JAPANESE CIVIL CODE 409 



to ancestor-worship and the necessity of maintaining intact the 

 reputation and property of the house. 



In case there is no legal presumptive heir to a house-head, he 

 may appoint an heir, either in his lifetime or by his will. (Civil Code, 

 art. 979.) 



If, at the time of the death of a house-head, there is neither 

 a legal heir nor an appointed heir, the father of the deceased, or 

 if there is no father, or if he is unable to express his intention, the 

 mother, or if there are no parents, or both are unable to express 

 their intention, the family council chooses an heir from among the 

 members of the house according to the following order: (1) the 

 surviving wife, if she is a " house-daughter " ; (2) brothers ; (3) 

 sisters; (4) the surviving wife who is not a house-daughter; and 

 finally (5) the lineal descendants of brothers and sisters. (Civil 

 Code, art. 982.) 



Now, in this also the desire for preserving the blood of ancestors 

 will be seen from the order in which the heir is chosen. The sur- 

 viving consort of the last house-head comes first in the order of suc- 

 cession, provided that she is a "house-daughter," but fourth if she is 

 not the descendant in blood of an ancestor of the house. 



If there is neither a legal nor appointed nor chosen heir, then 

 the nearest lineal ascendant of the last house-head succeeds, males 

 being always preferred to females between persons standing in the 

 same degree of relationship. (Civil Code, art. 984.) 



If there are no other heirs above mentioned, the family council 

 must choose one from among other relatives of the last house-head 

 or members of his house, house-heads of branch house or members 

 of principal or branch house. If none of the persons above mentioned 

 be existing or able to succeed, then as a last resort the family council 

 may choose an heir from among other persons. (Civil Code, art. 

 985.) 



From the foregoing enumeration of the various kinds of heirs, 

 it will be seen that the law takes every precaution against the con- 

 tingency of a house becoming extinct; for with the extinction of the 

 house, the worship of its ancestors would come to an end. 



XVII. Property Succession The Recognition of House-Member's 



Separate Property 



The second kind of succession, namely property succession, is a new 

 institution introduced by the new Civil Code. According to the Code, 

 property succession includes only the succession to the property of 

 a house-member on his death. 



Before the Restoration, a house was in a strict sense a corporation, 

 and a house-member could not have separate property of his own. 

 All he gained he gained for the house-head or rather the house; all 



