Genealogy Research - May 2024

For some time, I've wondered about my family roots. My parents and grandparents didn't discuss
their relatives in Japan to any great extent and over two generations, all communication was lost with my grandparent's family in Japan.

My research started with an account on Ancestry.com. I was surprised at the amount of historical records that are available from this site. I found that I could build a family tree but, with my existing family knowledge, only with some first generation family US immigrants and most second and third generation family members. Ship passenger registries, census records, telephone directories, birth, death and marriage information, high school yearbooks and news articles available on Ancestry helped me to collect some missing information.

First Step

The realization that I had a copy of my paternal grandparent's Japan passport was an "eureka moment." These documents allowed the identification of the town or village office (Honseki or registered domicile) that most likely processed the Japanese passports and also held official genealogy registry records. Since 1867, Japan law required vital records, such as birth, death, marriage, adoption information to be collected and maintained in a local registry office in a document called a "Koseki Tohon." Identifying the office that processed the passport was key to finding the Koseki document. Of course, WWII damage to registry offices, office consolidations and local record retention practices can make finding a family Koseki challenging.

Second Step

Sample Koseki

Once I learned the passport could help to retrieve the family Koseki registry, the question was how to go about requesting a copy. While I could send a postal letter to the office location identified in the Japan passport, I had no idea if this registry office still existed or moved. Moreover, I couldn't read the passport (or office location) as I don't have Japanese language skills. Nor could I write a letter in the Japanese language requesting a Koseki registry, with the requisite proof of my relation to the Koseki household(s). As an additional hurdle, I learned that handwritten registry entries could use Kanji characters that are no longer commonly used (there are 50,000 known characters). This could require some additional expert translation assistance.

The answer to this quandary was to engage a genealogist in Japan to assist confirming the registry office and collecting the Koseki copy. Japan has several organizations that can help perform these tasks. Possible assistance sources include Family Search and the Association of Genealogists. I engaged Koichi Muro, in Hiroshima, to represent me for collecting the Koseki and property record.  As we later identified related households, four Koseki registries were ultimately retrieved. Mr. Muro services include finding people, retrieving Koseki registries, researching Japan property records, translation services and assisting your Japan travel arrangements.

I had to provide Mr. Muro with a copy of my grandparent's Japanese passport, a document confirming my family relationship to the holders of the passport and a US notarized form authorizing Mr. Muro to work in Japan on my behalf.

Once I received the Koseki copies and property records, I asked a local Buddhist minister to help me translate the documents. This translation was a terrific help and essential to family tracing - and done without a fee. I made a financial donation to the church and gave a gift to the Reverend to reflect my appreciation. Mr. Muro could also have performed the translation services but I was trying to control my costs - which are described at the end of this blog entry. In addition, I thought it would be more convenient to have local translation assistance for subsequent Koseki questions.

It took about 3.5 months for registries and property record to be collected and translated into English. If you're thinking I could have used Google Translate, I found it didn't work very well. Koseki entries on a registry document can be crossed out when an individual marries, dies or is adopted (or after other major life changes that causes the family member to move to another Koseki household). Google Translate would often get confused when cross-out marks or stray pen marks overlaid a Kanji character. I learned that Kanji characters are not phonetic and can be interpreted with different translated meanings. Google Translate only provides one interpretation with no hint of an alternative. Finally, how you cut and paste a Kanji image to Google Translate can alter the resulting translation. To solve the issue of accurately translating and pronouncing names from Kanji characters, starting in 2025, new entries in a Koseki will include name pronunciation.   

Third Step

With new information from the translated documents, I was able to add many names, birth dates, marriages, divorces, children, adoptions and, sometimes, death dates into the family tree I was building on Ancestry.com. My family tree now has about 150 family members, from the late 1700s to 2024. I shared this updated family tree with my relatives. Note that I did not have similar passport documents for my maternal grandparents and, thus, for now the tree is somewhat sparse on this family tree branch.

Final Step

The property record allowed me to learn if my ancestors were reflected as previous property owners in the region reflected by their passports. I requested Mr Muro to help in reaching out to a likely family member that was listed in the retrieved property record. It might be possible for my wife and I to meet my relatives when we visit Japan in 2025. It would be interesting to learn more about my family history. As an update, we were able to initiate communication with my Japan relatives. 

Costs

When my research is over, I anticipate the cost of the four month investigation will total at least $750. While some of the registry retrieval could have been done by me, I suspect the time would have easily extended to six to eight months and subject to a number of errors and misdirection. I'm fairly confident that the information I've collected is accurate and retrieved without extraordinary delay. If you're fluent in the Japanese language or have friends/relatives with this skill, you could conduct this research without professional assistance. For me, I found the above process well worth my time and expense.

Suggestions

If you're considering similar genealogy research in Japan, I suggest watching the introductory videos prepared by Marty Wolf as a first step. Marty also hosts a website with additional information on Koseki research. This web content is helpful but is more instructional rather than offering personal assistance. If you want to start a Koseki search and have no idea as to which registry office to contact, you could start here, using a Japan city, town or village from which your family originally resided.