Another Fossa Magna: Proportion Marrying and Age At Marriage in Late Nineteenth-Century Japan

Abstract

Using several heretofore neglected but very significant sources of demo graphic information for late nineteenth-century Japan, the study investigates the statis tics for proportions marrying and age at first marriage in all the Japanese prefectures. It establishes the existence of two patterns of marriage-one of early marriage in eastern Japan and one of late marriage in western Japan. Several explanations for this division are considered