Marriage System In Japan In The Heian Period, Centering Around The Elite Stratum In Kyoto During 10th To 12th Centuries

Marriages and families are products of human development and they are changed as the conditions of material lives change.The marriages and families in "Ronghua Monogatali", "Record of Zhongyou" and "Genshi Monogatali" are the sources of research by this paper, which is based on what the others have researched, combined with relevant book reviews, and has a deep look on the marriage system for the elite stratum in Kyoto, Japan of the 10^th to 12^th centuries. This paper, through the history of marriage, is to help have a better understanding of the then Japanese marriage culture so that it helps to stabilize modern marriages and promote the society's harmonious development.This paper mainly includes four chapters. The first chapter deals with the forms of marriage. The marriage is classified as Visiting-Wife Marriage, Residing-in-Wife's Marriage and Residing-in-New-Place Marriage according to where the new couples live. The three forms of marriage represent a phase of development, not separated strictly by time. One form of marriage goes through a process of budding, gradually replacing the previous form, flourishing and being gradually replaced by a new one and finally dating. Visiting-Wife Marriage is the freest marriage of them and it comes into effect by the male visiting the female. The male is not a member of the female's family and their children adopt the surname of father but are brought up by the female's family. The female predominates in such form of marriage. Residing-in-Wife's Marriage is a marriage with the wife predominating in the family and the husband moving into the wife's. The husband lives with his wife, instead of visiting the wife's. After a period of time, the parents of the wife move into a new house, leaving the old one to them. The husband is a member of the wife's family and their children adopt the surname of the father and are brought up by the couple. As Residing-in-Wife's Marriage develops, the house for marriage is offered by the wife's parents or by the husband, or the couple, after a period of time, moves into a new house, thus Residing-in-New-Place Marriage emerges. Chapter II deals with the features of marriage, procedures for marriage and dissolution of marriage. The then elite stratum provides us with a vivid and historical picture of polygamy, intermarriage and well-matched marriage. Owing to the special features of the elite status, some political factors are considered in their marriages so the marriages with political and economic motives appear. Procedures and ceremonies of marriage illustrate how the elites live a vain and luxurious life. Their forms of marriage lead to the freedom and simplicity of divorce. Chapter III has an analysis on the raising, belongings and future of children. Although the children adopt the surname of their father, they are raised by their mother and her family. However, the fathers care about future of their sons and the sons can inherit their fathers' official positions. Chapter IV makes an analysis on property rights and inheritance. In peaceful times, the daughters inherit the houses and most parts of possessions while the sons can only inherit a small part, or even none. Such a system offers an abundant economic source for the females under polygamy.Through the study on the marriage system of the elite stratum in Kyoto, Japan from 10th to 12th centuries, we can not only have a better understanding of the then marriage status, but also realize that healthy development of marriages and families mirrors the development of human beings and that it is one of the necessities for constructing harmonious society.