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It’s worth remembering that adoption is much different to how we’d conceive of it in Europe. If a business wasn’t going to be continued by the offspring then a

It’s worth remembering that adoption is much different to how we’d conceive of it in Europe. If a business wasn’t going to be continued by the offspring then a new business owner could be adopted, as an adult. That’s why there seems to be so many Japanese concerns with incredibly long lineage, but like so much else in Japan to a westerner’s eyes, it’s appearance only. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-19505088 https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-19505088

ArcMex 4y ago
This was the first time reading about this, thanks for sharing. It's an alien concept to me so it was a fascinating read.
rsynnott 4y ago
> but like so much else in Japan to a westerner’s eyes, it’s appearance only. Eh. I'm not sure I'd call it appearance only. In some parts of "the West" (notably the Roman Republic and early Empire, but it went on a for a long time after that) adult adoption as a succession/continuity-of-business mechanism was commonplace. Notable Roman examples include the _first two emperors_ (Augustus/Octavian was adopted by Julius Caesar, Tiberius was adopted by Augustus. Tiberius also had both an adopted and natural son; given that the adopted one was adopted before the natural one was born, he was the heir, giving some indication of how seriously this was taken. (Ultimately they both died) Even in medieval and early modern Europe, legally adopting apprentices etc wasn't uncommon.
- brutusborn 4y ago
  My memory was that the emperor adoptions were more pragmatic than anything, either because the emperor didn't have a son or as insurance against a power struggle caused by a single son dying. It's been a while so I could be mistaken. This is the same mechanism that business succession planning reduces risk. Failure to train and groom new talent for leadership roles is a good way to ensure a company dies with its current staff.
  - rsynnott 4y ago
    > My memory was that the emperor adoptions were more pragmatic than anything, either because the emperor didn't have a son or as insurance against a power struggle caused by a single son dying. Yeah, generally, but they're just the most famous examples (because emperor); this was standard behaviour for the time if you had something to pass on and didn't have kids. Adopting adult men was really commonplace in Roman society; Roman infant mortality was _astronomical_. The Japanese adoptions mentioned above were pragmatic, too. Arguably, it's unfortunate that the custom died out for European aristocracy (though it did continue to some extent for normal people). A _huge_ number of wars were caused by failure to produce an heir.
- brigandish 4y ago
  I meant modern eyes but point taken, that is indeed interesting.
neither_color 4y ago
We Americans have had "nepotism" drilled into our heads so much that we apply it to any small family-run business craft and encourage young people to move far away and try to "make it on their own" in cities they have no ties to in industries they don't belong in to avoid the shame of "having everything handed to you." Young Americans in general abhor the idea of doing the same thing their parents did. The problem is this is drilled into middle class kids who think that taking over the family shop/bakery/restaurant is the same as some politician or CEOs son getting easy admissions to harvard and a big 4 internship. The result is a wasted opportunity to build generational wealth, skill transfer, and artisanal mastery as your best decade is wasted trying to get to the same level your parents got to in 20.
- vkou 4y ago
  The mom and pop shop only works when you have family members putting in all their time to keep it afloat for no pay. That's why the kids aren't interested in taking it over. It's not a route to generational wealth for anyone who has regular middle-class opportunities, as much as it's a route to being busy all the time, and having nothing to show for it at the end of the day. Businesses that actually have real prospects frequently get taken over by the kids. The family shop/bakery/restaurant is rarely one that has them. You don't want to be doing all the work in a line of business where the prevailing pay is minimum wage.

ArcMex 4y ago

This was the first time reading about this, thanks for sharing. It's an alien concept to me so it was a fascinating read.

rsynnott 4y ago

> but like so much else in Japan to a westerner’s eyes, it’s appearance only. Eh. I'm not sure I'd call it appearance only. In some parts of "the West" (notably the Roman Republic and early Empire, but it went on a for a long time after that) adult adoption as a succession/continuity-of-business mechanism was commonplace. Notable Roman examples include the _first two emperors_ (Augustus/Octavian was adopted by Julius Caesar, Tiberius was adopted by Augustus. Tiberius also had both an adopted and natural son; given that the adopted one was adopted before the natural one was born, he was the heir, giving some indication of how seriously this was taken. (Ultimately they both died) Even in medieval and early modern Europe, legally adopting apprentices etc wasn't uncommon.

brutusborn 4y ago
My memory was that the emperor adoptions were more pragmatic than anything, either because the emperor didn't have a son or as insurance against a power struggle caused by a single son dying. It's been a while so I could be mistaken. This is the same mechanism that business succession planning reduces risk. Failure to train and groom new talent for leadership roles is a good way to ensure a company dies with its current staff.
- rsynnott 4y ago
  > My memory was that the emperor adoptions were more pragmatic than anything, either because the emperor didn't have a son or as insurance against a power struggle caused by a single son dying. Yeah, generally, but they're just the most famous examples (because emperor); this was standard behaviour for the time if you had something to pass on and didn't have kids. Adopting adult men was really commonplace in Roman society; Roman infant mortality was _astronomical_. The Japanese adoptions mentioned above were pragmatic, too. Arguably, it's unfortunate that the custom died out for European aristocracy (though it did continue to some extent for normal people). A _huge_ number of wars were caused by failure to produce an heir.
brigandish 4y ago
I meant modern eyes but point taken, that is indeed interesting.

neither_color 4y ago

We Americans have had "nepotism" drilled into our heads so much that we apply it to any small family-run business craft and encourage young people to move far away and try to "make it on their own" in cities they have no ties to in industries they don't belong in to avoid the shame of "having everything handed to you." Young Americans in general abhor the idea of doing the same thing their parents did. The problem is this is drilled into middle class kids who think that taking over the family shop/bakery/restaurant is the same as some politician or CEOs son getting easy admissions to harvard and a big 4 internship. The result is a wasted opportunity to build generational wealth, skill transfer, and artisanal mastery as your best decade is wasted trying to get to the same level your parents got to in 20.

vkou 4y ago
The mom and pop shop only works when you have family members putting in all their time to keep it afloat for no pay. That's why the kids aren't interested in taking it over. It's not a route to generational wealth for anyone who has regular middle-class opportunities, as much as it's a route to being busy all the time, and having nothing to show for it at the end of the day. Businesses that actually have real prospects frequently get taken over by the kids. The family shop/bakery/restaurant is rarely one that has them. You don't want to be doing all the work in a line of business where the prevailing pay is minimum wage.