Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 1.djvu/144

 and his step-mother received two parts each; the younger sons, one part each; the daughters and the concubines, half of a part each. Here, too, the general principle applicable to woman's rights was observed, namely, that the female ranked as a minor, or as one half of an adult male. A mother's rights, however, did not descend to her daughter. Thus, whereas a son's children of either sex represented their father in the division of the family estate, a daughter's children did not represent their mother. On the other hand, property belonging to a woman at the time of her marriage was not necessarily absorbed into the family estate of her husband. Neither did these rules apply to land granted for public services. Such land had to be divided equally among all the children, male and female alike. Other rules existed, but enough has been said to show the general character of the law of inheritance.

Wills were not considered in the code; they became almost superfluous instruments in the face of such precise legal provisions. It does not follow, however, that estates were invariably divided in the manner here indicated, or that the law interdicted all liberty of action in such matters. If the members of a family agreed to live together and have everything in common, they were exempted from the obligation of observing the rules of inheritance; and, further, a parent was entitled, during his lifetime, to distribute the property among his children in accordance