Why Japanese Ancestry Research Is Challenging: A Comprehensive Guide to the Language Barrier

Introduction

All of non-Japanese people casually says “Tokyo” or “Kyoto,” but do you actually know what these names mean?

Japanese people naturally understand, and Chinese people probably recognize the meaning when they see the kanji characters.

And, we frequently receive questions from overseas descendants of Japanese and international genealogists asking, “Can Japanese ancestry research be conducted the same way as research in other Asian countries?” However, due to the unique characteristics of the Japanese language, Japanese ancestry research requires a completely different approach from other Asian regions.

This article explains why Japanese ancestry research requires specialized knowledge, focusing on the structural features of the Japanese language and their impact on genealogical research.

1. Fundamental Differences Between Japanese and Other Asian Languages

Linguistic Situations in Europe vs. Asia

In Europe, Romance languages (French, Italian, Spanish, etc.) and Germanic languages (English, German, Dutch, etc.) generally share common writing systems. Their vocabularies mutually influence each other, allowing for some degree of mutual comprehension.

However, the linguistic situation in Asia is completely different.

The Isolation of Japanese

Japanese differs fundamentally from neighboring countries’ languages in both pronunciation and grammar.

While Japanese shares the kanji writing system with Chinese, this is only a superficial commonality. The character forms differ, and the same kanji often have significantly different meanings. The grammatical structure and phonetic system are entirely separate.

Classic Example: The Kanji “手紙”

• Japanese: letter
• Chinese: toilet paper

Countless such semantic discrepancies exist.

Limitations of Written Communication

There is also the problem that many Chinese characters are not used at all in Japan, so they are unknown to Japanese people.

There’s a misconception that “since we share the kanji cultural sphere, we can manage through written communication.” However, due to the frequent semantic discrepancies mentioned above, accurate communication is impossible without specialized training.

In business or legal document interpretation, such misunderstandings can lead to fatal consequences.

Relations with Other Asian Languages

With Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, and other Asian languages, there are virtually no commonalities in writing systems, pronunciation, or grammar. Communication is impossible without specialized study.

Important Conclusion: The Genealogical Institute of Japan does not handle cases involving Asian regions outside of Japan. We have no knowledge of the languages or local conditions of Asian countries other than Japan.

2. Limitations of Translation Tools and the Difficulty of Japanese

Problems with Machine Translation

When translating into Japanese using common translation tools like Google Translate, the result is almost always unnatural Japanese.

How Japanese Recipients React: Japanese recipients instantly recognize when your text is written in unnatural Japanese. This directly affects business credibility.

Pitfalls of AI Tools

Recent AI translation tools can generate natural Japanese, but they have a different problem: they tend to arbitrarily soften or exaggerate degree expressions.

Example:

• Original text: “all”
• AI translation: “most” or “many”

Such subtle nuance changes can cause serious misunderstandings in ancestry research, which requires accurate interpretation of legal documents and family registers.

3. Limitations of Romanization (Alphabetization of Pronunciation)

Distinction Between Long and Short Vowels

Japanese strictly distinguishes between long and short vowels. Since many foreign languages lack this distinction, romanization loses this information.

Example:

• おばさん (obasan): aunt
• おばあさん (obaasan): grandmother

 

• 佐渡 (Sado): Island name of Niigata or family name
• 茶道 (Sado-): Tea ceremony

It is difficult to accurately represent this difference in the widely used romanization systems. In the prevalent romanization systems, both are written as “Obasan,” so non-native Japanese speakers cannot distinguish whether it’s a long or short vowel.
It may be true that it would be possible to write two vowels, but this is not the way it is written in common writing systems. So when written in the common writing systems, you cannot distinguish between long and short vowels.

Homophone Problems

Countless words exist that are the same when written in phonetic script (romaji) but differ in meaning depending on the kanji used or accent.

Example: The sound “kami”:

• 髪 (hair)
• 紙 (paper)
• 神 (god)
• 上 (upper / superior)

Alphabetic notation cannot distinguish these.

