Talk:Mukoyōshi

Definition
The [ current revision] reads: "A mukoyōshi is a man who is adopted into a family without a male heir, and who takes the family's surname." This definition is odd. Both traditionally and in today's law, when a man who is adopted to another family then he takes his adopter's surname. That is actually a simple adoption. A mukoyōshi is unique in that he is married to his adopter's female heir.

The [ current revision] also confuses the traditional and contemporary terminologies. While in traditonal and strict use a mukoyōshi must be both married and adopted, today we tend to call a man who takes his wife's surname mukoyōshi. It is clear that the study that up to a quarter of heirs in a community were mukoyōshi took the widest definition or is talking about the day before the WW2.

You also need to know that a man is not considered as mukoyōshi only because he takes his wife's surname. The marrage must share some purpose and property with an adoption to be a mukoyōshi relation. One of popular reason for a husband to give up his surname is his wife's children for her former marrage. In that case he is unlikely to be considered as a mukoyōshi. Ororon (talk) 15:33, 15 June 2010 (UTC)


 * Why would a man take the name of his wife's ex? Why not adopt her children? 2A02:3036:269:B79F:26C7:EC8D:4F30:AB1 (talk) 14:41, 26 October 2023 (UTC)