Like Branches On A Tree, We May Grow In Different Directions, Yet Our Roots Remain As One.

Probably one of the most unique and meaningful aspects of this trip for me was my attempt to find out more about my family history in Japan. As previously mentioned in my ‘Bon Appetit’ post, I was born into a Japanese American family that has been long established in the United States. My great great grandparents were the ones to emigrate from Hiroshima, Japan (issei), thus making me gosei, or fifth generation Japanese American (in order – issei, nissei, sansei, yonsei, gosei). Last summer at our annual family reunion, I decided I wanted to undertake the task of updating our Stateside family tree, starting with my great great grandparents and leading up to the most recent generation (which I think is mine at the moment). After starting the project, I became increasingly engrossed in our family history and genealogy. When I decided to join Dr. Katz and the group traveling to Japan, I realized that I just had to try to take my search international and track down our family lineage in Japan, as far beyond my great great grandparents as possible.

With the help of Mai, my personal pen pal for the trip and a wonderful newfound friend, I began the process of seeking out that history. From some general searches online, it seemed that copies of official documentation tracing my ancestry to the relatives who came to the States was a must – birth certificates, death certificates, passports, etc. I was able to acquire documentation for every generation after my great great grandparents, which I hoped was enough – no one knows what happened to all of their paperwork and records in the years since they passed away. Mai, being the wonderful helper that she is, called the local municipal building in Hiroshima (where they usually keep family records) to find out if it’d be possible for me to obtain a copy of our family koseki while I was visiting. We knew we’d have to go on a second trip beyond our originally scheduled one, as our original visit was scheduled on a Sunday, when government/official buildings are not open. Unfortunately, she was told that I could only gain access to my family ‘record’ if I had a family ‘register’ on file – basically, an active or current record of my living relatives in Japan. Since I have no idea who or where my living relatives might be, that proved to be a dead end, seeing as how my great great grandparents emigrated around the 1890’s.

Then, by a stroke of luck, while searching through my great grandpa’s papers for his birth certificate, I found his own attempt at a family tree search that he’d started before I was born. In the folder, I discovered a steady correspondence with what appeared to be an old friend of his living in Tokyo, who seemed to have helped him in his search. I also found a typed copy of what appeared to be a family tree packet, mostly in Japanese, which was presumably sent by the same friend (it wasn’t a koseki – those are almost always handwritten records). I brought copies of this packet with me for Mai to help translate. With her assistance, I learned that my family dates back (by many generations) to an old samurai family, started at some point by a descendant of one of the emperors – in fact, Mai’s ancestors can be linked back to the same samurai family, the Taira clan! We also discovered that one of my ancestors played a part in the most recent rebuilding and restoration of the Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island in Hiroshima. It gave so much more meaning and a sense of connection to the shrine and that area when we visited it as a group. In the weirdest way, it almost felt like coming home – I felt like I was sending out a single thread across the centuries to ancestors I’ll never know, and also strengthening the threads that still connect me to the family I do know, both living and nonliving. In particular, it felt like my great grandpa (Poppa Great, as I called him), was holding my hand and guiding me on this journey to our family and our past. I hadn’t felt his presence so strongly in such a long time – he’s been gone almost 10 years, and I miss him every single day that passes, along with my great grandma. Mai – if you ever happen to read this – thank you, forever and always, for helping me find this connection to my family and my origins.

Even more exciting, and pending further exploration, was the discovery by Mai and me that my Poppa Great had actually obtained a copy of our family koseki at some point in time – probably the same exact one I would have gotten had I been able to gain permission at the municipal building. I will be sending scans to Mai for further translation – again, Mai, thank you so much for helping me with this.

Finally, like the trooper that she is, Mai agreed to split from our larger group towards the end of our visit in Hiroshima, in order to travel to the smaller area (not sure of the right label – prefecture, ward?) where my great great grandparents were born. Presumably, it was a small town or rural area back when they lived there. Now, it’s a pretty sizeable city, packed with buildings that were almost certainly all built long after they left the country. We tried to find at least one structure that might have existed from their time, but didn’t have much success – I don’t know if that area was destroyed by WWII or not, or where to really look for any older buildings. Nonetheless, just being it that area, knowing I could be occupying the same physical space that they might have over 100 years before I was born was…indescribable. Although I enjoyed every minute of that trip beyond my family tree search, I think I can safely say that it would not have been as meaningful and soul changing if not for my journey and Mai’s never ending help.