JAPANESE CIVIL CODE 411 



Other rules relating to this kind of succession do not differ much from 

 those we find in Western countries. 



By comparing the above-mentioned two kinds of succession, we 

 shall notice that they present a remarkable contrast and indicate 

 the transient stage in which the Japanese law of succession finds 

 itself. The rules relating to succession to house-headship rest chiefly 

 upon indigenous elements, while those relating to succession to pro- 

 perty are based principally upon Western ideas. 



XVIII. Succession Inter Vivos 



Another characteristic of the Japanese succession law is the 

 existence of succession inter vivos, side by side with succession 

 mortis causa. The succession which arises during the lifetime of the 

 person succeeded takes place only with reference to succession to 

 house-headship; for house-headship may come to an end either 

 by a house-head's death or the loss of house-headship during his life- 

 time. Succession inter vivos takes place in the following cases: 



I. "Inkyo" or abdication of house-headship. 

 II. Loss of nationality by a house-head. 



III. The marriage of a female house-head. 



IV. The divorce of a husband who has married a female house-head. 

 V. When a house-head leaves the house in consequence of the 



invalidation of his marriage or adoption. 



I will explain each of the causes of succession inter vivos in order. 

 I. "Inkyo" or abdication of house-headship. 



House-headship is not a lifelong authority. It may be lost 

 in several ways, the most usual of which is its abdication or 

 "inkyo," which literally means "living in retirement." The 

 origin of this custom has been sometimes ascribed to Buddhism, 

 but I have shown in a work especially devoted to this subject 

 (Inkyo-ron, or Treatise on Abdication, 1891) that this institution 

 was originally derived from China, and developed among us 

 by the influence of Buddhism and feudalism. The abdication 

 of house-headship may be classified with reference to its causes 

 under the following four heads; namely, (1) Religious Abdica- 

 tion, (2) Political Abdication, (3) Judicial Abdication, and (4) 

 Physiological Abdication. 

 (1) Religious abdication. 



After the introduction of Buddhism the practice gradually 

 grew up, among higher classes, of withdrawing from active 

 life when any person attained "the age of retirement," which 

 was seventy according to the Chinese Ritual Code, and closing 

 his days in religious devotion as a hermit or priest. Our history 

 abounds in instances where ministers of state tendered their 



