Japan Passenger Lists - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
This collection contains emigration records from 1914, and 1922 through 1927. The index and some other assorted papers date from 1893 and are in Excel format.

Record Description
These records are a list of Japanese emigrants from the country as recorded by the Diplomatic Record Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

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


 * The class that person is traveling on in the ship
 * Nationality
 * Gender
 * Full name
 * 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.

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

Why the Record Was Created
This record was created to record the numbers and names of people emmigrating from Japan.

Record Reliability
This collection comes from a very reliable source.

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.

Examples of Source Citations for a Record in This Collection

 * “Delaware Marriage Records,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org: accessed 4 March 2011), entry for William Anderson and Elizabeth Baynard Henry, married 23 November 1913; citing marriage certificate no. 859; FHL microfilm 2,025,063; Delaware Bureau of Archives and Records Management, Dover.
 * “El Salvador Civil Registration,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org: accessed 21 March 2011), entry for Jose Maria Antonio del Carmen, born 9 April 1880; citing La Libertad, San Juan Opico, Nacimientos 1879-1893, image 50; Ministerio Archivo Civil de la Alcaldia Municipal de San Salvador.

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