Vowel Omission in Eastern Japan

In Eastern Japan (especially the Tohoku and Kanto regions), vowels are often omitted.

Example:

• The surname “菊池”
• Standard pronunciation: Kikuchi
• Actual pronunciation in Eastern Japan: Khkchi (the “i” and “u” sounds nearly disappear)

When non-Japanese speakers pronounce it using standard romaji reading, it may sound like a completely different name to Japanese people.

Importance of Accent

Japanese accent is pitch accent, not stress accent like English. The same character string can have different meanings depending on accent position.

Romanization conveys none of this information.

4. The Ideographic Nature of Kanji: Characters with Meaning

Kanji Are Not Merely Phonetic Characters

While the alphabet basically represents sounds, kanji are characters with meaning (ideographs).

In Japanese official documents (family registers, removed family registers, old family registers, etc.), personal names and place names are basically written in kanji.

Examples of Personal and Place Names:

• 山田 (Yamada): “山” (mountain) + “田” (rice field)
• 木村 (Kimura): “木” (tree) + “村” (village)

Fatal Deficiencies of Romanization

Romanization completely loses these meanings.

In ancestry research, the meanings contained in the kanji of personal and place names provide important clues such as:

• Estimating place of origin (surnames derived from place names)
• Estimating occupation (surnames derived from occupations)
• Estimating family’s social status
• Identifying registered domicile

With romanization alone, you cannot access any of this information.

5. Complexity of the Japanese Writing System

Using Five Types of Characters Simultaneously

Japanese simultaneously uses the following five types of characters:

1. Kanji: Characters with meaning
2. Hiragana: Phonetic script (mainly used for grammatical elements and native Japanese words)
3. Katakana: Phonetic script (mainly used for foreign loanwords and emphatic expressions)
4. Alphabet: Mainly used as symbols and abbreviations
5. Arabic numerals: Numerical notation

Distinguishing Between Hiragana and Katakana

Hiragana and katakana are separate character systems representing the same sounds.

Usage of Hiragana: In European language terms, they represent parts corresponding to verb/adjective/adverb inflections, auxiliary verbs, and prepositions.

Usage of Katakana: Mainly used when writing foreign words, foreign concepts, or expressions to be emphasized.

Furigana (Ruby Characters)

Small hiragana or katakana are often written next to kanji to show pronunciation for readers who don’t know how to read the kanji, or for difficult kanji. This is called “furigana” or “ruby.”

Importance in Ancestry Research: Old family registers and documents often lack furigana, making the identification of how to read difficult personal and place names an important research challenge.

Peculiarity of Women’s Names

Many women’s names consist only of hiragana or katakana.

Examples:

• とめ (Tome)
• まつ (Matsu)

While kanji representations may exist for these, they are sometimes registered in family registers using only hiragana or katakana.

Hentaigana: Complexity Until the Edo Period

Until the Edo period, “hentaigana” (variant kana) existed—many times more varieties of hiragana and katakana than today. There were multiple different characters for the same sound, and people chose which characters to use based on mood and aesthetic sense.

Impact on Ancestry Research: Knowledge of hentaigana is essential when deciphering old documents from before the Edo period. Since it’s not taught in general Japanese language education, specialized training is required.

6. Kanji Notation of Personal and Place Names and Search Difficulties

All Personal and Place Names Are Recorded in Kanji

In Japanese official documents (family registers, removed family registers, old family registers, etc.), personal names and place names are basically written in kanji.

Importance of Kanji Meanings

Non-Japanese people casually say “Tokyo” or “Kyoto,” but few understand their meanings.

Kyoto: Both “京(Kyo)” and “都(to)” mean “capital.” In other words, Kyoto is a place name meaning “capital,” —literally “the Capital of Capital”.

Tokyo: “東(To)” means East and “京(kyo)” means Capital. It means “Eastern Capital” or “Capital in the East.”

