Family Composition and Sex-Differential Mortality among Children in Early Modern Japan: Evidence from Yokouchi, 1671-1871

Abstract

Sex preference has long been an issue in both mortality and fertility studies. In mortality studies, higher mortality rates for girls than boys have been documented in many regions of the world, especially in South Asia (Waldron 1983). These studies suggest that the patriarchal family system puts more value on male offspring than female offspring and that this valuation determines such mortality patterns (Das Gupta 1987; Levine 1987). Recent studies examining this process of discrimination have found that family composition is a major intervening mechanism (Simmons et al. 1982; Muhuri and Preston 1991). The Japanese family system is especially useful for examining these patterns. It is characterized as a stem family system, similar to other Asian countries in its patriarchal lineage but different in its possibility of female inheritance. Under a stem family system, a son typically inherits the household, but a daughter can also inherit when there are no sons. Despite the uniqueness of the Japanese family system, little attention has been paid to the mortality pattern of children in Japan relative to those in other Asian countries. Evidence is mixed regarding sex-selective practice in early modern Japan (Smith 1977; Hayami 1992; Saito 1992b).