Temple Registers (Kakucho) and Going Beyond the Koseki

Official koseki records generally begin in the Meiji era. To research earlier Japanese ancestors, genealogists often turn to temple registers known as kakucho and other local historical materials.

These sources can sometimes extend family history research into the Edo period—occasionally hundreds of years—depending on what survives in a given region.

Discover Japan Roots combines koseki expertise with advanced historical research when you want to go deeper into your Japanese ancestry.