Traditional Japanese family.

Hi there. I'm asking these questions as these answers will better help me develop a part of a fictional character's backstory. I've tried Googling information, but I haven't found anything very helpful yet. I'd greatly appreciate the help - I want to be as accurate as possible when writing. Forgive my ignorance if I make mistakes while posing these questions. :/ I'm not too good at wording my thoughts either. Again, just as a note, I'm not referring to modern day family dynamics, but instead, what would considered conventional.

1) A question of inheritance: if a family has a history of its descendants living in the same house generation after generation, is this something that applies only to the eldest son (in the case that there is more than one son?) If so, does the second son live elsewhere when he is married?

2) If a father and mother die prematurely, leaving behind a young son and the father's elderly mother (let's say it was the wishes of the father for his son to be sent off to study somewhere, therefore he can't take care of the grandmother), who would take care of the father's elderly mother? Is it possible that she would go back to the family she was a part of before married off?

Again, sorry if things don't quite make sense... I can't really explain myself too well.

Thank you very much for helping out.

Traditional? Conventional?
How could we give you an appropriate answer without knowing what time you have in mind??

It can be drastic difference between the pre-war (WW2) and after, or even between 1950s and 1970s, just for example.

I'd say... 1930s-1950s. Big range, I know, but I can't be more specific at the moment.

Or, even, 1935-45, if that's more helpful. Thanks.

Well, that's a long time ago. Do you have a specific location in mind? Customs may differ depending on what part of Japan you're talking about. But I'll try to give an example of a generalization.

1) The house would be called "honke" literally meaning "head/main family." Yes, it is usually applied and expected to the eldest male child to deliver the task. The other sons typically live elsewhere after marriage, unless they have special reasons. Of course, if the eldest son has any special reason to refuse the inheritance and is allowed to do so by the family, that is another story.

2) That's quite a liberal family. If the parents die, it is unlikely for a conservative family or conservative grandmother to let the grandson live elsewhere leaving the grandmother alone. If that must be done, in that era, typically a relative would be adopted by the grandmother to take care of and inherit the family. But I suppose a niece or nephew may take care of the old lady instead. I actually know an example from that era. I suppose that's what you mean by "the family she was a part of before married off."

That was pretty much what I was looking for. About my second question, again, thanks for helping clear things up since I really wasn't sure of what credible possibilities were. :/ Again, thanks kindly for responding to this thread - that's all I'll be needing. :)

I don't know where you live but I am from Europe and if a family owned a small farm, store or other small business it would have been common, in the period you are talking about, for one male child (the oldest OR the one most able to do it ) to run the business, farm etc. and share the family home with both his parents or the one who was still living. If a son and his wife died the grand parents would NATURALLY take care of the orphan child as long as possible. I was born by the end of WW II and this still was the way things were done and are still done to some extent. When my parents had to work--for the government --in a small place without decent schools I stayed in my grand parents home, the same home (in a big town) that they were sharing before with my parents and me. My case was not unique, it was very common for children to live with grandparents or an older aunt etc. .if the parents had to work someplace else or were dead. I dare say that the Japanese aren't that different from other cultures. I don't understand why you want to write about Japan if you know so little about it!

Unlike some other OPs, I didn't really have the impression that this OP knows "so little about" Japan. He already seemed to have a good guess and just seemed to want to do some reconfirming. Btw, I don't know how many Japanese writers have written about countries they know so little about and have made mistakes on the details.