by Philbert Ono

I recently successfully found long-lost relatives for a Japanese Canadian family whose ancestors immigrated from Shiga to the Vancouver area in the early 20th century.

They are now happy as heck to have met their long-lost relatives in Hikone, and hope to continue keeping in touch for generations to come. This has no doubt spurred the Canadian family to study more Japanese, and their Japanese relatives to study English as they inevitably plan a first-time family trip to Vancouver to see where their long-lost ancestors emigrated to.

My original plan was to just guide them around Hikone, but I ended up finding their ancestral homes, long-lost relatives, and ancestral graves within five days. A very determined Canadian sansei lady, a good collection of family documents, and Lady Luck were with us.

If you have Japanese immigrant ancestors from Shiga who emigrated overseas before World War II and want to find your ancestral roots or long-lost relatives in Shiga, here’s a basic guide. I’m going to use Hikone for example purposes since many Japanese immigrants from Shiga came from the Hikone area.

This guide is for nikkei Japanese immigrant descendants in North America who have never visited their ancestral neighborhood in Shiga, never met any relatives, and never visited ancestral graves.

First, you need to find out your immigrant ancestor’s name and old address in Shiga. Then you can find the current address or location. See if anyone still lives there and find out the person’s name. If the family name matches your family, he or she is a probable relative. Get in touch for a meetup.

Steps to find ancestral roots in Shiga Prefecture

• Step 1 (Preparation): Find out the full name (in Japanese characters) and original address of your immigrant ancestor.
• Step 2: Find out the current location (city/town) of your ancestor’s original address.
• Step 3: Search for the modern address on Google Maps, etc.
• Step 4: Go to the city/town hall to obtain a copy of your immigrant ancestor’s koseki family registry.
• Step 5: Go to a Legal Affairs Bureau office to obtain a copy of the real property registry record for the koseki address.
• Step 6: Contact the local community center near the address.
• Step 7: Contact the neighborhood Buddhist temple.
• Step 8: Get in touch with the possible relative living at the address and ask if he/she really is a relative. (If yes, continue to Step 9.)
• Step 9: Meet your long-lost relatives!
• Step 10: Visit your ancestral grave if known, preferably with your newly discovered relatives.

FAQ

• How long would the above steps take if everything goes as planned?
• I know which village my ancestor came from, but not the house number.
• Should I hire a genealogy service to do all this for me?
• How do I find a translator or local guide to help me?
• How should I get the koseki translated into English?
• What else should I see while in Shiga?
• What’s the basic history of Japanese emigration from Shiga Prefecture to other countries? (Coming soon)

Step 1 (Preparation): Find out the full name (in Japanese characters) and original address of your immigrant ancestor.

• The first thing you need to know is your immigrant ancestor’s full name (in Japanese kanji characters) and original address in Shiga.
• It’s not enough to know that your immigrant ancestor came from Shiga. You also need to know where in Shiga. Name of the village or neighborhood and the house number.
• If you don’t know where in Shiga your ancestor came from, sift through old letters, family documents, diaries, and family photos taken in Japan that belonged to your parents or grandparents or ask family members or relatives who might know.
  If you already have a Japanese koseki-tohon (family registry, see Step 4), it will be a major link to your ancestral roots. Hopefully, nobody in your family threw out any precious family history materials.
• If you have any old family photos taken in Japan, look for photos of people/relatives and any signage such as temple/shrine signs, train station signs, road signs, or recognizable buildings, landmarks or natural features. Although they might just be travel photos, they might provide clues.
  Show the photos to a Shiga expert or someone who can read the signage. Also look on the back of the photo for any notes or captions. If it’s in Japanese, get it translated if you cannot read it.
• If you know the name and original address of your immigrant ancestor from Shiga, you can proceed to Step 2.

Step 2: Find out the current location (city/town) of your ancestor’s original address.

Your immigrant ancestor’s old address in Shiga will typically include the district name (-gun 郡), village name (-mura 村), and house number. Since it’s outdated, you won’t find it as is on Google Maps, etc.

The old address is obsolete because all old villages in Shiga have since merged into a town or city. Abolished districts (-gun) and villages no longer exist. Shiga today has no villages, only 19 towns and cities.

However, the names of old villages and neighborhoods are usually retained as place names at their former locations. The “mura” suffix meaning “village” is dropped and typically replaced with “cho” (町). This makes it relatively easy to find obsolete addresses on a modern map.

For example, the old Takamiya-mura Village in Inukami-gun District (犬上郡 高宮村) now corresponds to Takamiya-cho in the city of Hikone (彦根市 高宮町). Note that cho (町) in Japanese can refer to either a town or just a neighborhood area. (Takamiya Village was elevated into a town in 1912, then merged into Hikone in 1957.)

• Search online for the name of the old village (in Japanese). There’s usually a Japanese Wikipedia page for old villages, districts, or neighborhoods. An English version might not exist.
• The Japanese Wikipedia page will mention which city or town the old village now belongs to and the corresponding place name used today (maybe -cho) for that old village. It may also describe the physical location of the former village with respect to cardinal directions, natural features, etc.

Step 3: Search for the modern address on Google Maps, etc.

When you know the updated version of your immigrant ancestor’s old address in Shiga, it should show up on Google Maps, etc.

• If you can find the exact address on a map, congratulations! It’s a major step forward. Use street views to see what kind of home and neighborhood it is. Usually rural with lots of farmland or views of the lakeshore. Look for the nearest train station, bus stop, etc., to find out how to get there.
• If you cannot find the specific house number on the map, it usually means the house is gone and it may be an empty lot or farm land.
  In such a case, zoom in the map to find house numbers close to the one you’re looking for. The old house was likely near those homes.
• It’s possible that the family moved away within the same neighborhood or to a nearby area. You can pursue this further by getting in touch with the local community association. (See Step 6.)
• Japanese map publisher Zenrin (ゼンリン) publishes a map book titled Zenrin Jutakuchi-zu (ゼンリン住宅地図 – 滋賀県 彦根市) for all Japanese municipalities. It has detailed maps of individual house lots in Japan and the names of the property owner.
  The local public library or the local Legal Affairs Bureau (see Step 5) should have a copy.
• When you know which city or town the address is in, you can proceed to Step 4.

Step 4: Go to the city/town hall to obtain a copy of your immigrant ancestor’s koseki family registry.

Once you know which city/town your ancestral hometown/village is in, visit the respective city/town hall (local government office where the mayor works) to obtain a copy of the koseki family registry (戸籍謄本) to learn more about your family tree maybe as far back as 1872.

The koseki family registry is an official family record kept by the local government for all Japanese families in Japan. It records the Japanese household head’s name, address, name of the spouse, births, children, marriages, divorces, adoptions, deaths, and usually emigration information.
It can go back to 1872 when all Japanese citizens were required to have both a family name and given name.
The koseki is a key document for family tree information. For a small fee, you can obtain a copy of the koseki from the city/town hall.

• To obtain a copy of your immigrant ancestor’s koseki family registry at the local city/town hall, you need to show proof of direct bloodline relationship, using the birth certificate of your parents or grandparents, your own birth certificate and ID, and any other documents which can prove your ancestral relationship. (At Hikone City Hall, go to Window 1 on the 1st floor. It’s next to the Information counter.)
• Fill out a form requesting a copy of the koseki. Ask the staff for the proper application form (戸籍謄抄本等交付申請書). Hikone City Hall has an English version, but it still looks complicated. Ask the staff to help you fill in the form. It’s actually not that hard.
  Fill in your name and address (English okay) as the applicant. Then the name and original address of your immigrant ancestor in Japanese kanji. Request the koseki for the ancestor’s entire life from birth to death which may consist of multiple pages. Also indicate the reason for obtaining the koseki. You can fill in the “Other” blank and say you’re researching your family tree (家系図の調べ). (Sample form here.)
• You can obtain the koseki only for a direct ancestor such as a grandparent or great grandparent. It cannot be for a grand aunt/uncle, cousin, etc.
• It may take 60 minutes or longer to obtain the koseki-tohon copy depending on how busy they are. Be sure to get to the city hall well before the closing time. (Hikone City Hall hours are 9:00 am–4:45 pm, Mon–Fri., closed on Sat., Sun., and national holidays.)
• The koseki-tohon family registry copy will be in Japanese and may be handwritten. If you cannot read Japanese, ask the city hall staff to orally translate the name and address indicated on the koseki. (Write it down in English if necessary.)
• Look at the koseki and see if you can also obtain the koseki for any other direct ancestors. For example, the koseki of your Japanese grandfather would also indicate your grandfather’s parents names. You can then request the koseki for your grandfather’s father if he was born in 1872 or later. Koseki records can only go as far back as the 1870s. They don’t have records from the Edo (samurai) Period.
• Note that certain dates on the koseki may only indicate when the respective information was entered in the koseki and not the actual date of birth, death, etc. Need to read it carefully.
• The koseki might not be complete or up to date if family members back then didn’t update it. Names of known children, death dates, etc., might be missing.

*If the city hall cannot find the koseki for your ancestor, your ancestor’s name or address or both are probably mistaken. Best to know the Japanese characters for the name, and make sure the ancestral village or place is within the city/town.

*If you know the modern address of your immigrant ancestor, go to Step 5.

Step 5: Go to a Legal Affairs Bureau office to obtain a copy of the real property registry record for the address.

The Legal Affairs Bureau (Homu-kyoku 法務局) is where you can find out who currently owns the property or home at your immigrant ancestor’s address. If the owner’s family name is the same as your immigrant ancestor’s, then it’s likely the current owner or occupant is your relative.

The Legal Affairs Bureau keeps records (fudosan toki 不動産登記) of past and current owners of each piece of real estate in Japan. This information is freely available to the public. You can go to any Legal Affairs Bureau office in Japan and check who owns the real estate property.

It’s for people buying real estate who need to make sure they are buying the property from the rightful owner. It’s to prevent real estate fraud.

In Shiga, there are six Legal Affairs Bureau offices. You can go to any one. In Hikone, the Legal Affairs Bureau (大津地方法務局 彦根支局) is near JR Minami-Hikone Station. Open 9:00 am–5:00 pm, Mon–Fri., closed on Sat., Sun., and national holidays.

• After submitting a simple application form, it takes about 30 to 60 min. to receive the real property registry record (fudosan toki 不動産登記) on paper.
• If the current owner of the home has the same family name as your immigrant ancestor, you should contact this person to see if he/she is a long-lost relative. (Proceed to Step 6.)
• The bureau office may also have a copy of the map book for the city/town: Zenrin Jutakuchi-zu (ゼンリン住宅地図 – 滋賀県 彦根市) with detailed maps showing house numbers and the owner’s name.
• If the family name is different, he/she might not be a relative. But you can still visit the neighborhood to see where your ancestor came from. It’s up to you if you still want to try and meet the current occupant/owner.

Step 6: Contact the local community center near the address.

Although you might feel excited and want to visit the home of your possible relative ASAP, it might be too disturbing to walk up and knock on the door out of the blue. They might not even answer the door for strangers. Best not to start off on the wrong foot.

The possible relative might also think that you’re trying claim an inheritance of that house or property. You want to calm such fears. You also don’t know if the possible relative is normal/friendly/sociable or not.

So my advice is to first try and find an intermediary such as the nearest community center/association or Buddhist temple who might know your possible relative(s). In Japan, it’s a lot easier to go through a trustworthy intermediary instead of going directly as a complete stranger.

In Shiga as well, people are known to be insular (閉鎖的) and may have an attitude toward outsiders or strangers. However, all it takes is a proper ice breaker or introduction and they will usually open up to you. Don’t be brash, haughty, loud, or pushy. Take a soft approach and go with the flow.

By meeting people in the neighborhood beforehand, you might be able to find out more about the possible relatives and they may even put you in touch with them. In rural neighborhoods especially, most everyone knows everyone.

Most neighborhoods have a local community association (自治会 or 町内会) that meets at a local community center (自治会館). They are active in neighborhood beautification, crime prevention, supervising kids walking to school, fire prevention, and local events and festivals. They pretty much know most everyone in their area.

The local community center may or may not be staffed. Google Maps might have the phone number. If not, contact the city/town hall and ask. In the case of Hikone City Hall, contact the Machizukuri Suishina-ka (まちづくり推進課) department at 0749-30-6117.

• Call the local community association in Japanese and introduce yourself and explain that you’re looking for ancestral roots in that neighborhood. Mention your immigrant ancestor’s name and address and ask if they know the current residents.
• If they do know the current residents, ask them for a meetup and to put you in touch with your possible relatives.
• Also ask the community center staff to put you in touch with the local Buddhist temple. (They might even take you there by car or on foot.)

Step 7: Contact the neighborhood Buddhist temple.

Neighborhood Buddhist temples are worth contacting mainly for two reasons:

1. They may have a record of posthumous names (homyo 法名 for Jodo Shinshu or kaimyo 戒名 for other Buddhist sects) of your deceased ancestors. It may indicate more information about your ancestors.
2. They might know about your ancestral grave.

• Check if your immigrant ancestor was a member of any Buddhist church in your country (such as Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples of Canada or Buddhist Churches of America). Japanese immigrants tended to congregate in certain areas (Japantown, etc.) where a Buddhist temple was established to hold religious and social gatherings. Check which Buddhist sect that temple belonged to. It could be Jodo Shinshu (Nishi or Higashi), Nichiren, etc. Note that the Buddhist temple back then might not exist today.
• Check for any Buddhist temples in your ancestor’s neighborhood in Shiga. Find out the temple’s Buddhist sect. Focus on the temple belonging to the same Buddhist sect as your immigrant ancestor’s Buddhist church in North America.

• Contact the ancestral neighborhood’s Buddhist temple and ask if it has a record (kakocho 過去帳) of posthumous Buddhist names (homyo 法名 for Jodo Shinshu or kaimyo 戒名 for other Buddhist sects) of its members. If yes, ask if there are any posthumous names for your ancestor(s). And if there’s any record of your ancestors making any donations to the temple.
• Ask the temple if there are any ancestral graves bearing the name(s) of your immigrant ancestors or relatives.
• If there’s an ancestral grave, find out who is paying the maintenance fee. That person is likely your relative. Try to visit the grave or go with your long-lost relative.

Step 8: Get in touch with the possible relative living at the address and ask if he/she really is a relative.

• If the local community association and the neighborhood Buddhist temple cannot provide a phone number or put you in touch with the person(s) living at the ancestral address, send a letter (in Japanese) by postal mail to introduce yourself.
  This is better than visiting the home directly and knocking on the door out of the blue. It should take the letter one or two days to reach the address if sent within Japan.
• Introduce yourself and mention the names of people who would be mutual ancestors. Ask if he/she has heard of any emigrant relatives. Give your name and hotel phone number and room number.
• If you cannot visit Shiga long enough to do this, include a self-addressed (air mail), stamped envelope (with Japanese stamps) for a reply. Plan another visit to Shiga if the person is an actual relative.

Step 9: Meet your long-lost relatives!

• If your long-lost relative(s) turns out to be an actual relative, set up a meeting.
• Bring omiyage gift as a gesture of appreciation. Usually edibles.
• Bring some of your family photos of your immigrant ancestors and family documents to prove that you’re for real.
• Be prepared to show a family tree of what you know so far, and try to have them fill in any blanks.
• Bring your mobile phone with fully-charged batteries to take pictures and videos of your newly discovered relatives and their old photo albums. And to use the translate app.
• Exchange contact information.
• Ask them to take you to the family grave.
• Encourage your relatives to visit you in North America.

Step 10: Visit your ancestral grave if known, preferably with your newly discovered relatives.

