HAWAII-L Archives

From: Trish Kashima <>
Subject: Suggestions for Japanese ancestors
Date: Sat, 09 Aug 2003 19:45:40 -0500

The following may be of help to someone who has ancestors from Japan who came to Hawaii.

Try the Japanese consulate in Honolulu. I wrote to them with the head of household name, a short listing of the children and the approximate date they came over to Hawaii from the census records as well as the location they settled in. It seems to have been the custom for the immigrants to check in at the consulate. What I found interesting is that the immigrants took birth information on each child born in Hawaii to the consulate (or mailed?? to the consulate) and that information was forwarded to the immigrants hometown and registered there. This resulted in my mother in law's birth record being recorded in Japan as well as in Hawaii. For instance, the Kurosu family came in 1907 (from census) and went to Maui working the sugar plantation.

When I requested the records in Japan I had to give the descent from the ancestor I was requesting information about complete with certified birth records of each direct generation back to the ancestor. So far, it has resulted in information back to the early 1800's. The records are nominal (about $10 per generation including the children).

I understand that there are passport records available from the early 1900's in Tokyo, but about half are missing or destroyed.

The first son usually kept the original home and often descendants still live there. As we are now doing, you could contact modern Japanese cousins this way.

The second, third and fourth (and so on) sons seemed to have often been adopted into their wives families, complete with taking over her surname. This is also shown in the records in Japan. In our case, it shows Gozamon Kurosu, born Jan 25, 1844, adopted father Gozamon Kurosu, adopted mother Tsuya daughter of Tazaemon Itoh. Gozamon Kurosu is shown as the second son of Kinomatsu Chiba. Gozamon's wife was Kishi, first daughter of Gozaemon Kurosu and Tsuya Itoh Kurosu.

Of Gozamon's children, the first son stayed at the original house, and descendants are still there. His second son married an Inoue, and he took on that surname. Next son married, was adopted by wife's parents, then divorced about a year later with the adoption being dropped. He marries again a year later, keeping his surname and immigrating to Hawaii very soon after marriage.

There seems (at least in this family) to have been divorces in the mid 1800's to early 1900's, in Japan. Also seems to have been several cousins marrying each other, and they seemed to stay in the same towns or neighboring towns.

Also seems like several of the same family, or some from his family and som from her family all immigrating at the same time. In the case of the Kurosu and Kanno families, they were all working together and living very near each other according to the census.

I have been unable to get more information so far other than birth, marriage, death, adoption, divorce records from the town. Nothing on occupations or daily life so far, and I am hoping that conversation with Japanese cousins may be able to help on that matter.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Trish Elliott-Kashima, Lawrenceburg, TN

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• Suggestions for Japanese ancestors by Trish Kashima <>