Japan Passenger Lists - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
日本、ブラジルへの旅客リスト

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.

Record Content


Passenger lists usually include the following information:


 * Full name of passenger
 * Address
 * Date of birth
 * Date of departure
 * Gender
 * Destination
 * Residence

Emigration records usually include the following information:


 * Passport Number
 * Full Name
 * Prefecture
 * Birth Date
 * Gender
 * Residence before departure
 * Date of Departure
 * Departure Age
 * Destination Place

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.

Search the Collection
To start on your search in the Immigration Records, you need to know the following information:


 * Ancestor’s name
 * Place of birth
 * Residence at the time of departure

To search the indexed records, 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.

If you have found the record the ancestor that you are looking for, you can:


 * Use the age to calculate an approximate birth date
 * Find the place of birth for your ancestor
 * Use the residence to locate census records

If you are wondering what to do next with the record you found, be sure to look at all of the information on other family records. This information will help you figure out relationships and form family groups. If you are unable to find your ancestor, search for your ancestor’s nickname and various spellings of the name.

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
 * Japanese immigrants to the United States

Related Wiki Articles

 * Japan
 * Japan Emigration and Immigration
 * Emigration Records from Japan (FamilySearch Historical Records)

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 for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.