As Japan debates how to deal with the birth crisis, one man is trying to break an Edo period record: He had 54 children

In a country that is looking for a thousand and one alternative formulas to deal with the national demographic crisis and this unstoppable ageing, one man has gained popularity in the country by going against the flow and in the process, starting some debates. His name: Ryouta Watanabe. His mission: to become the “God of Marriage” by overthrowing Edo period shogun Tokugawa Inari.

We are happy. “I just love women, so before I knew it, I found myself in this situation. Dog lovers will understand me. If you raise one puppy, wouldn’t you want to raise another? I like women and I love them all equally.” With this statement Ryuta Watanabe introduced himself on Japanese television. An outcast, a madman or a sign of the new times and the diversity of alternative family formulas? He confirmed That nothing is wrong and everyone is happy.

Presentation data. Watanabe, a 35-year-old Japanese man who lives in Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido, has attracted the attention of the country’s media and television stations for living a life that is as controversial as it is from the rest. He has four wives and two girlfriends, and is ambitious to become the “God of Marriage”.

At the time of writing, the man has 10 children and lives in the same house with his three wives and two children. He has not had a job for 10 years; He officially lives on the salaries generated by his wives and girlfriends, who are responsible for covering monthly household expenses, which, he reported, amount to 914,000 yen (about $6,000).

Japanese polyamory. Watanabe’s wives are considered “common-law wives” because he is not legally married to them, but, as he has explained, their relationship is based on long-term coexistence and shared responsibilities, which is informal in Japan. It is a recognized form of union.

Watanabe, for her part, takes on the role of “housewife” (as she defines herself), taking care of household chores and looking after the children. Each of his wives has their own room, and Watanabe maintains a “rotating relationship” with them, claiming to have sex more than 28 times a week. According to the man, there is no jealousy between his partners, they get along well and behave like friends.

Because. This is a big question. He told national media that he was living in a state of depression and dependency on social assistance after his girlfriend left him six years ago. He says that this incident inspired him to change his perspective.

So he started using dating apps to meet many women. Since then, he has maintained this polygamous lifestyle, reasoning that as long as the love between him and his wives is balanced, there will be no problems in their relationship.

A big challenge. We had said this in the beginning itself. In the background, Watanabe has a clear goal: to surpass the record of 53 children of Tokugawa Inari, a Japanese shogun of the Edo period, and thus achieve historical status in Japan. As he has insisted, the number of 54 children will get him into the books and cement his ideal role as the “God of Marriage.”

The (il)legality of the plan. A situation happens with Watanabe’s story. Since the Meiji period (1868–1912), when a number of reforms were introduced to modernize the country, polygamy has been banned in Japan. However, previously, polygamy was a common practice among the upper classes, including aristocrats and samurai, although it was not widely practiced by the general population.

In this respect, these relationships were primarily polygynous (one man having multiple wives), the purpose of which was to ensure progeny and preserve families. Under such circumstances, Watanabe’s plan does not seem very clear.

An incomplete plan. As outlined, the man’s lifestyle is consistent with the legal loopholes surrounding unions that are not formally registered. Although polygamy is illegal, some cases of polygamous relationships or cohabitation such as that of Watanabe, who maintained relationships with multiple women under “de facto union” agreements, show that unconventional forms of family can exist in Japan.

However, they do not have legal recognition or legal protection in case of conflict. This is an option that is not followed by law, where those who choose these types of relationships do so without being able to formalize multiple legal marriages, as Japan only allows marriages between two people at a time. Recognizes a marriage.

against the current. Whatever the case, the debate that Watanabe’s lifestyle has generated couldn’t be further from the reality in Japan. We’ve been counting on it for months: The population has swelled to such an extent that the country is closing thousands of schools and promoting unusual initiatives to repopulate the “territory” that is being emptied.

Watanabe’s story and the search for that “record” draw a distorted and unrealistic line in a society where an even more horrifying fact than the number of veterans dying alone is: how long it takes to find them.

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