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Questions about family name 2018/3/12 10:50
I would like to find out where my family is from, who my ancestors were, and where can I find this information. Please assist me in a time of need! Thank you.
by Toki808 (guest)  

Re: Questions about family name 2018/3/12 17:09
You have provided no information to go on.

I'd suggest that you start by talking with your family. Ask you parents, grandparents, and so on for information. Also ask for copies of their old documents (koseki, if they're Japanese, or birth certificates, marriage certificates, etc).
Once you have some concrete information, you may be able to tap into an online genealogy forum or a site such as https://www.familysearch.org/ and find relatives, although with Japanese family roots it can be a heck of a lot harder than with European roots.

by Namae (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Questions about family name 2018/3/12 19:56
Sorry, I thought I put my kanji in there but my Kanji is “oŠμ. I donft speak Japanese and canft read it, the only info I can get is from my great uncle but even then he doesnft have much information. My great grandfather was from Kumamoto. His name was Kamezo Toki.
by Toki808 (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Questions about family name 2018/3/12 20:25
The following site - having entered your surname, indicates that there are about 70 people who share your name, and that it is ranked 38,194th - so quite rare.

https://myoji-yurai.net/searchResult.htm?myojiKanji=%E7%99%BB%E5%96%9C

by Paul (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Questions about family name 2018/3/12 21:08
I wonder what country your great grandfather traveled to from Kumamoto.

In any case, the best thing is to trace from your copy of your koseki (official Japanese family registration). The city hall of your the "hon-seki" of the person in issue, which is indicated on the koseki, can help you.

If you don't have the koseki copy, try this:
Try searching old records of your family through websites such as ancestry.com or FamilySearch.org. It would be ideal if any of your deceased ancestors ever lived in the U.S., because that's where most of their data comes from. Or if your family were in a different country, try and see if that country has a similar system. (In Japan, they don't.) The names, however, are often misspelled in the website. Try alternatives and try again from time to time, because data gets updated.

Once you have all the evidence you were able to get hold of by yourself, try libraries. According to my personal experience, I've found that librarians are the most helpful when trying to find your roots. When contacting libraries in Japan, you should have your letters translated to Japanese. The ultimate ideal goal is to find your family grave in Japan, which most likely has its record stored at its local temple.

I hope your search is worth while.
by Uco rate this post as useful

Re: Questions about family name 2018/3/12 22:48
My great grandfather actually traveled to Lihue, Hawaii. Most of my family came from Japan to Hawaii. Unfortunately most of them are deceased and I have no info on where anyone is buried or anything. I know that there are different Tokifs around the world, some not even related to me. Found some people on Facebook but they said that they are not related to my family. Hopefully I can get more info along the way when I research more and more online. Thank you for helping me !
Mahalo!
by Toki808 (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Questions about family name 2018/3/12 23:35
So I did a little digging on ancestry and it says my great grandfather was from
Nozu Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Japan
by Toki808 (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Questions about family name 2018/3/13 10:35
there is an address: ŒF–{Œ§”ͺ‘γŒS•Xμ’¬–μ’Γ, Kumamoto pref., Yatushiro-gun, Hikawa-cho, Nozu.
http://www.hikawacyou.hinokuni-net.jp/

you can see the mail address here. but, you shouldn't think they understand English well.
http://www.hikawacyou.hinokuni-net.jp/life/pub/Detail.aspx?c_id=19&id=...
the old koseki data (dead persons' data) are not computerized. they have to find the information by hand.

How do you find the address ? if there is a full address and a full name (in Japanese), you can easily get the information !
by ken (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Questions about family name 2018/3/13 21:06
Hi again,

Get someone to translate your message and write to the library in Hikawa-cho. Tell them what you want to do, and ask them how you can do it. Here is their contact form. Good luck!
http://www.hikawa-lib.jp/contact/
by Uco rate this post as useful

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