Hawaii, Honolulu, Japanese Family Registration Cards - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Hawaii Honolulu County

Title in the Language of the Record
ハワイ、ホノルル、日本人家族登録カード

What is in the Collection?
This collection includes Japanese family registration cards from the Japanese Consulate in Honolulu, Hawaii for the years 1897-1955. The cards were written in Japanese and have been indexed in English. Copies of the original handwritten registration cards can be obtained from the Japanese Consulate.

英語の説明:　ハワイ州ホノルルの日本領事館からの日本人家族登録カード. カードには家族の名前、到着年月日、生年月日、日本及びハワイの住所が記載されている. 個人の記録に関してもっと詳しい情報が知りたければ日本の家族の歴史サポート又はソルトレーク市の家族歴史図書館にお問い合わせください.

Collection Contents
Japanese family registration cards may contain the following information:
 * Surname of family (Japanese characters)
 * List of given names for family members (Japanese characters)
 * Birth dates
 * Arrival dates
 * Arrival ship
 * Place of residence in Hawaii and Japan
 * Departure information
 * Marriages
 * Deaths
 * Births
 * Gender
 * Relationship to head of household

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * Your ancestor’s name.
 * Names of other family members
 * Approximate year(s) of residence in Hawaii

To search the collection by name: Fill in the requested information in the boxes on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals 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 look at the information on several individuals comparing the information about them to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:
 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names, or variations of their name, throughout their life.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Japanese. For help with understanding the language, see the following resource:
 * Japan Languages

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Download a copy of the record, or extract the genealogical information needed. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors. The following examples show ways you can use the information:
 * Use the estimated age to calculate a birth date.
 * Use birth date and place in Hawaii to locate a birth certificate.
 * Use marriage date and place in Hawaii to locate a marriage certificate.
 * Use the place of residence in Japan to locate family in the Koseki (registration of village population). See the wiki article Beginning Japanese Research for information on locating the Koseki.
 * Use the place of residence in Hawaii to locate family in census records.
 * Use the death information in Hawaii to obtain certificate of death. If ancestor died in Japan, locate the Kakocho (Book of the Past) kept at the family’s Buddhist temple.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * 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.
 * Continue to search the index and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have served in the same unit or a nearby unit.
 * If your ancestor used multiple names throughout their life, look for all their names.
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For, Now What?

 * Check for variant spellings of the names.
 * Search the records of both Japan and Hawaii.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You can then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.

Related Websites

 * Hawaii GenWeb Project
 * Japan GenWeb Project
 * Japanese Emigrants to Hawaii
 * Professional Japanese Genealogist

Related Wiki Articles

 * Beginning Japanese Research
 * Japan
 * Japan Emigration and Immigration
 * Hawaii
 * Japan Genealogy
 * Japan, Genealogies (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * United States, Japanese Americans Relocated During World War II (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Hawaii Emigration and Immigration
 * Hawaii Online Genealogy Records
 * Hawaii Archives and Libraries
 * Japanese Nationals Residing Abroad FHL Catalog

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection citation:

Record citation (or citation for the index entry):