We will research your ancestors, family crests, and create family trees for those with roots in Japan.
Many of you who visit this website are probably wondering what kind of life your ancestors who came from far away Japan lived in Japan, and what kind of family crests they used.Some of you may also be wondering about the names of your ancestors who went back even further than the ones you know now, whether you have relatives in Japan, or one day wanting to visit their graves in Japan.
To answer these thoughts, our office collects family registers, collects documents related to your ancestors, conducts ancestral research, creates family trees, investigates family crests, and searches for ancestral graves. We accept requests not only from within Japan, but also from people living overseas who have roots in Japan.
Our office conducts ancestral research and creates family trees in the following ways.
- Collecting family registers
- Thorough ancestral research
- Creating family trees
- Family crest research
- Searching for ancestral graves
Collecting family registries
In Japan, there is a family registry system. A family registry is a system that registers and certifies kinship relationships from birth to death. It is compiled for Japanese citizens and is the only system that certifies Japanese nationality.
If you have ancestors who had Japanese nationality, their family registry will be kept in Japan even after they changed their nationality. In order to obtain a family registry, if you have a certificate that shows the connection between the client and the “last ancestor who had Japanese nationality,” you can trace the Japanese family registry back to the original. A certificate that shows the connection is a birth certificate, etc. For example, if your father was the “last ancestor who had Japanese nationality,” you will need the client’s birth certificate. If your grandfather was the “last ancestor who had Japanese nationality,” you will need the birth certificate of both the client and the father. In addition, when collecting family registries, family registry information such as the “ancestral domicile” is required. For domicile information, accurate information down to the numerical part is required.
If you have a copy of your ancestor’s family registry, you can trace the family registry back to the original. However, if you do not have a family register or only know approximately where your ancestors were registered, you must start by looking up their registered domicile. There are ways to look at immigration records and land ledgers, but these are not reliable methods. Therefore, unfortunately, it may not be possible to collect family registers.
By tracing back family registers, it may be possible to trace ancestors born about 200 years ago. However, one thing to be particularly careful about when collecting family registers is that even if you trace back family registers, you may not be able to trace ancestors born about 200 years ago. This is because old family registers may have been discarded by the government office where they are kept due to the expiration of the storage period, or may have been lost due to fire or flood. The reality is that you cannot know how far back you can trace them until you actually apply.
If you can trace back family registers, you can conduct various further investigations from there. The information obtained from family registers is indispensable when conducting research such as searching for ancestral graves, listening to family legends, and learning family crests, as it provides clues when trying to contact distant relatives.
-Typesetting of family registries-
We can also typeset family registries. Modern family registries are printed on computers, but old ones were written by hand. They are written in cursive script, and even Japanese people may not be able to read them all. We can also retype such family registries on a computer or retype them in Roman characters.
A family registry can be one to ten pages long, and in rare cases, older ones can exceed 20 pages. Therefore, we will estimate the fee each time.
-Documents required for obtaining a family registries-
A family registry can be obtained by the person himself or his descendants. Therefore, when I obtain one, I need to receive a power of attorney and a copy of a document verifying my identity.
Thorough ancestral research
Even if you can trace your ancestors back 200 years ago using the family register, if you want to go back further or want more information about your ancestors, we can conduct further research, such as collecting information about your ancestors and interviewing people who you think are relatives.
-Diplomatic Archives in Tokyo-
Here you can view immigrant lists and other information. If your ancestors immigrated, you may be able to find out their names and additional information.
-National Diet Library-
This library has books from all over the country, and by viewing local history books from the areas where your ancestors lived, you may be able to obtain materials that can infer how they lived at the time.
-Viewing the samurai list-
If your ancestors were samurai, you may be able to find out their names and titles from the samurai list.
-Interviewing people with the same surname-
If you can find information about people with the same surname from the family register, we will try to contact them. They may have a family tree passed down from their ancestors, or you may be able to hear legends about your ancestors.
Searching for ancestral graves
Even among Japanese people, there are many who are unaware of their ancestors’ old graves, and we accept such requests. We search for relatives using family register information and visit their ancestral graves.
We cannot guarantee that we will be able to find your ancestors’ graves, but we may be able to meet your requests if you would like to visit their graves when you visit Japan someday.
Japanese Family Crests Research
In Japan, there are family crests (KAMON) that are passed down from generation to generation. People are free to use and change their family crest, but it was common for people to inherit the one that was passed down from their ancestors.
In recent years, there are Japanese families who have forgotten their ancestral family crest, and we receive requests from both Japan and overseas to investigate.
When investigating family crests, we contact relatives who still manage the graves of the ancestors that the client shares with, and ask them for information, or we may actually visit the ancestral temple to check.
We cannot always identify ancestral family crests, but we will do our best to fulfill your requests to learn about family crests.
Family Tree Creation
We can also create family trees based on the results of family register collection and ancestral research. We can create either vertically written Japanese or horizontally written Roman alphabet. We will create a family tree according to your request after the family register survey and ancestral research are completed.
-Scroll family tree-
We can also make a scroll family tree using traditional Japanese techniques. You can create a one-of-a-kind family tree with a traditional Japanese-style mounting as a family heirloom.
Fee structure
The fee varies greatly for each client depending on what you currently know and the content of the investigation you would like. If you contact us using the email form below to let us know what you currently know and what kind of investigation you would like, we will provide you with an estimate of the investigation cost and investigation period. Inquiries are free, so please feel free to contact us.
Our office’s policy is to consider and estimate the investigation method for the “next investigation that can be done”, and proceed with the investigation while receiving a fee in advance. First, we estimate the first investigation and receive the cost, and once the first investigation is completed, we propose an estimate for the second investigation. We repeat this process several times. We continue until I tell you “There is no more investigation I can do” or the client says “That’s enough.”
For example, when investigating a family crest,
- If the family domicile is unknown, we will conduct a preliminary investigation to find out the domicile
- Collect the family register
- Using the family register information, we will try to contact relatives and ask about the family crest
- If necessary, we will go to the site and confirm the family crest
A four-step investigation is required.
Payment method
We use PayPal.
About Us
We receive many requests not only from people in Japan, but also from people living overseas whose ancestors were Japanese nationals. I have been working on creating family trees, researching ancestors, and researching family crests for about 20 years, so I have a wealth of knowledge, but I am not very good at English. For that reason, I wrote this page using translation software. I also use translation software to reply to emails, so it may take some time for me to reply, but I will try to reply carefully and in as simple and clear a language as possible, so please understand.
–Featured in an English newspaper–
I cooperated with The Japan Times in an interview and it was published in their April 27-28, 2024 issue. It is an article about someone who traced their ancestors themselves based on my book “Create Your Own 200-Year Family Tree.” In the article, I was introduced as “the man who connects the dots.”
The Japan Times article link
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1-12-5-202 Kotobukicho, Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture
Administrative Scrivener Masayuki Hashimoto Office
Masayuki Hashimoto
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