Japan Genealogy

Guide to Japan ancestry, family history and genealogy parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Country Information
Japan is an island country in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Asia. Its nearest neighbors are China, North Korea, South Korea, Russia, and Taiwan. While there is no official language, Japanese is the national language.

Japan Clickable Map
Genealogy records are kept on the local level in Japan. Click on a place below to go to the corresponding Wiki article listing more information.

Jurisdictions
Genealogy records are kept on the local level in Japan. Click on a place below to go to the corresponding Wiki article listing more information.

Japan is divided into a number of areas called Prefectures. These are analogous to states or provinces in other countries. They were created after the Meiji Restoration (1868) by consolidating feudal domains. Some include a city by the same name within their boundaries.

Prefectures
 Aichi Akita Aomori Chiba Ehime Fukui Fukuoka Fukushima</li> Gifu</li> Gunma</li> Hiroshima</li> Hokkaidō</li> Hyōgo</li> Ibaraki</li> Ishikawa</li> Iwate</li> Kagawa</li> Kagoshima</li> Kanagawa</li> Kōchi</li> Kumamoto</li> Kyōto</li> Mie</li> Miyagi</li> <li>Miyazaki</li> <li>Nagano</li> <li>Nagasaki</li> <li>Nara</li> <li>Niigata</li> <li>Ōita</li> <li>Okayama</li> <li>Okinawa</li> <li>Ōsaka</li> <li>Saga</li> <li>Saitama</li> <li>Shiga</li> <li>Shimane</li> <li>Shizuoka</li> <li>Tochigi</li> <li>Tokushima</li> <li>Tōkyō</li> <li>Tottori</li> <li>Toyama</li> <li>Wakayama</li> <li>Yamagata</li> <li>Yamaguchi</li> <li>Yamanashi</li>

Cities, Towns, and Villages
Within each prefecture is a number of cities, towns and villages, The larger cities are very populous, while many towns and villages are quite small and often can border each other in a way that they are at times considered part of a larger city. Most though have some space between them.

FamilySearch Resources
Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in researching your family.


 * Facebook Communities - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research
 * Learning Center - Online genealogy courses
 * Historical Records
 * FamilySearch Center locator map