Historical Background:
Since the relocation of the capital to Heian-kyo (平安京。peaceful capital. present-day Kyoto) in 794, no formal imperial edict of capital relocation or law designating Tokyo or any other city as the capital has ever been issued.
The Emperor’s throne is still located in the Kyoto Imperial Palace.
Therefore, some Kyoto citizens claim that “Japan’s capital is still Kyoto, and Tokyo is merely a secondary capital.”

There are Nishi-Tokyo city in Tokyo, it is written as “西東京,” where “西” means “West”, “東” means “East” and “京” means “capital”—literally “Western Eastern Capital” but “Western Tokyo” city.

 

Incidentally,
China’s Beijing is written as “北京,” where “北” means “north” and “京” means “capital”—”Northern Capital,” not the capital north of Kyoto but the capital north of Nanjing.
Nanjing is written as “南京,” where “南” means “south” and “京” means “capital”—”Southern Capital,” not the capital south of Kyoto but the capital north of Beijing.

Multiple readings of Kanji

Many Kanji have multiple readings.

For example, in Kyoto（京都）, the “京” can only be read as “kyo,” but the “都” is generally read in two ways: “to” or “miyako,” and in rare cases as “tsu.”
Furthermore, the “東” in Tokyo（東京） can be read in three ways: “higashi,” “to,” and “azuma.”

Homophone Problem: Search Difficulties

Even for the same pronunciation, countless kanji combinations exist.

Example: The surname “Sato”:

• 佐藤 (the most common family name in Japan:2 million people)
• 左藤
• 佐東
• 佐嶋
• 沙藤
• 左東
• 早藤
• 砂藤

Example: The given name “Miki”:

• 美紀
• 美樹
• 美希
• 幹
• 三木
• 未希
• 実紀

Existence of Difficult Readings and Phonetic Equivalents

Some names have readings completely different from the normal way of reading.

Examples:

• 小鳥遊 (Takanashi): “small birds playing” → “no hawks” as a phonetic equivalent
• 月見里 (Yamanashi): “village where the moon is visible” → “no mountains” as a phonetic equivalent

Even native Japanese speakers cannot imagine the reading or notation of such names, making searching impossible without knowing the kanji notation.

Fatal Problems in Ancestry Research

Searching for personal and place names without knowing the kanji notation is extremely difficult.

With romanization-only information:

• Cannot search family registers
• Cannot identify cemeteries
• Cannot investigate temple death registers
• Cannot investigate local historical documents

In other words, you cannot even begin genuine ancestry research.

7. Japanese Dialects: Regional Diversity

Diversity of Dialects

Japanese has extremely diverse dialects by region.

Most Challenging: Aomori Dialect

The most difficult to understand is the Aomori dialect (Tsugaru dialect). Even Japanese people from other regions feel it’s “like a foreign language” when they first hear it.

Example:

• Standard Japanese: “What are you doing?”
• Aomori dialect: “Nani shiterabe?” or “Nashiterabe?”

Other Distinctive Dialects

• Kansai dialect (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, etc.): Accent system completely different from standard language
• Kyushu dialect: Unique vocabulary and sentence endings
• Okinawan dialect: Significantly different from mainland Japanese, sometimes considered an independent language

Impact on Ancestry Research

Local historical documents and temple records may contain notations reflecting dialects. Also, understanding dialects is essential when conducting interviews with local elderly people during field research.

Summary

Do you now understand why Japanese ancestry research differs from other Asian countries and requires specialized knowledge?

Key Points:

• Japanese differs fundamentally from other Asian languages
• Complex writing system of kanji, hiragana, and katakana
• Romanization loses important information
• Due to homophone problems, searching without kanji notation is extremely difficult
• Limitations of translation tools
• Diversity due to dialects

If you want to investigate your Japanese roots or need research on Japanese ancestors, please consult the Genealogical Institute of Japan. Experts proficient in Japanese and Japan’s document systems will unravel the mysteries of your family lineage.