向むかい腹ばら

Meanings

child of the legal wife

archaic

Archaic term used in historical contexts to distinguish a child born to the legal wife from one born to a concubine. Not used in modern Japanese.

江え戸ど時じ代だい、向むかい腹ばらの子こは嫡ちゃく男なんとして扱あつかわれた。
In the Edo period, a child of the legal wife was treated as the legitimate heir.

Kanji

向yonder, facing, beyond
腹abdomen, belly, stomach
当hit, right, appropriate
嫡legitimate wife, direct descent (non-bastard)

Related words

庶しょ子し
庶子 refers to a child born out of wedlock or to a concubine, the opposite of 向かい腹.
嫡ちゃく子し
嫡子 is a more general term for a legitimate child, not specifically contrasting with concubine-born children.

Built from

向むかう+腹はら

Written forms

向むかい腹ばら
Most common kanji spelling for this archaic term.
当腹むかいばら
Alternate kanji spelling, less common.
嫡腹むかいばら
Alternate kanji spelling emphasizing legitimate birth.

Etymology

Compound of 向かい (mukai, 'facing, opposite') and 腹 (hara, 'belly, womb'), literally 'the opposite womb', referring to the legal wife as opposed to a concubine. The exact historical derivation is uncertain.