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pomme homme

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18 May 2014
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I am undertaking historical research into the life and career of a Japanese pilot who was killed in 1936. For the purpose of that, it would be helpful for me to be able to contact any of his family members, or their descendants, who are living today.

The pilot died without leaving issue. His father predeceased him. But he left a mother and a younger sister. His mother is unlikely to be alive today but there is a slim chance that his sister might be. There is also the possibility of his sister having descendants living today.

Regrettably I do not (at least yet) have either the mother's or sister's names or their address (more specific than Tokyo) at the time of the pilot's death. I have the pilot's name and the address, in Kobe, which appears on his koseki. Do I have any realistic chance of being able to trace any of his relatives, or their descendants, living today? If so, can anyone suggest how best I might go about this?

With my thanks in both hope and anticipation.
 
What do you mean "without leaving issue"?

The only thing I can think of to get you started is to contact the Kobe city hall and ask for their help. They are definitely going to want to know what the purpose of your "historical research" is.

This web site has a contact form you can fill out in English.
Kobe City:City of Kobe - General Information and Resources

There is also a web site for the Kobe International Community Center, in which a link directs you to a Foreigner Support Group link.
Kobe International Community Center
 
Thank you, Glenski and Majestic.

My research is being undertaken with a view to writing an article, for publication in a British aviation history magazine, on, in particular, the pilot's flying career and the accident which caused his death. It occurs to me that if his sister is alive or has descendants, they may have information or documents that will help in the research and contribute toward the article.

I'm grateful for the contact details for Kobe City Hall. I will use the contact form to make enquiries there. However I'll defer doing so for a few days, during which I'm hopeful of obtaining the names and last known address of the pilot's mother and sister. I will also contact the Foreigner Support Group at Kobe International Community Center.

And finally, by 'without leaving issue' I meant 'had no children'. I apologise for using unnecessarily technical language.
 
You might try contacting the Tokorozawa Aviation Musem. Tokorozawa is where Japan's first flight took place, and isn't terribly far from Tachikawa. If they can't help you directly, they are almost certainly better able to point you to useful contacts/sourced than we are.
 
I'm grateful for the contact details for Kobe City Hall. I will use the contact form to make enquiries there. However I'll defer doing so for a few days, during which I'm hopeful of obtaining the names and last known address of the pilot's mother and sister.
how are you going to get that info here without posting the pilot's name?
 
Mike Cash, thank you. However although I've been through all of the sections of the Tokorozawa Aviation Museum website, to which you kindly provided the hyperlink, I can't find any contact links or an e-mail address there. Have I missed something?

Glenski, I should have made myself clearer. It's though other avenues of contact that I'm hopeful that, within the next few days, I'll obtain the names and last known address of the pilot's mother and sister. I certainly wasn't expecting any users of this forum to provide those by reference to the information that I've provided on this thread! But if it helps anyone better to help me, the pilot's name was William Nobuyuki Yamamoto.
 
Thank you, Mike Cash. I'll now send an e-mail.

Unfortunately, caster55, he neither died nor was he buried in Japan. Furthermore, he was a Roman Catholic.
 
Pomme Homme - I think your best chance to to start with the family registry in Kobe. They may have some information as to the sister's last-known-place of residence, and from there you might get a clue as to family descendants' whereabouts. I think you will need a local "fixer", i.e. someone who speaks the language and can make the right enquiries. Information on family registers is not generally public information, so I wouldn't expect them to give you an address or anything, but since your are researching a long-dead person of historical interest they may give you an unofficial tip. They may even have archives that pertain to the death of that pilot. If that doesn't work, some posts to Japanese-language websites or SNS services, indicating who/what your are looking for might be fruitful. Japan is well linked-up with Twitter and Facebook.

As to how you might go about finding a local language fixer... that is a different question. This might be a place to start About interpreting services for foreign tourists|FeelKOBE ツ−Official Kobe Tourism Websiteツ−
 
Thank you, again, Glenski and Majestic.

The church route is one that I am pursuing. The location of the cemetery, where he's buried, is not known.

I'm grateful for the suggested Kobe family registry route. I'll make an initial approach there. If that doesn't bear fruit, I'll try to find a 'local language fixer' to help me.
 
If you know the city he was from, try the Catholic diocese for that area as well. You're looking at the difference between a country where practically everybody was Catholic and where practically nobody was Catholic; the Japanese church will have far fewer records that have to be dug through.
 
Thank you, Mike Cash. At the time of his death, his family lived in Tokyo. However his place of birth was Kobe. Can you tell me whether I should be enquiring of the diocese for Tokyo or that for Kobe?
 
If the family was Catholic at the time of his birth then Kobe would probably have a record of his baptism.

Why not try both?
 
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