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Japan and Southeast Asia

Japan's emperors and shoguns, the kings of Thailand, Burma and Vietnam, Javanese and Malay sultans, the Philippines and the Marcos fortune.

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What do the japan and southeast asia estate cases show?

A will can say what should happen to a house, but a state can override it for heritage. A trust can move a collection past inheritance tax, but it cannot give the heirs better title than the dead man had.

Stories
46
Years
660 BCE to 2025
Main regions
East Asia, North America, Europe
Legal traditions
Royal and church law, Civil law
Updated
30 October 2026

Every case in japan and southeast asia, best-known first

Best-known first: cases from 1900 on, then the United States, then Europe, and the people most read about on English Wikipedia each month. Fiction, scripture and legend come last.

Lee Kuan Yew: Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore Making a Toast at a State Dinner Held in His Honor, 19752015 · SingaporeLee Kuan Yew's will asked that his house be demolished, and Singapore made it a national monument over his son's objectionLee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first prime minister, said repeatedly that his house at 38 Oxley Road should be demolished after his death, and his last will included that wish. His elder son, Lee Hsien Loong, was prime minister.mccy.gov.sg and 3 moreCambodge-1223: Les vestiges du Prasat Krachap, un des temples du site de Koh Ker - Cambodge2020 · Bangkok, Thailand; Koh Ker, Cambodia; New York, USAA Bangkok dealer died under US indictment for selling looted Khmer statues, and his daughter gave the 125 pieces she inherited back to CambodiaDouglas Latchford lived in Bangkok and was for decades a leading supplier of Cambodian sculpture to Western museums and collectors. He published books on Khmer art and was feted by Cambodian officials.ice.gov and 4 moreGeneral Yamashita Surrenders: General Yamashita, Commander, Japanese forces, ‘Tiger of Malaya,” and his staff walk down the trail to U.S. forces in northern Luzon, occupied by Co ‘1993 · Baguio City, Philippines; Honolulu, Hawaii, USAA Baguio locksmith said Marcos's men seized his golden Buddha, and a Hawaii jury valued the gold he never got back at $22 billionRogelio Roxas was a locksmith and treasure hunter in Baguio City. He searched for the "Yamashita treasure", war loot that legend says Japanese troops under General Tomoyuki Yamashita buried in the Philippines in 1945.Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School and 4 moreMariano Marcos: Mariano Marcos21989 · Honolulu, Hawaii, USA; Manila, PhilippinesMarcos drew a salary of 100,000 pesos a year, and the Philippine Supreme Court took $658 million of his Swiss depositsFerdinand Marcos was president of the Philippines from 1966 to 1986. The official salary record puts his pay at 60,000 pesos a year to 1976 and 100,000 pesos a year from 1977 to 1985.Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School and 5 moreSultan of Sulu with others LCCN2014685226 (cropped): Title: Sultan of Sulu with others Abstract/medium: 1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller.2017 · Sabah, Malaysia; Madrid, Spain; Paris, FranceMalaysia stopped paying the Sulu sultan's heirs in 2013, and a Spanish arbitrator awarded them US$14.92 billionOn 22 January 1878 the Sultan of Sulu signed a grant to Baron de Overbeck and Alfred Dent over his lands on the mainland of Borneo, "for ever and in perpetuity", in return for 5,000 dollars a year to the sultan "his heirs or successors".sagc.sabah.gov.my and 7 moreProcès-verbal for the recovery of the items the Bảo Đại Emperor gave to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam during his ab: A report about the recovery of the ceremonial sword and se1997 · Huế, Vietnam; Paris, FranceBảo Đại handed his gold seal to the revolution in 1945, sued his own son for it in France, and his widow's heirs sold it for 6.1 million eurosEmperor Minh Mạng had the seal Hoàng đế chi bảo cast in solid gold in 1823. It weighs 10.78 kg. On 30 August 1945 Bảo Đại read his abdication at Huế and handed the seal and a jewelled sword to the Viet Minh envoy Trần Huy Liệu.voatiengviet.com and 5 moreMap of United Kingdom, marked on the globe1941 · Bangkok, Thailand; Compton House, Wentworth, Surrey, EnglandThailand's finance ministry sued its abdicated king for 6.27 million baht in 1939 and won an order freezing everything he ownedPrajadhipok abdicated in England on 2 March 1935. On 17 July 1939 the Ministry of Finance sued him and Queen Rambai Barni in the Civil Court in Bangkok.th.wikisource.org and 4 moreIl generale Weyler: Il generale Weyler (xilografia).1890 · Calamba, Laguna, PhilippinesThe Dominican landlords evicted José Rizal's family from Calamba in 1890, and the United States bought the friar estates in 1903The Rizal-Mercado family held land at Calamba as tenants of an estate owned by the Dominican order. Francisco Mercado, José Rizal's father, had become a tenant there as a young man.Project Gutenberg and 2 moreMuhammad V of Kelantan: Sultan Muhammad V dari Kelantan pada tahun 20132019 · Kota Bharu, Kelantan, MalaysiaKelantan's council made the sultan's son sultan while the father lay ill, and the father asked the Federal Court to give his throne backSultan Ismail Petra had ruled Kelantan since 1979. He suffered a stroke in May 2009. On 24 May 2009 his eldest son, Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra, was appointed regent.Internet Archive and 5 morePlowing land for cane planting on Hacienda Luisita, Central Tarlac, P: Plowing land for cane planting on Hacienda Luisita, Central Tarlac, P.I. (Neg. No. 338, July 11, 1929 - R.D. 1976 · Tarlac, PhilippinesThe Cojuangcos bought Hacienda Luisita in 1957 on a promise to sell it to tenants, and the Supreme Court ordered it handed to 6,296 farmworkers in 2011In 1957 the Spanish tobacco company Tabacalera sold Hacienda Luisita, a 6,443-hectare sugar estate in Tarlac, with its sugar mill. The buyer was José Cojuangco Sr., through the Tarlac Development Corporation.lawphil.net and 5 moreCOLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Susuhunan van Surakarta Pakoe Boewono X met echtgenote TMnr 60003511: Foto. Susuhunan van Surakarta, Pakoe Boewono X met echtgenote2025 · Kasunanan Palace, Surakarta (Solo), Central Java, IndonesiaTwo half-brothers were each crowned Pakubuwono XIII in 2004, and in 2025 two of the next king's sons each took the title Pakubuwono XIVPakubuwono XII of Surakarta died in June 2004 without a formally appointed queen consort, so no son was clearly heir. On 31 August 2004 senior relatives enthroned his son Tedjowulan as Pakubuwono XIII.thejakartapost.com and 8 moreAI illustration: The coast at Tanabe, Wakayama, Japan2018 · Tanabe, Wakayama, JapanJapan's "Don Juan of Kishu" left his fortune to his town; his widow was acquitted of killing him and may still inherit halfKosuke Nozaki, a Wakayama businessman who called himself the "Don Juan of Kishu," died in 2018 at 77, a few months after marrying Saki Sudo, who was more than 50 years younger. He died of acute methamphetamine poisoning.Internet Archive and 3 moreJogja - Kraton Yogyakarta - Donopratono gate (2025) - img 02: Donopratono Gate, Kraton Yogyakarta2015 · Kraton Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, IndonesiaYogyakarta's sultan has five daughters and no son, and all 11 of his younger brothers opposed him when he raised the eldest toward the throneSultan Hamengkubuwono X has ruled Yogyakarta since 1989. By Javanese custom the throne passes to the eldest son. He has five daughters. Under a 2012 law the sultan is also governor of the province for five-year terms.newmandala.org and 3 moreEmperor Showa: Emperor Showa, 1st Guard Infantry Regiment1989 · Fukiage Palace, Tokyo, JapanJapan's imperial family paid 3.3 billion yen in property tax in 1947, and in 1989 the new emperor paid 428 million yen in inheritance tax while the regalia passed tax-freeIn October 1945 the Imperial Household Ministry reported the imperial family's property, excluding art, jewels and gold, at 1.59 billion yen in cash, securities, land, buildings and timber.kokushikan.repo.nii.ac.jp and 2 moreMariano Marcos: Mariano Marcos21989 · Batac, Ilocos Norte, and Libingan ng mga Bayani, Taguig, PhiMarcos's body lay in a glass case in Batac for 23 years until a 9-5 Supreme Court vote put it in the Heroes' CemeteryFerdinand Marcos died in exile in Honolulu on 29 September 1989. On 19 August 1992 the government of President Fidel Ramos and Imelda Marcos signed an agreement.lawphil.net and 2 moreMap of Vietnam, marked on the globe1953 · Đồng Bẩm, Thái Nguyên, VietnamA landowner whose family gave the Viet Minh 700 taels of gold was shot as the land reform's first example in 1953, and her family found her bones in 1990Nguyễn Thị Năm ran a trading house in Hải Phòng called Cát Hanh Long and bought farmland in Thái Nguyên. In May 1945 her son carried 20,000 Indochinese piastres, then worth about 700 taels of gold, to the Viet Minh base.cand.vn and 4 moreVajiravudh: Vajiravudh of Siam (cropped)1925 · Grand Palace, Bangkok, ThailandSiam's 1924 succession law barred princesses, so King Vajiravudh's only child, born as he lay dying, could not inherit his throneKing Vajiravudh issued the Palace Law on Succession, published in the Royal Gazette on 12 November 1924.Internet Archive and 5 moreThibaw Min: Thibaw Min1916 · Mandalay, Myanmar; Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, IndiaKing Thibaw handed Burma's crown jewels to a British colonel in 1885, and the Nga Mauk ruby was never seen againThibaw became king of Burma in 1878 on the death of his father, Mindon. Early in 1879 he had a number of members of the royal family put to death; later accounts put the dead at 80 to 100.Internet Archive and 8 moreIndonesian: Penangkapan DiponegoroThe Arrest of Diponegorotitle QS:P1476,id:"Penangkapan Diponegoro"label QS:Lid,"Penang: Depicts the arrest of prince Diponegoro at the end of the 1855 · Fort Rotterdam, Makassar, IndonesiaPrince Diponegoro was arrested at peace talks in 1830, and the kris the Dutch returned in 2020 had been missing for decadesDiponegoro was the eldest son of Sultan Hamengkubuwono III of Yogyakarta by a concubine. He was passed over for the throne in favour of a younger half-brother and later a child sultan.thejakartapost.com and 3 moreMalay Heritage Centre, Istana Kampong Glam 3, Dec 05: Malay Heritage Centre, Istana Kampong Glam 3, Dec 051835 · Kampong Glam, SingaporeRaffles made Hussein sultan without the regalia, and in 1897 a court ruled his grandsons' palace land belonged to the CrownWhen Sultan Mahmud Shah III of Johor-Riau died in 1812, his court installed his younger son Abdul Rahman instead of the elder, Hussein.sso.agc.gov.sg and 6 moreNagarakretagama of Indonesian 14th century Majapahit manuscript: Nagarakretagama of Indonesian 14th century Majapahit manuscript1895 · Cakranegara, Lombok, IndonesiaDutch troops took a quarter tonne of gold from the Lombok palace in 1894, and with it the only manuscript of Majapahit's royal chronicleA Balinese dynasty from Karangasem ruled Lombok from the palace at Cakranegara and grew rich on the rents of the island's Sasak people. In 1894 the Netherlands East Indies sent an army.amsterdam.wereldmuseum.nl and 4 moreAn lang: Điện Long Ân, An Lăng, nơi thờ cúng vua Dục Đức, Thành Thái và Duy Tân1883 · Huế, VietnamEmperor Tự Đức's will called his heir unfit, and his regents crowned four emperors in just over a year and