Originally appearing on written record in 111 AD, Japan is one of the oldest countries in the world. Generally a person's family can be found in the Koseki or family registry.
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General aspects of Japanese genealogy
Genealogical research is affected by several different factors and historical events. There are several key traditions, people, and historical events to consider when researching and delving into Japanese genealogy:
- Freedom of religion - This was not introduced into Japan until around 1889, during the Meiji period. During the Meiji period Article 28 of the 1889 constitution was signed. Additionally, the founding of over fifty churches was symbolic and coincided with this newfound freedom of religion. In Goto specifically, there were over fifty churches built[1].The first church built after the signing of Article 28 was Nihon Kirisuto Kyokai in Yokohama, Japan.
- No surnames - From the time Japan was founded as a country until 1868 most citizens in Japan didn't have surnames or middle names.
- Contextual usage - In the majority of situations given names are not used unless a certain contextual exception applies such as:
- There is a strong familiarity between the two people communicating.
- The person being addressed has is of a younger age or status.
- Samurai- While they may not always be reliable the Japanese have such great genealogy records due in major part to the samurai. The samurai can trace their lineage back to the late BC era. This helped to keep things organized. However, at the same time, there are still many errors and discrepancies prior to the Meiji period. Specifically, during the Edo period Japanese genealogies created are not reliable in it of themselves[2]. Examples of this are the Takeda and Hojo clans.
- Adoption - This was a common practice - Adoption was common since it helped continue the lineage of that family; especially if their are no sons in the family. In many current day western societies adoption is due to reasons such as: a child being an orphan, being unwanted or not cared for by the biological parents.
Additionally, once a certain age was reached, changing names was a common occurrence for Japanese men but not for women. The main exception to this was empresses, those who joined the clergy or if one was adopted into another family. One area which may be interesting to explore is the origins of Japanese food culture.
Food origins in Japanese genealogy
Food in Japanese culture is interesting in that it may be seen as representative of Japanese genealogy. The notion of One famous type of Japanese cuisine is that of Kaiseki; a fine dining experience that is based on the seasons. Within Kaiseki there is a fundamental Japanese philosophy of Wabi Sabi; essentially saying to make the simple complicated and the complicated simple and has an underlying notion of imperfections. So too, in Japanese genealogy there's been a reversal in naming conventions depending on that specific, respective area of Japanese society. Depending on one's perspective this has either gone from complicate to simple or vice versa.
Potential errors in Japanese genealogy
While many records prior to the meiji period are very organized, there is great potential for genealogical errors depending on interfamily and/or clan relations. Additionally, in the early 20th century there were political strategies and events which would further complicate the goal of diving into ones Japanese- American genealogy. Much of these errors during the edo period occurred when competing clans or houses were sometimes left out of genealogical records of their respective rival clan.
Examples where potential errors in genealogy may have occurred include but are not limited to:
- The Takeda Clan
- The Uesugi Clan
Takeda Clan genealogy
Here we see a clan that was originally disconnected but then later its genealogy organized by the Kawakubo .In later years, the Kawakubo incorporated the Takeda clan into specific provinces ( i.e. Kai province), organized them and generally re-arranged the Takeda's family history. Much of these actions have the potential to be politically and/or status motivated towards service to the Tokugawa shogun. The Kawakubo genealogy was produced and recognized at the end of the 19th century and shortly thereafter would change their name to Takeda[3].
Uesugi Clan genealogy
The Uesugi clan of Yonezawa is another example. Here we see a very straightforward lineage within the Kan'ei genealogy. However, we also see that Ueusigi Yonezawa was a descendant of Ueusigi Kenshin. Kenshin was originally born into a rival house, that being the Nagao family. This is similar to other samurai and clans prior to the meiji period, adoption was a common practice.[4]
Post-Meiji Period genealogy
In the early 20th century President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Gentleman's Agreement of 1907. This agreement essentially a political exchange between the United States and Japan. Roosevelt wanted to curtail the amount of Japanese immigrants to the United states out of economic concerns.
This was mainly out of economic concerns and simultaneously desegregate the west . Specifically, in the west coast there was a great influx of Japanese immigrants in the early 20th century. The agreement said that certain businessmen, professionals, along with relatives of those already working in the USA could be granted visas ( i.e. children and wives).
This agreement had the intention of a double edged sword effect; the Japanese would retain their citizens ,the USA would simultaneously desegregate its growing Japanese population based in California; and a perceived internal economic imbalance would be re-established.
Japanese naming conventions
While currently the oldest living person Japanese person in the world is Tomikoo Itooka, the oldest Japanese person ever was Kane Tanaka(1903-2022). Both surnames, and specific registration requirements depending on the time period would determine the naming conventions during that particular time.
Japanese surnames
One main difference of opinion on Japanese surnames is whether to revert back to the Japanese style of naming that was done 150 years ago or to keep the western style of surnames. Even within government there is a difference of opinion: While the Ministry of Education has changed names on it's site back to the Japanese style, those listed in the Cabinet lineup on the Prime Minister's site are still using the western style[5].
Name registration requirements
A key point in Japanese history was the Meji period(1868-1912). During this time period Japanese citizens were required their given name first and family name second. Some attribute the change in names as an appeasement towards western society. It wasn't until 2019 that the law was changed to revert back to Japanese sur-name comes first and given name comes second. This change applies to all official documents and was implemented on September 6, 2019. It is a law that allows people to have both their married name and their own name on identification documents[6].
Important figures in Japanese history
While they were samurai figures such as Oda Nobunaga and Miyamoto Musashi were key figures in Japanese history.
Japanese naming traditions
See also Japanese Genealogy
Japanese names and their application in present-day Japan is mostly divided into two categories: On the one side, there are the nobility and samurai. On the other side are the lower and middle class Japanese. It wasn't until several hundred years into the existence of samurai that Japanese were required to register their family names. This was known as The Ordinance of Civil Names for Commoners.
Additionally, once a certain age was reached, changing names was a common occurrence for Japanese men but not for women. While allowed in certain circumstances it was difficult and sometimes frowned upon[7]
Current-day Japanese names
While there are many places around the world that provide an option for a married woman to keep her surname or change it, Japan requires that the surname is chosen at marriage; whether that of the husband or the wife. Japan allows for the maiden name to appear near the married name on documents but it's often not accepted in other countries[8].
Examples where this was reported to have come up as an issue include:
- The submission of academic papers.
- Signing contracts.
- Admission to business conferences.
See also
Explore More abut Japanese Genealogy
- Japanese American Research webinar at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- The Gentleman's Agreement of 1907 webinar at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- Child Adoption in Japan
- Naming Conventions in Cultural Atlas
- Japanese Fine Dining in The Eater
References
- ↑ https://www.legacytree.com/blog/japanese-genealogy-explained
- ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Japan_Compiled_Genealogies#cite_note-1
- ↑ https://www.jstor.org/stable/43917744?seq=18
- ↑ https://www.jstor.org/stable/43917744?seq=19
- ↑ https://apnews.com/general-news-c8cec6f9137e47158186dd509aaa72b4
- ↑ https://time.com/6898675/japan-surname-couples-lawsuit-womens-rights-business/
- ↑ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2024/02/07/japan/japan-single-surnames-marriage-change/
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/20/japan-married-surname-law-change