levirate marriage; sororate marriage; marriage to deceased sibling's spouse
Anthropological term covering both levirate (marrying a deceased brother's wife) and sororate (marrying a deceased wife's sister) customs. Rare in everyday conversation; used in academic or historical contexts.
Levirate/sororate marriage is one of the customs for maintaining family unity in ancient societies.
Compound of 逆 (reverse, contrary) + 縁 (bond, marriage tie) + 婚 (marriage). The term describes a marriage that reverses the expected order by uniting a person with their deceased sibling's spouse.