Japan Village Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
日本、村レコード

Record Description
This collection will include records from 709 to 1949. The records are in Japanese. See the For Help Reading These Records section of this article for translation tools.

The collection includes village records from all over Japan. These records include land records, genealogies, religious censuses, and individual family records.

Japanese villages were responsible for several types of records that can be of significant genealogical value, especially when the religious inquisition census records (shumoncho) are unavailable.

These records include the following:


 * Land and property records
 * Tax records (who paid taxes, etc.)
 * Population and status records (a type of census)
 * Lists of people who were drafted into the military
 * Financial records
 * Conservation project records

To see more types of records that are in this collection, go to Japan Village Records.

Record Content
Village records may contain the following information:


 * Full name of ancestor
 * Age
 * Date of transaction
 * Occupation
 * Residence
 * Birth date

How to Use the Record
To search the Village Records, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Approximate year of birth
 * Name of village

Search the Collection
To search by image: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select "Prefecture" ⇒Select "County or City" ⇒Select "Town or Village" ⇒Select "Record Type" ⇒Select "Title, Volume/Page, and Year" which will take you to the images.

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

When searching: As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Japanese. For help with reading the records, see the following resource:


 * The Genealogy of the Japanese Language
 * Glossary of Japanese Genealogical Terms

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * Use the age to calculate a birth year.
 * Use dates to track any migration to different areas of Japan.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Use other identifying information (such as occupation) to decide if it’s the entry you’re looking for.
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community.
 * Check for variant spellings of the names.
 * For more Japanese records to search through, go to the Related FamilySearch Historical Records section of this article.

Related Websites

 * Japanese Genealogy Resources
 * Japan GenWeb
 * Japan Websites
 * Japan Maps

Related Wiki Articles

 * Japan Genealogy
 * Japan Research Methods
 * Japan Village Records
 * Japan Record Loss
 * Japan

Related FamilySearch Historical Records

 * Japan, Iwate Land Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Japan, Passenger Lists (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Japan, Genealogies (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Japan Vital Records Index (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. 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. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually. Collection Citation:

Image Citation: