Understanding the Basics

I have been studying my ancestry for over 15 years. Over those years I collected many clues that have linked together and formed an image of each of my ancestors. This was not an easy process. My first couple of years saw little results in understanding my document collection. I had several documents that didn't make any sense and I begun to make wild notions about my family history in order to make the known history fit. This process frustrated me to no end as each trip to my local family history library ended with more questions than answers. Needless to say the most valuable lesson learned was when I realized that a structured formula for extracting and collecting data was needed to understand where to look. I should have picked up a book on genealogy then and saved myself several more years of research time. In that time I spent developing my research methods. Fortunately, the methodology that I developed was very similar to the prescribed methohology found in today's Genealogy books.

How is this related to Japanese genealogy?

Simple, I have found no definitive work on Japanese genealogy published in English, that helped me beyond the first step: "Start with your own family". The few publications found, although helpful, don't provide you the necessary elements to understand how to communicate with the local ward offices. Translations won't mean much without understanding the protocol of communicating with the local ward office. It is also important to understand the registry systems used in Japan in relation to the Japanese people.

• Koseki: The "Koseki" or family registry is a record of births, deaths, brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, marriage, marital status, and may include other vital information. These records may include dates of these events, relationships, emigration from Japan, and the relocation of residence in Japan.
• Koseki Touhon (Tohon-Touhon): The "Koseki Touhon" means a copy, a transcript, or a duplicate. This would be a copy of your family registry.
• Koseki Shouhon (Shohon-Shouhon): The "Koseki Shouhon" refers to an abstract, an extract, or an excerpt. This list may be specific to an individual and may include the name along with the names of his or her parents, the date of birth, birth order number or title in respect to gender, and the place of birth which may include the name of the prefecture, the county or district, and the city, town, or village.
• Honseki-chi: The "Honseki-chi" means the domicile. A place where one's home residence is registered.
• Tenseki: The "Tenseki" is a statement made on the Koseki when someone finally decides to move from their old home town and transfer their family registry to their new home town. This statement may include information from where to where, by whom, and when the honseki-chi was changed or transferred.

The following web sites appear to define this topic further:

• Stuart Terashita's Japanese-American Genealogy:
  This site is well done. The Author covers several helpful topics some of which include; a discussion of research methods, definition of terms, and links.


• Overview of the Japanese Koseki or the Family Registration System:
  This is a well done page of definations, explanations, and differences between the registry systems used in Japan. This site is authored by the "Children's Rights Network of Japan".


• JapanGenWeb Project:
  This is a great resource of genealogical information providing helpful research in Japanese genealogy. Below are two of their pages offering detailed explanations of the family registry systems in Japan. Check out some of their other pages for more details and discriptions. There is a lot here.



Family Registries: Jeff Morita:
Jeff Morita details his experience in trying to obtain copies of his grandparents' koseki.


Family Registries: Koseki Touhon and Koseki Shouhon:
This page covers family registry terms and explanations.