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Asia Japan

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



---LOCATION---

Japan is a country comprising many islands in the area of the northwest Pacific Ocean. It lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south.

Japan is a strato-volcanic archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku, which make up about ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan's population of 126 million is the world's tenth largest.

About 73 percent of Japan is forested, mountainous, and unsuitable for agricultural, industrial, or residential use.

The islands of Japan are located in a volcanic zone on the Pacific Ring of Fire. Japan has 108 active volcanoes. During the twentieth century several new volcanoes emerged, including Shōwa-shinzan on Hokkaido and Myōjin-shō off the Bayonnaise Rocks in the Pacific. Destructive earthquakes, often resulting in tsunami, occur several times each century. The most recent of these was in 2011, resulting in a major tsunami that destroyed much of the local area, and causing destruction of the Fukushima Daiichi Atomic Energy plant.

---HISTORY---

A Paleolithic culture around 30,000 BC constitutes the first known habitation of the Japanese archipelago. This was followed from around 14,000 BC (the start of the Jōmon period) by a Mesolithic to Neolithic semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer culture, who include ancestors of both the contemporary Ainu people and Yamato people.

Japan first appears in written history in the Chinese Book of Han. The Nara period (710–784) of the 8th century marked the emergence of a strong Japanese state, centered on an imperial court in Heijō-kyō (modern Nara). The Heian period (794–1185) was the period when a distinctly indigenous Japanese culture emerged, noted for its art, poetry and prose. Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji and the lyrics of Japan's national anthem Kimigayo were written during this time.

Japan's feudal era was characterized by the emergence and dominance of a ruling class of warriors, the samurai. In 1185, following the defeat of the Taira clan in the Genpei War.

During the 16th century, traders and Jesuit missionaries from Portugal reached Japan for the first time, initiating direct commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West.

On March 31, 1854, Commodore Matthew Perry and the "Black Ships" of the United States Navy forced the opening of Japan to the outside world with the Convention of Kanagawa. Subsequent similar treaties with Western countries in the Bakumatsu period brought economic and political crises.

The early 20th. century saw a major rise in expansionism and military growth. The Empire of Japan invaded other parts of China in 1937, precipitating the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). The Imperial Japanese Army swiftly captured the capital Nanjing and conducted the Nanking Massacre.

On December 7–8, 1941, Japanese forces carried out surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor, attacks on British forces in Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong and declared war, bringing the US and the UK into World War II in the Pacific. After the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender on August 15, 1945.

In 1947, Japan adopted a new constitution emphasizing liberal democratic practices. The Allied occupation ended with the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952 and Japan was granted membership in the United Nations in 1956.

---RELIGION---

Buddhism was first introduced to Japan from Baekje of Korea, but the subsequent development of Japanese Buddhism was primarily influenced by China. The Shinto religion was primarily an outgrowth or development of the feudal era.

Today, Japan has full religious freedom based on Article 20 of its Constitution. Upper estimates suggest that 84–96 percent of the Japanese population subscribe to Buddhism or Shinto, including a large number of followers of a syncretism of both religions.

However it appears that the activity of a large proportion of the population attend the local temples only for social reasons or for cultural occasions, and probably no more than about 30% of the population, and primarily females, are true believers.

It is estimated that less than 1% of the population are followers of the Christian faith.

---ECONOMY---

Prior to WWII, Japan had the largest economy in Asia, but its products were primarily sold within Asia, and were rarely seen in the west. However with the help received from the USA after the end of the war, Japan's economic muscles grew. Originally known for cheap products, both in price and in quality, the country rapidly became known for excellent quality at reasonable prices. It was the first of the Asian tigers to develop.

Today, the country has the world's third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the world's fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the world's fifth-largest exporter and fifth-largest importer. Many of its major names in the automotive, electronics, and optical spheres, have set up manufacturing operations throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.

---RESEARCH TOOLS---

The four top sources for Japanese genealogical research are: koseki (household registers), kakochō (Buddhist death registers), Shumonchō (Examination of Religion Register), and kafu (compiled family sources). These records are normally stored in the local 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.

Regions
Chūbu·Chūgoku·Hokkaidō·Kansai·Kantō·Kyūshū·Shikoku·Tōhoku

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

Cities, Towns, and Villages
A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

Japan, Clan Genealogies (FamilySearch Historical Records)

See these web sites also:

The Japanese Genealogy Blog http://www.AdvantageGenealogy.com/blog

Tips for Obtaining a Copy of Your Japanese Family Registry (courtesy: JapanGenWeb)

Searching for your Japanese ancestors cannot be done the same way you would research for someone from non-Asian countries. The main reason is that Japan has very strict privacy laws and access to Vital Records is carefully protected. That being said, the Japanese are wonderful record-keepers and the koseki or Family Registration is the record on which births, deaths, marriages and divorces of Japanese nationals are kept and is a rich source of genealogical information. A child is listed on his or her parent's koseki until they create their own.

The koseki is kept and protected by the city hall in the hometown (honseki) or permanent address of the head of household. If your ancestor was listed on a koseki, you can get a copy of the record. This is the best resource for finding your ancestors, as often many generations are included. Obtaining your family's koseki requires some effort but it is worth every bit of it.

The best and easiest way to get your koseki is check with other family members, (i.e.cousins still in Japan, etc.) and see if someone already has a copy and will make you a copy. If they do - do the happy dance!