poisoned twoTự Đức ruled Vietnam from 1848. He had no children and adopted three nephews.vi.wikisource.org and 5 moreShiraoi-upopoy 25: 北海道白老郡白老町にある「民族共生象徴空間」ウポポイ（国立アイヌ民族博物館）1880 · Urahoro, Hokkaido, Japan; Shiraoi, HokkaidoJapanese scientists dug up more than 1,600 Ainu remains for study, and Ainu groups sued universities to bring them homeFrom the 1880s to the 1970s anatomists from the universities of Tokyo, Kyoto and Hokkaido dug up Ainu graves in Hokkaido and Sakhalin to study skulls. Koganei Yoshikiyo of Tokyo took more than 160 skulls in the Meiji era.47news.jp and 4 moreGia Long: Emperor Gia Long1792 · Phú Xuân (Huế), VietnamGia Long dug up the Tây Sơn emperors in 1802, pounded their bones and locked their skulls in a prisonThe Tây Sơn brothers overthrew the Nguyễn lords and the Lê emperors. The second brother, Nguyễn Huệ, ruled as Emperor Quang Trung and drove out a Qing army in 1789.zh.wikisource.org and 3 moreGoeidō - Higashi Honganji: Goeidō - Higashi Honganji1592 · Kyoto, JapanTheir mother produced a letter naming the younger son, Hideyoshi removed the elder as head of the Honganji, and Ieyasu gave the elder land for a rival temple in KyotoThe headship of the Honganji, the main temple of the Jōdo Shinshū Buddhist school, passed from father to son. From 1570 Kennyo led the Honganji in a ten-year war against Oda Nobunaga.mlit.go.jp and 3 moreThai King Tomb Pagoda, Amarapura: Utumphon's tomb pagoda in Amarapura Township, Myanmar1796 · Lin Zin Gon cemetery, Amarapura, Mandalay, MyanmarBurma took Ayutthaya's former king prisoner in 1767, and in 2013 a Thai team dug up the tomb said to hold his ashesUthumphon became king of Ayutthaya in 1758 and gave up the throne after about two months to his elder brother, who reigned as King Ekathat. Uthumphon became a monk at Wat Pradu.thesiamsociety.org and 2 moreWat Intharam (Wat Bang Yi Ruea Nok) - The stupa of King Taksin (1): พระสถูปบรรจุพระบรมอัฐิของสมเด็จพระเจ้าตากสินมหาราช ณ วัดอินทาราม (วัดบางยี่เรือนอก หรือวัดบางยี่เรือใต้) แขวงบาง1782 · Thonburi (Bangkok), Thailand; CambodiaGeneral Chakri took Taksin's throne in 1782 while Taksin's son and heir was away at war, and dug up Taksin's body two years laterTaksin rallied Siamese forces after the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767 and ruled as king from Thonburi. The chronicle of the First Reign of Bangkok, compiled on royal orders by Chao Phraya Thiphakorawong, records what followed.vajirayana.org and 5 moreEmerald Buddha 1873: ms:Buddha Zamrud, Istana Mewah, ms:Bangkok, ms:Thailand1778 · Vientiane, Laos; Grand Palace, Bangkok, ThailandThe future Rama I took the Emerald Buddha from conquered Vientiane, and it has stayed in Bangkok for two centuriesThe chronicle of the First Reign of Bangkok tells the image's history. In 796 of the Chula era, 1434 AD, lightning struck an old stupa in Chiang Rai. Townspeople found a gilded Buddha inside and took it for an ordinary stone image.vajirayana.org and 2 morePortrait of Tokugawa Yoshimune: Portrait of Tokugawa Yoshimune1716 · Edo Castle, Tokyo, JapanThe child shogun died in 1716 and the Tokugawa main line ended, so a branch lord whose three elder brothers had died took the titleTokugawa Ieyasu founded three branch houses for his 9th, 10th and 11th sons, at Owari, Kii and Mito. They ranked above all other lords and carried the Tokugawa name.kotobank.jp and 3 moreAsano Naganori: Naganori Asano1701 · Edo (Tokyo) and Akō, Hyōgo, JapanThe shogunate confiscated Lord Asano's 53,000-koku domain the day he drew his sword, and his retainers waited 21 months to take revengeAsano Naganori inherited the Akō domain of 53,000 koku from his father in 1675. In 1701 he was assigned to host the emperor's envoys in Edo, under the instruction of the master of ceremonies Kira Yoshinaka.kotobank.jp and 3 moreOda Nobunaga: Portrait of Oda Nobunaga (detail). Important Cultural