The gyaku-en also referred to cases in which one's archenemy or unrelated person held a memorial service for him/her or the older people held a memorial service for the younger ones; consequently, the meaning of the gyaku-en was converted to commonly refer to the case where a child died before his/her parents.
または生前の仇敵が供養をなすことから親類縁者でもない者が供養する、また年長者が年少者の供養をすることを逆縁というが、これが俗に転用されて、親より先に死ぬことを逆縁というようになった。