Japan Record Finder

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Japan

Record Finder

Record Finder

This table can help you decide which records to search using the following steps:

1. In column 1, find your goal.
2. In column 2, find the types of records most likely to have the information you need.
3. In column 3, find additional records that may be useful.

What you are looking for:	Try these records first:	Other useful records:
Age
Birth date and birthplace
Birth dates
Death information
Deaths
Emigration information
Ethnicity
Immigration dates
Language helps
Living relatives
Maiden name
Marriage
Municipal origins and boundaries
Naming customs
Occupations
Parents, children, and other family members
Places of residence
Record-finding aids
Religion

Record Types and Beginning Dates

Record Type (English)	Record Type (Japanese)	Records Begin
Household registration	Koseki	1875
Buddhist death registration	Kakocho	1675
Christian church	Kirisuto Kyokai kiroku	1875
Religious inquisiiton census	Shumonno	1650
Pilgrimage	Dankaicho	1550
Compiled histories; family and clan genealogies	Keizu	800
Emigrant passenger lists; Assorted papers on emigrant shipping	Ryokaku meibo to imin unsosen mondai zakken	1875
Village	Murakata kiroku	1600
Tombstone inscriptions	Bohi-mei	1600
Enshrined patriots	Senshisha meibo	1875
Feudal government calendars	Daimyocho	1525