Property.1598 · Fushimi Castle, Kyoto and Osaka Castle, Osaka, JapanHideyoshi took over Nobunaga's house by backing a two-year-old heir, and after he died Tokugawa Ieyasu did the same to his own five-year-old sonOda Nobunaga and his heir Nobutada died in the Honnōji incident in 1582. At a meeting of Oda generals at Kiyosu that summer, Nobunaga's sons Nobukatsu and Nobutaka each claimed the house.kotobank.jp and 5 moreLaguna Copperplate Inscription in the National Museum of Anthropology: The Laguna Copperplate Inscription on display900 · Lumban, Laguna, PhilippinesThe Laguna Copperplate of 900 AD cleared the children of Namwaran of a debt in gold, and warned anyone who later said it was unpaidIn January 1990 a crumpled, blackened copper plate about 20 by 30 centimetres was offered for sale to the National Museum in Manila, after attempts to sell it on the antiques market had drawn little interest.Internet Archive and 2 moreOnin War Scene 1: Onin War Scene 11490 · Kyoto, JapanA childless shogun adopted his brother as heir in 1464, then his wife bore a son, and the quarrel burned Kyoto for 11 yearsAshikaga Yoshimasa, the eighth shogun, married Hino Tomiko in 1455. Their first son was stillborn in 1459.kotobank.jp and 3 moreTamaudun 02: 沖縄県 玉陵1450 · Unten, Nakijin, Okinawa, Japan; Kyoto, JapanKyoto Imperial University took bones from a Ryukyuan royal tomb, descendants sued for them, and the university gave them to the village in 2025 on condition they never be buriedMumujana, "the tomb of many lords," is a cave tomb on a cliff above Unten port in Nakijin, Okinawa. It holds lacquered coffins and the bones of local lords of the 1400s and their families.ryukyushimpo.jp and 4 moreEmperor Go-Kameyama: Portrait of the Emperor Go-Kameyama1424 · Yoshino, Nara and Kyoto, JapanJapan's Southern Court gave up the sacred regalia in 1392 on a promise to share the throne, the promise was broken, and loyalists stole the jewel back in 1443In 1336 Emperor Go-Daigo broke with the warlord Ashikaga Takauji, escaped confinement in Kyoto and set up a court at Yoshino. Takauji's Northern Court in Kyoto had its own emperor. The Southern Court held the regalia.kotobank.jp and 5 moreWat ratchaburana March 2025 24: Wat Ratchaburana is an ancient Buddhist temple founded in 1424. It is located in Ayutthaya Historical Park, Ayutthaya, Thailand.1424 · Than Forest Bridge (Saphan Pa Than), Ayutthaya, ThailandTwo princes of Ayutthaya killed each other on elephants in 1424, and looters robbed their crypt in 1957The Luang Prasoet version of the Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya records that in 786 of the Chula era, 1424 AD, King Intharacha fell ill and died.vajirayana.org and 2 moreTay Do castle South gate: Cổng Nam thành Tây Đô (thành nhà Hồ), Thanh Hóa, Việt Nam1407 · Thăng Long (Hanoi) and Tây Đô, Thanh Hóa, Vietnam; Nanjing, A royal in-law took Vietnam's throne from his own grandson in 1400, and China invaded claiming to restore the true heirHồ Quý Ly was born Lê Quý Ly. His family had married into the Trần royal house since the reign of Trần Minh Tông, and two Trần emperors were his cousins.zh.wikisource.org and 3 moreMap of Indonesia, marked on the globe1406 · Majapahit (Trowulan) and Blambangan, East Java, IndonesiaTwo heirs of Majapahit went to war, 170 Ming soldiers died in the crossfire, and China billed the winner 60,000 liang of goldHayam Wuruk, king of Majapahit, died in 1389. His nephew and son-in-law Wikramawardhana took the throne at the western palace. Bhre Wirabhumi, Hayam Wuruk's son by a secondary wife, ruled from the eastern palace.jv.wikisource.org and 5 moreFujiwara no Tameie: 藤原為家の肖像画。菊池容斎筆『前賢故実』巻第八（国文学研究資料館所蔵）より。