How Do I find my Japanese Ancestors?
9April 30, 2012 by Valerie Elkins
Most of the people I help locate their Japanese ancestors are 3rd, 4th and even 5th generation Japanese. Some of those I assist are only part Japanese, but many are still a 100% Japanese by blood. All desire to know more about their Japanese ancestors, but are baffled on how to begin.
Since many Japanese Americans have been in America for generations and most likely do not have the ability to speak or read the language, they often feel at a loss at where to even begin to find their Japanese heritage. Here are a few pointers to get you started:
- Researching your family tree is the same for you as any other American UNTIL your immigrant ancestor. So look in the same places: FamilySearch, Ancestry, are good choices to search for census records, passenger records and vital records.
- Just like any immigrant from any country looking to doing research in their mother country, you will have to know the town, village,and address, etc. that they came from, otherwise its a needle in a very big haystack. And unlike many countries, Japanese vital records are not available online and are restricted to only those who can prove direct lineage can have access. You will HAVE TO KNOW the address from where they came from, especially if they came from a big city. You can’t just say Kobe and expect to find the exact city hall (large cities have dozens) and be able to locate the records.
- Where can you find the address if you don’t know? Ask older aunts, uncles and other relatives. Look for anything in anyone’s possession that might have Japanese writing on it. Many people have a koseki record and don’t know what it is because it can look unimportant with all its boxes on it, often with some crossed out, older ones printed on a tissue type of paper, or some are purple mimeograph copies. OMGosh, dance if you find one of those! Eureka, or BONZAI since we are talking Japanese here. You hit the mother lode!
- Other sources to check for addresses are: passports, Naturalization records, internment camp records, military records, passenger records and personal letters.
- Small older villages may have been swallowed up by bigger cities and towns, you can still locate them. Try Wikipedia on the village name, you may have to try searching it in Japanese and then use a translation to read it.
In some ways doing Japanese records may seem harder, but the effort is soooo worth the effort!
Don’t get discouraged! It is possible and if you need help, I would be glad to get you going or assist you in anyway.
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Thanks for offering such reassuring words! I’m in Washington State, where many Japanese immigrants began their American lives in mining camps. We also have quite a few Japanese cemeteries, and of course the sad WWII internment camps on the West Coast. These records are often held by small historical societies – it’s definitely worth digging deeper than the state and county level to find them!
http://www.blackdiamondnow.org/2012/04/barneston-japanese-village-circa-1911.html
Thank you Marjorie! I did not know about the small local societies that may also have Japanese records. That is very good to know, thank you!
Hi! Thanks for this post. I have been looking for more ways to find my Japanese Ancestors. My father is Japanese. I have some of his information. I wanted to know his family their and also his parents as well as his grandparents. is that possible? Could you help me where to start?
I’ve been trying to find my Japanese paternal relatives with very little success. I need to notify them of their brother’s death. My father passed away in December 2009 and I’m not in good relations with my mother. I am sansei (full blooded Japanese-Canadian – my father married a Japanese Canadian). I’m from Canada. All I know is that my father had 3 brothers and 1 sister and that he was the oldest in his entire family. They lived in Kyoto during the war (WWII).
I’m not even certain where to start. My father would have been able to get his “koseki” a lot faster than I would. I don’t write Japanese and I can barely speak it which is pathetic since I was taught Japanese when I was a young child, but promptly forgot it all in favor of English when I started going to school.
I’m hoping that I can make contact with my relatives since they have a right to know about their nephew and cousins (my children) – I was an only child.
Hi..i want to find my father ..since i was a child i didnt have a chance to see him please..help me to find my father ..ihave some information about him..his name is hatsuo odawara..please help me .thankyou
helpme..thanktou
Email me with the details, and I will see what I suggest.
My mother was born In Okinawa Japan. Her daddy was born in 1899 I would love to find out what info I can find
Frank, much of Okinawa’s records were destroyed during WWII. But, if some of the family stayed in Okinawa after the war, then they may have “reconstructed” their family records. If they
immigrated to Hawaii, which many did, they may have reconstructed their records in Hawaii. It is worth checking to see.
I’ve been trying to locate my grandmother’s family for years. She’s 100% Japanese, born and raised in Oita, Japan and later came to the United States with my grandfather, who was in the Army at the time. He was African American. I’ve known her my entire life but never been able to locate her family, meet or speak with them. I just know of them from having converations with my grandmother. I have her family registry. I know this can help, and if you could help me in any way possible I would greatly appreciate it. Hope to hear from you soon. Thank you.