Changes

The ''ie'', meaning "house" or "household," was an important unit of social organization, especially for [[samurai]], though functioning too for those commoners and wealthy peasants with a significant patrimony, trade, or family reputation to pass down, as well as in other similar contexts, such as the position of abbot of a given temple being passed down within a family lineage. The ''[[iemoto]]'' system followed in schools of traditional Japanese arts also bears a strong connection to the concept of the ''ie''.

The ''ie'', meaning "house" or "household," was an important unit of social organization, especially for [[samurai]], though functioning too for those commoners and wealthy peasants with a significant patrimony, trade, or family reputation to pass down, as well as in other similar contexts, such as the position of abbot of a given temple being passed down within a family lineage. The ''[[iemoto]]'' system followed in schools of traditional Japanese arts also bears a strong connection to the concept of the ''ie''.

The ''ie'' was the household in the sense of the sum total of the members of the household, i.e. one's relatives, but it was also an abstract concept of patrimony, encompassing material, territorial, and monetary inheritances as well as privileges, titles, or rank, and reputation. It was seen as greater than the head of household, or of the sum total of its living members, and was, rather, something to be cared for, to be maintained, to pass on to one's heirs as one inherited it from one's ancestors. For a ''[[daimyo|daimyô]]'' or other land-holding samurai, this patrimony included the [[han|domain]] itself, and its economic prosperity, stability, and health otherwise, along with the stability, wealth, and reputation of the warrior household itself. For a merchant family, similarly, this patrimony might include the shop and its reputation, among other aspects.

The ''ie'' was the household in the sense of the sum total of the members of the household, i.e. one's relatives, but it was also an abstract concept of patrimony, encompassing material, territorial, and monetary inheritances as well as privileges, titles, or rank, and reputation. It was seen as greater than the head of household, or of the sum total of its living members, and was, rather, something to be cared for, to be maintained, to pass on to one's heirs as one inherited it from one's ancestors. For a ''[[daimyo|daimyô]]'' or other land-holding samurai, this patrimony included the [[han|domain]] itself, and its economic prosperity, stability, and health otherwise, along with the stability, wealth, and reputation of the family name (''gomyôji'')<ref>Ravina, 43.</ref> and of the warrior household itself. For a merchant family, similarly, this patrimony might include the shop and its reputation, among other aspects.

The ''ie'' was passed on to a single designated heir, and was not partible. In the majority of cases, the heir was the eldest son, or an adopted son, with other sons going on to form separate, branch households (''ie''). Though the sense of kinship ties played a strong role in the conceptual nature of the ''ie'', adoption was rarely seen as diluting or weakening the line of inheritance, or the legitimacy of the household.

The ''ie'' was passed on to a single designated heir, and was not partible. In the majority of cases, the heir was the eldest son, or an adopted son, with other sons going on to form separate, branch households (''ie''). Though the sense of kinship ties played a strong role in the conceptual nature of the ''ie'', adoption was rarely seen as diluting or weakening the line of inheritance, or the legitimacy of the household.