How to trace your ancestry through "Butai Rekisi" (Japanese Military Unit History)

We receive many inquiries from users about how to investigate the activities of Japanese military groups to which their grandfathers or fathers belonged. In such cases it is very useful to browse the series "Butai Rekisi" (Japanese Military Unit History), about which this article shall discuss both historically and in terms of database access.

To see the series, at your computer first open the JACAR homepage and click the search button at the top of page, so that the feature "Keyword Search" pops up. Next click the hierarchical structure of "Series" → "Subseries" → "Subject" on the left screen of "Layered Information" for a "Layered Search" list. Click on "Descending Order" and follow the following flow: The National Institute for Defense Studies → Ministry of Defense　Army Records (Rid of Dainikki) → Chuo(Genrral) → Zenpan(General) → Butai Rekisi (Japanese Military Unit History) (see [Image 1]).

The demobilization and repatriation of Japanese soldiers, sailors and civilian employees meant not only their return home but also social and financial assistance. Therefore in early post war period the Allied Powers assigned the Ministry of Welfare's Repatriation Relief Bureau with the task of confirming the identity of military personnel and corroborating their experiences.

To find written records in chronological order about when troops had been organized to take part in campaigns and how they were demobilized, click "Browse" on "File Information." On the screen will appear a "Layer Search" option on the Subject List. There is an additional way of searching for Japanese troops if one knows the military unit name to which a person belonged through some means (often from the content of a letter, postcard or small books). In such cases it is useful to run a keyword search for subjects, try "インドネシヤ" (see [Image 2])

It is also possible to perform a keyword search by troop code name or "Tsusho-go(common name and number)." Thease names had been used for keeping confidential information about troop strength and activities dating back to the Second Sino-Japanese War (Reference Code: C12121215400) (see [Image 3])

"150th Anniversary Exhibition of the Choshu Five's Voyage to the UK: The Five Samurai Engraved in History" (An Introduction)

2013 commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Choshu Five voyage to the UK. Our city of Hikari is the birthplace of Choshu Five member Ito Hirobumi, who went onto become the first prime minister of Japan; near the house where he was born now stands the Hirobumi Ito Museum. From September 3 to October 14 of 2013 our library held an introductory panel exhibition about the Choshu Five with the Hirobumi Ito Museum as well as with the Japan Center for Asian Historical Records (JACAR).

We introduced each member of the Choshu Five by exhibiting related books and illustrations in an arrangement that was designed to be easy to appreciate for people of all ages.

In the process of selecting documents for this exhibition, we searched for Ito Hirobumi on JACAR's website and consulted with JACAR staff members. We decided upon the following seven items:

Thanks to assistance from JACAR, we garnered favorable evaluations of our library by those interested in recent and contemporary history—as the exhibit displayed a high level of specialization. Some visitors asked about how to use the JACAR website for searches and we noticed that strong interest meant that JACAR leaflets placed in the exhibit were soon all taken.

At our library we provide reference services on a daily basis. For online services we highly recommend, with confidence and assurance, JACAR's valuable documents to users. We also have added a link to JACAR's homepage on our library's website and we wish to continue to utilize JACAR in many situations.

[Reports]

-EASTICA 11th General Conference & Seminar in Chengdu China (October 14-18)

In 2013 from October 14th to 18th, the State Archives Administration of China and Sichuan Provincial Archives hosted the 11th General Conference & Seminar of the East Asian Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives (EASTICA). This gathering in Chengdu, China was attended by approximately 130 people representing archives of ten member countries and regions. This group had four Japanese participants, notably including President Kato of the National Archives of Japan (NAJ) and a member of Japan Center for Asian Historical Records (JACAR).

On October 16th at the general conference, country and regional reports were delivered. There was a NAJ presentation delivered on digital archival initiatives and archiving of electronic public records in administrative organs.

Note: EASTICA is the regional branch of the International Council of Archives. It was established in July, 1993. There are five countries and two regions represented in EASTICA, which include Japan, China, South Korea, North Korea, Mongolia, Hong Kong, and Macao. The organization holds a general conference and an executive board meeting every other year.

-International Symposium in Taipei: "The 4th Annual Conference for Japanese Studies: Looking for the Possibility of International Japanese Studies" (November 8 - 9)

On November 8th and 9th, JACAR staff traveled to National Taiwan University to attend the international symposium "The 4th Annual Conference for Japanese Studies: Looking for the possibility of international Japanese studies." Over fifty scholars from Taiwan, Japan, Korea and the United States attended. Participants actively discussed specialized fields including history, literature, and international relations.

At the same time, Dr. Hirano and a JACAR staff visited the Archive of the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica Taiwan Historica and National Taiwan University Library, to investigate the condition of historical records related to Japan and exchange opinions about the situation of digitization with staff members of those organizations. Above three organizations are holding Japanese materials mainly created in the time of Japanese domination. They are also digitizing a part of those materials and releasing them on the internet. We will introduce the condition of those materials related to Japan in the section of "Information on Related Document Holdings".

