Japan Passenger Lists - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection contains a list of Japanese emigrants from the country as recorded by the Diplomatic Record Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. The records are from an index of overseas travelers processed through Japanese emigration agents and related immigration papers for the years 1893-1941.

Japanese emigration records were generated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japanese Diplomacy office at the time when people emigrated from Japan.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the data and images published on FamilySearch.org. It may include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.

The suggested format for citing FamilySearch Historical Collections is found in the following article: How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections

Record Content
The key genealogical facts in these Emigration Records include:


 * Full name of passenger
 * Date of birth
 * Gender
 * The class that person is traveling on in the ship
 * Nationality
 * Age (Under 1 Year, over 1 year, over 12 Years)
 * Occupation
 * Residence
 * Destination and address in full at such destination
 * Embark date/port
 * Disembark date/port
 * Name of Ship

How to Use the Record
These records are used to identify the permanent domicile of the head of the household, which is helpful in obtaining the koseki. These records are good linkage records. They are particularly helpful for American researchers who are trying to determine where their Japanese ancestor came from.

To search the collection by name

Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

Related Websites

 * Kesekilaw Rootsweb page explains how to use and get family papers called koseki
 * Japanese Embassies list - listing of Japanese embassies, needed to get koseki
 * Japanese military at Archives.gov - information about Japanese Internment camps during WWII
 * Japanese American Legacy Project
 * Japan's GenWeb Project

Related Wiki Articles

 * Japan Emigration and Immigration

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation Example for a Record Found in a Historical Record Collection
“Delaware Marriage Records,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 4 March 2011), William Anderson and Elizabeth Baynard Henry, 1890; citing Delaware, State Marriage Records, no. 859, Delaware Bureau of Archives and Records Management, Dover. When the citation has been replaced with a citation specific to the collection being described, the heading should be changed to “Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection” in heading style 3.