If not, continue with the steps below:

1. Make a pedigree chart with all the information you know and determine who was the 1st generation (issei) to leave Japan.

2. Locate the address of the honseki or hometown of where your ancestor came from. You will need their address or you cannot locate their city hall. If they came from a large city like Hiroshima, you will need to know the ward or village.You can find this information in several ways:


 * a. Personal knowledge of relatives, written information, correspondense or a copy of their passport.


 * b. Search Passenger List databases on line. A good resource is: http://stevemorse.org/. Sometimes the hometown   address is recorded. HINT: Look for other family members who might have traveled with them. Often the husband would imigrate to another country, work for awhile and then come back for his wife - or if he was single, he would return to marry a hometown girl arranged for by his family. Check later years for the family returning to visit relatives and bringing their children to meet the grandparents, etc. Be creative in your spelling as often the names are horribly mispelled. When searching for the wife be sure to use her married name - often you can find the 'husband by seraching for the wife or vise versa. 


 * c. Obtain the passport information from the Japanese Consulate (must follow same rules as for obtaining a koseki), though this is often slow and unsuccessful. 


 * d. Search the  Family History Catalog  and view microfilms. Look in the "Subject" catagory under Japan immigration, or just Japan. Microfilms can be ordered and viewed  at local Family History Centers.  When searching for information on Passenger Lists try to determine where their first Port of Entry was located. HINT: Do not assume that because they ended up in California that their Port of Entry was in California. They may have first gone to Seattle or Canada first. Be very creative and open minded in your searching.

Once you know the address of the 1st generation (issei) to immigrate, you must check to see if the village or hometown's name is still in existence. Many villages merged into others, names changed etc. Try using google or wikipedia.com to determine the address of the city hall for the town you are searching for. HINT: ''Try www.google.co.jp/ which is the Japanese version of Google if you can't locate it on the English version. You may need someone who can read kanji to translate if the translate version does not work. Most city hall's have a web page and their address is usually located on the bottom of the page.''

Now that you know the name of the ancestor, his estimated birth year, and his address and city hall's information you are ready to contact the city hall.

How to Write City Hall for Your Family's Koseki

In order to receive your koseki you will first have to prove your lineage to the person for whom you are requesting. The following information will be needed:

1. A copy of your photo ID (Driver's license, Passport, etc.)

2. A copy of your birth certificate and a copy of for each set of parents until you reach the ancestor in question. For example, if you want your great grandfather's koseki and he was born in Japan, you would need yours, your parent's on whose line he is on - so if it is your father's line, you would need your father's birth certifcate and both of his parent's birth certificate. You don't need your great grandfather's because his information is recorded on the koseki in Japan.

3. A pedigree chart with your lineage written out with information that you have. Highlight the line you are seeking information on.

4. A koseki request form filled out.

5. Currently the cost for a copy of a koseki and postage is about $13 US dollars. Japanese City Halls will only accept Interational Money Orders from US Postal Service. DO NOT send money orders from banks as it will be returned. Make the International Money Order payable to the City Hall.

6. Enclose a self-addressed envelope.

7. If you cannot write in Japanese, see if you can find someone who can. It will be most helpful if you write the family's name in kanji, as the characters can be very necessary in distingushing your family. All Japanese names can be pronounced several different ways, so a request written only in Romanization - containing what you think is the correct pronunciation of the name - may be hard to determine accurately. It is worth trying, even if you don't know the Japanese characters. Try checking with other family members to see if they know it if you do not. If not you can write it in Roman letters, but it will greatly slow things down.

The City Hall is not required to give you a copy of your famil's koseki, even after you prove your lineage. You want to make sure you have everything in order and make it as simple as possible for them to respond to your request. Be patient. It can take a couple of weeks, to many months to receive a response. Any $ change from the transaction will be given in Japanese postage stamps - which you can use again as partial payment on your next request. When you receive your family's koseki it is time for another happy dance!

It will be necessary to find someone to translate the koseki for you if you cannot read kanji (Japanese character writing). Kanji has changed over the years, so you will need to use the handwriting charts on this page for help. HINT:''If there is a kanji you cannot read, download a free language bar from Microsoft.On the Japanese language bar there is an IME pad, using the mouse you can copy the mystery kanji in stroke order and the program will read the kanji in Roman letters. Of course, this is only helpful for someone who knows kanji stroke order.''

Once you have the translated copy of your family's koseki, it is time to input that information onto your Family Group Sheets and Pedigree chart. Using a software program is highly recommended as you will quickly see how complicated Japanese lineage can be because of heir adoptions and name changes. (That is explained further down.) You can download a free copy of thePAF genealogy software program. PAF (Personal Ancestrial File) is excellent to use as you can choose Japanese or English versions or both.

Female Lines: Women are found on koseki under the male head of household. Usually on a father's koseki until she is married. If her father dies before her marriage it will be under his male heir's name. When you receive your family's koseki you can then request the koseki for your ancestor's wife, as her maiden name, the head ofhousehold's name on whose koseki she is found on and the address of where she is from, are all usually recorded on her husband's koseki. This is all the information you will need to now follow all the steps above to now request her family information.

---GENEALOGY SOCIETIES AND ASSOCIATIONS---

GENEALOGY ABOUT

Kindred Trails

WOW, Japan

Ancestry.com Japan

---CEMETERIES AND GRAVEYARDS---

Cemeteries in Japan

Japanese funerals