[Publicity Work]

[Visitors]

The Condition of Japan Related Materials in Taiwan

JACAR's Director-general Kenichiro Hirano and a staff member visited three organizations holding materials related to Japan on November 2013. The pair from JACAR conducted interviews about archival digitization and investigated the conditions of materials related to Japan in Taiwan. The conditions of the three organizations visited are outlined below.

・The Archive of the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica（→Website）

The Archive of the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica has four collections: diplomatic records, economic records, geographical records, and donated materials. Materials related to Japan are included in diplomatic records and economic records.

The diplomatic records consist of the following document series clusters: "Documents created by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qing Dynasty" (総理各国事務衙門) (1836-1899), "Documents Created by Department of Foreign Affairs of Qing Dynasty" (外務部) (1900-1912), "Documents Created by the Peking Government's Department of Foreign Affairs" (北洋政府外交部) (1913-1927), and "Documents Created by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China" (中華民国外交部) (1928-1975). Each series contains diplomatic correspondence between China and Japan as well as documents related to Japan.

Materials related to Japan are also held in the economic materials category and include documents titled, "Wang Zhaoming Government Economic Department" (汪政府経済部門) and "The Delegation of the Republic of China stationed in Japan" (駐日代表団).

Regarding document digitization, over five million pages of diplomatic records have already gone through the process. Online search and browse features for documents are already available from the Qing Government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Department of Foreign Affairs. To browse this digital data, online user registration is required. Users sign up on the Archive of the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica homepage and sometimes within an hour access is granted.

While all Republic of China Ministry of Foreign Affairs documents were digitized before September 2012, they have not been released on the internet. However, it is possible to search and browse the documents at the reading room of the Archive of the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica

Currently, being digitized is "The Delegation of the Republic of China stationed in Japan" (駐日代表団). Those documents will be released on the internet as soon as digitization finishes.

・Taiwan Historica（→Website）

Taiwan Historica holds the following five collections related to the Japanese domination of Taiwan: "Documents Related to Taiwan-Governor's General Office" (台湾総督府档案), "Various Official Record Compilations of the Monopoly Bureau" (専売局公文類聚), "Documents related to The Taiwan Industry Promotion Co., Ltd." (台湾拓殖株式会社関係), "Taiwan-Governor's General Office Gazette" (台湾総督府府報), and "Special collection of Monopoly Bureau Gazette" (典蔵専売局局報). The collection "Various Official Record Compilations of the Monopoly Bureau" also includes documents created by other Japanese governmental organizations, such as the Korea-Governor's General Office and the Ministry of Finance.

The archive contains approximately 15,000 books and periodical publications including "Taiwan-Governor's General Office Gazette" (台湾総督府府報) and "Special collection of Monopoly Bureau Gazette" (典蔵専売局局報) created under Japanese rule. It is possible to examine those books and periodical publications in the reading room located on the archive's premises.

As for the digitization of those documents, "Taiwan-Governor's General Office Gazette" (台湾総督府档案) and "Special collection of Monopoly Bureau Gazette" (典蔵専売局局報) have already been finished. In addition approximately 95 percent of "Documents related to Taiwan-Governor's General Office" (台湾総督府档案) and "Various Official Record compilations of Monopoly Bureau" (専売局公文類聚) have been digitized. Although they are currently being scanned in color, monochrome digitization is complete for "Documents related to The Taiwan Industry Promotion Co., Ltd." (台湾拓殖株式会社関係).

All of the catalogue and document images mentioned above can be viewed free online, with the exception of "Documents related to Taiwan-Governor's General Office" (台湾総督府档案) which requires payment.

・National Taiwan University Library（→Website）

National Taiwan University Library holds materials collected by the former Taipei Imperial University as well as publications created by the Taiwan-Governor's General Office, besides, some donated collections that were collected and owned by former Taipei Imperial University faculty members. Materials collected by the former Taipei Imperial University include large number of written/ transcribed/ published materials of Japanese Edo Era, "Materials Related to Ryukyu" (琉球資料), "Statistical Data on Taiwan under Japanese Rule" (日本統治時期統計資料), etc. There are also research materials on Taiwanese cultural anthropology and on botany such as "Ino Kanori's Manuscripts" (伊能嘉矩手稿) and the "Tashiro Library" (田代文庫). The latter was left behind by the botanist Tashiro Yasusada. In addition, the NTUL also has acquired digital collection of "Archives of Judicature Office under Japanese Rule" (日本統治時期司法関係資料) through collaboration project.

The collections that were collected and owned by former Taipei Imperial University faculty members include the following collections: "The Kanaseki Takeo Library" (金関丈夫文庫), "The Kokubu Naoichi Library" (国分直一文庫), and "The Tanaka Library" (田中文庫, collected by the first director of the former Taipei Imperial University Library). These are also archeological and botanical research materials.

As the progress of digitization of these materials, "Ino Kanori's Manuscripts", "Statistical Data of Taiwan under Japanese Rule", and "Archives of Judicature Office under Japanese Rule" are all available for browsing on the Internet although the last of the three requires registration. The "Tashiro Library", though is still under final checkup, has been partially uploaded for browsing.

Books refering to JACAR or documents from its database donated in current year are as follows.