own family; and/or when the man's natural family has a notorious or shameful background and he prefers to hide his identity. A non-Japanese husband may also take his Japanese wife’s surname instead of Japanizing his own when he takes

Japanese nationality Japanese nationality law details the conditions by which a person holds nationality of Japan. The primary law governing nationality regulations is the 1950 Nationality Act. Children born to at least one Japanese parent are generally automatical ...

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mukoyoshi Adoption in Japan Adoption law Family in Japan Adult adoption