• Ask your relatives to take you to the ancestral grave.
• At the gravesite, record the location on Google Maps, etc. (Take a screenshot of your current location on the map.) Pray and pay your respects at the grave.
• Take photos of the names and dates on the gravestone.
• Offer to help pay the annual maintenance fee.

FAQ

How long would the above steps take if everything goes smoothly?

Maybe about a week. But you also need pre-trip preparatory time looking for family documents, old photos, looking up contact phone numbers in Shiga, finding a local guide or translator (if you’re not fluent in Japanese), and making travel plans.

I know which village my ancestor came from, but not the house number.

You can still try and see if the city/town hall has a koseki. If not, you can still try Steps 6 and 7 and talk to people (preferably old-timers) in the neighborhood to see if they know any families by that name. It gets tricky though if the neighborhood or enclave has multiple or many families with the same family name and are not necessarily related.

Should I hire a genealogy service to do all this for me?

You can ask what they can and cannot do for you based on the family information you have. But I’m told that it can be a hit-or-miss and you still end up paying a substantial consulting fee.

If you’re Canadian, the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre in Burnaby, Canada offers family history consultation:
https://centre.nikkeiplace.org/research/family-history/

It’s actually more fun, adventurous, educational, and interesting to do the legwork yourself. There’s an element of mystery, anticipation, and excitement as you make new discoveries one by one. It can be rewarding whether you’re successful or not.

How do I find a translator or local guide to help me?

If you’re not fluent in Japanese, hiring a local guide or translator will make it a lot easier. You can ask the local international association, tour guide association, or me for recommendations. Expect to pay at least ¥20,000 to ¥40,000 per day.

How should I get the koseki translated into English?

A Japan-based genealogy service or your local guide/translator should be able to translate it. Or you could ask your nearest nikkei museum or Japanese culture center for recommendations for translators. Older koseki is usually handwritten in old-style Japanese which can be difficult to translate with a translation app. The city hall staff or your translator/guide may be able to translate the essential information on the spot.

What else should I see while in Shiga?

Japanese Canadians, Japanese Americans, and other nikkei descendants having roots in Shiga should find out how to get to their ancestral hometown via public transportation and tour the hometown’s major sights.

Each of the 19 cities and towns in Shiga have tourist attractions worth visiting. Shiga Prefecture is noted for Japan’s largest lake (Lake Biwa or Biwako 琵琶湖), major Buddhist temples (World Heritage Site and National Treasures), traditional arts and crafts, pottery, festivals, and food like funazushi, the origin of sushi.

You should set aside at least a few days to tour Shiga and see how scenic and interesting your ancestral hometown and prefecture really are. Perhaps your new relatives can take you around as well. Do it before you get too old or while you’re still young and energetic enough to walk a lot.

The good news is that Shiga is largely rural and off-the-beaten path. No large crowds like Kyoto. However, public transportation in Shiga is less frequent and does not reach everywhere in the prefecture. You will likely require a taxi at one time or another and not all train stations have a taxi.

You can stay at any hotel in Shiga and reach anywhere within the prefecture for a day trip. Hikone, Maibara, Otsu, and Kusatsu Stations are good tourist bases with convenient hotels nearby.

What’s the basic history of Japanese emigration from Shiga Prefecture to other countries?

Coming soon.

Reference

• Nikkei National Museum & Culture Centre in Burnaby near Vancouver: https://centre.nikkeiplace.org/
• https://centre.nikkeiplace.org/research/japanese-canadian-timeline/
• https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/japanese-canadians
• https://najc.ca/japanese-canadian-history/
• https://thecanadian.cccj.or.jp/nagano-manzos-first-japanese-immigrant-canada/
• https://jccc.on.ca/heritage/exhibitions/online-exhibition
• https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A2%E3%83%A1%E3%83%AA%E3%82%AB%E6%9D%91_(%E7%BE%8E%E6%B5%9C%E7%94%BA)
• http://www.v-shinpo.com/local/704-2012-08-17-19-12-22