rights of the head of a household (obsolete law)
Historical legal term referring to the authority and privileges of the household head under the former family registration system (pre-1947). Now obsolete in modern Japanese law.
Under the old Civil Code, the rights of the household head included strong authority over family members.
The rights of the household head were abolished in the postwar legal reforms.
家父長制 is the broader concept of patriarchy, whereas 戸主権 is the specific legal embodiment of the household head's rights under the old Japanese family system.
Compound of 戸主 (こしゅ, 'head of a household') and 権 (けん, 'right, authority'). The term is historically tied to the pre-1947 Japanese family registration system.