How to Find Out a Family History in Japan
Locating a family history in Japan when you do not live there is tedious and difficult. This is due, in part, to the restrictions the Japanese Government has on foreign access to vital records. Another issue is surnames. Many surnames from Japan changed when the family arrived in other countries. Locating the original surname in Japan is challenging.
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Things You'll Need
- Computer
- Internet access
- Japanese character font installed on computer
- Surname in Japanese
- Given names in Japanese
Instructions
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Write down everything you know. Make a list of all parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and children. Write down approximate dates for all events such as births, marriages, divorces, baptisms, immigration and deaths. This is your starting point.
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Japanese characters. Talk to your older ancestors and find out the Japanese family surname. Ask them to write it down in Japanese. Then ask them to write down the common given names in Japanese. This information is required to read records from Japan. Expect Japanese records to be written in Japanese. In Japan, people are referred to by their surname then the given name. This is the opposite of Western cultures.
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Check the records on the Japan GenWeb website (see Resources). This is a collection of online databases and other information about Japan. It helps to know the prefectures of Japan when you search. Prefectures are governmental boundaries; for example Nagano and Tokyo are prefectures. The information on this website is available in English and Japanese. This website also contains links to people who own Japanese records that they are willing to share.
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Japanese flag. Research the available records at the National Archives of Japan (see Resources), which has many family and governmental records online. Some records cannot be released without first being screened by the archives. This is due to privacy laws. If a record is labeled "must screen" you have to submit a request to the archives in order to view the record. The National Archives will screen the information to be sure that it does not contain information that is protected under privacy laws and inform you when the screening process is complete.
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Contact the Japanese Consulate located in the country where you reside. Ask the consulate to obtain birth, marriage and death records for you. Inquire about the cost. Send the request with the appropriate funds and be prepared to wait a very long time. Wait times of a year or longer are common. Follow up on your request every two months.
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Check your area for translators. Once you receive records from Japan, they may be very difficult to translate unless you are fluent in Japanese. Locating a translator in advance will allow you to budget for the cost of document translation.
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Tips & Warnings
Find out as much information as possible about the family in the country where you are currently living. This will make tracing records back to Japan much easier.
Never be rude or discourteous to a consulate employee or National Archive employee. They can be your best friends if you are nice. If you upset them, they will not help you.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit family tree image by Judy Ben Joud from Fotolia.com bat japanese symbol image by michele goglio from Fotolia.com Japan image by Angelika Bentin from Fotolia.com