1275 · Kyoto and Kamakura, Japan; Hosokawa estate, Miki, HyōgoA widowed nun rode from Kyoto to Kamakura in 1279 to sue her stepson for her son's estate, and her son's family still owns the archive she fought forFujiwara no Tameie headed the Mikohidari house of court poets, heir to his father Fujiwara no Teika. Around 1252 he took as his late partner a lady-in-waiting known later as the nun Abutsu.kotobank.jp and 5 morePrajnaparamita Java Side Detail: Bodhisattvadevi (female bodhisattva) Prajnaparamita; the buddhist goddess of transcendental wisdom, personified in a statue from 13th century Singh1247 · Tumapel (Singhasari), Malang, East Java, IndonesiaThe Pararaton says a smith cursed the kris that killed him, and that it killed three rulers of Singhasari in turnThe Pararaton is a Javanese chronicle whose surviving manuscript was written after 1481; scholars treat its account of Ken Angrok (Ken Arok) as legend.Internet Archive and 3 moreStatue Lý Chiêu Hoàng: Statue Lý Chiêu Hoàng1226 · Thăng Long (Hanoi), VietnamVietnam's only reigning empress was made to hand the throne to her child husband in 1225, and the chronicle says the Lý clan was buried alive in 1232The Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư records that in 1224 the sick emperor Lý Huệ Tông, pressed by the palace guard commander Trần Thủ Độ, gave the throne to his daughter Chiêu Thánh, then six.zh.wikisource.org and 7 moreMinamoto no Sanetomo: Minamoto no Sanetomo(源 実朝, 1192 –1219) was the third shogun of the Kamakura shogunate and the last head of the Minamoto clan of Japan. This picture has drawn 1219 · Tsurugaoka Hachimangū, Kamakura, Kanagawa, JapanThe shogun's nephew killed him on the shrine steps in 1219 to avenge his father, and the Minamoto line of shoguns ended that nightMinamoto no Yoritomo founded the Kamakura shogunate and died in 1199. His elder son Yoriie inherited the house and became shogun, but his mother's family, the Hōjō, limited his powers through a council.kotobank.jp and 3 moreAntoku Tenno-e (Akama Jingu Shimonoseki): Antoku Tenno-e, Akama Jingu, Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Japan1185 · Dan-no-ura, Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, JapanA six-year-old emperor drowned at Dan-no-ura in 1185 in his grandmother's arms, and the sacred sword went down with himAntoku was born in 1178, the son of Emperor Takakura and Taira no Tokuko, daughter of the warlord Taira no Kiyomori. He took the throne in 1180.kotobank.jp and 4 moreEmperor Sutoku Refusing to Receive the Priest Ennyo in Exile: Japan, circa 1880 Prints; woodcuts Triptych; color woodblock prints Herbert R. Cole Collection (M.84.31.67) Japanese A1156 · Kyoto, Japan; Sanuki (Kagawa), JapanA retired emperor and his brother went to war over the throne in 1156, and the winning side made a son behead his own fatherSutoku became emperor in 1123 as a small child.kotobank.jp and 2 moreEmperor Tenji: Emperor Tenji (Kanou Tanyuu)671 · Ōtsu, Shiga, Japan; Yoshino, NaraEmperor Tenji passed over his brother for his son in 671, and the brother raised an army, won the throne and had the official history written by his own sonEmperor Tenji first trusted his younger brother, Prince Ōama, and treated him as his heir. As his son Prince Ōtomo grew up, Tenji favoured the son, and in the first month of 671 he made Ōtomo Grand Minister.Wikisource (primary text) and 4 moreShinpukuji-bon Kojiki (真福寺本古事記): Page from a facsimile of the 14th century Shinpukuji manuscript (真福寺本) of the Kojiki published in 1924-1925.Scripture · 660 BCE · Ise Grand Shrine, Mie, Japan; Atsuta Shrine, Nagoya; ImperiaThe Kojiki says the Sun Goddess sent her grandson to rule Japan with a mirror, a jewel and a sword, and the law still passes them with the throneThe Kojiki, compiled in 712, records that when the Sun Goddess Amaterasu sent her grandson Ninigi down from Heaven to rule the Central Land of Reed-Plains, she gave him the curved jewels and the mirror that had drawn her out of the Rock-Dwelling, and the Herb-Quelling Great Sword.Wikisource (primary text) and 6 more