Tokuhei Nishizu + Kane Yasutake
A NUMIDENT-derived Social Security record names them as the parents of Nobujiro Nishizu, born 30 October 1877 in Fukuoka.
Evidence-weighted family tree
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99–100 identity lock90–98 strong convergence60–89 probable20–59 hypothesis<20 lead or ancestor slotSolid line = supported parentage · dashed red = marriage · gold = strong derivative evidence · gray dotted = unnamed parent slot
How to read the percentages
These are research judgment scores, not mathematically sampled probabilities. They combine record independence, specificity, agreement, transcription risk, and whether the original document was inspected. A 94% parent link means the evidence strongly favors the relationship but an original SS-5, koseki, or comparable primary record is still desirable.
What the deeper pass changed
The discoveries below materially extend or correct the first version of the tree.
西津信次郎
Multiple prewar Japanese-language newspaper notices print this exact name, independently anchoring the family’s kanji and Nobujiro’s given-name characters.
Tachibana Village, Kasuya
Clarence Nishizu’s digitized 1931 itinerary explicitly marks Tachibana Village as the Nishizu family hometown. The place is now in Shingū Town.
Shizue: 6 August 1901 favored
WRA and Social Security-derived data converge on 1901. The cemetery memorial’s 26 August 1903 remains a serious alternative until the Hawaii birth record is obtained.
Osajima is probably 筬島
This uncommon spelling fits the surname reading and a historic Fukuoka concentration. It is not yet tied directly to Suguru’s own Japanese record.
Sam repaired sewing machines
A 1944 Manzanar Free Press item places Sam Osajima in the industrial division’s domestic sewing-machine repair operation.
Nishizu branch, strongest chain
| Claim | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
| John was the son of Nobujiro/Shinjiro and Shige | 99% | Obituaries, WRA family grouping, sibling cross-checks. |
| Nobujiro and Shinjiro were the same man | 97% | Same spouse, children, age, residence, occupation, and life chronology. |
| Full name was 西津信次郎 | 98% | Repeated Japanese-language newspaper printing. |
| Tokuhei and Kane were his parents | 94% | NUMIDENT-derived parent fields tied to exact birth and SSN. |
| Family hometown was Tachibana Village | 99% | Federal birthplace plus Clarence’s oral-history map and 1931 family visit. |
Osajima branch, current wall
| Claim | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Trudes was daughter of Suguru and Shizue | 99% | Obituaries and WRA family grouping. |
| Suguru born 1 Apr 1897 in Kumamoto | 95% | Memorial, death index, WRA-linked sources. |
| Suguru arrived in 1915 | 92% | WRA Form 26 transcription; manifest not yet inspected. |
| Osajima kanji was 筬島 | 87% | Reading, rarity, regional distribution, but no personal Japanese document. |
| Shizue’s parents were Japan-born | 95% | WRA record states both parental birthplaces as Japan. |
The Edo horizon
Where evidence ends, chronology begins. This section deliberately distinguishes named ancestors from anonymous generational projections.
1603
Edo period begins
Edo period begins
c. 1840–1860
Tokuhei & Kane likely born
Tokuhei & Kane likely born
1872
modern koseki system
modern koseki system
1877
Nobujiro born
Nobujiro born
1904–1915
immigration era
immigration era
2026
research cut
research cut
Named line reached Tokuhei Nishizu and Kane Yasutake, probably born in late Edo. Their existence and parentage score 94%; their estimated birth window scores about 75% because it is inferred from their son’s 1877 birth.
Named 1600s line not reached Any 17th-century Nishizu, Yasutake, Takayama, Osajima, or Nishikawa attached today would be conjecture. The correct bridge is reconstructed koseki, then temple and village household registers.
Anonymous generational projection
| Estimated generation | Approx. birth | What is actually known |
|---|---|---|
| Tokuhei & Kane | c. 1840–1860 | Named parents of a child born in 1877; no exact dates or village record yet. |
| Their parents | c. 1810–1840 | Biologically necessary, but names, households, and locations are unknown. |
| Earlier village households | 1700s | May survive in temple death registers, religious population registers, land books, or village papers. |
| 1600s ancestors | 1600–1699 | No documentary identity established. Surname continuity cannot substitute for a chain of households. |
Why the surname alone cannot cross Edo
Japanese commoners did not always use surnames consistently in the forms later recorded by modern civil registration. Edo-period shūmon ninbetsu aratamechō may identify people by household, status, village, and temple affiliation without providing a modern-style surname in every entry. The village and house linkage must therefore be rebuilt generation by generation.
戸籍 koseki除籍 joseki改製原戸籍 reconstructed old koseki過去帳 temple death book宗門人別改帳 religious population register名寄帳 landholder register
Document ladder to the 1600s
Each rung unlocks the next. Skipping a rung is how invented pedigrees grow antlers.
Original U.S. identity records
Nobujiro’s SS-5/NUMIDENT, Suguru’s immigration file, Shizue’s SS-5 and Hawaii birth record, and Shige’s passenger manifest. These can supply exact parent names, maiden names, honseki, village, and nearest relative.
Japanese koseki chain
Request current/reconstructed family registers from Shingū for the Nishizu household and the correct Kumamoto municipality for Suguru once his village is known. A direct descendant normally needs proof of relationship.
Temple and cemetery linkage
Identify the family temple, grave plot, posthumous Buddhist names, and temple death book. These often bridge people born before the first modern koseki.
Edo village household registers
Search local archive holdings for religious population registers, household censuses, land and tax books, village headman papers, and cadastral records.
17th-century proof standard
Accept a named ancestor only when consecutive household, temple, land, or probate-style records connect them to the proven line. A matching rare surname in the same village is a lead, not a pedigree.
Migration and place reconstruction
The family lines moved through different Pacific corridors before converging in Southern California.
Schematic, not to geographic scale. Clarence Nishizu’s 1931 project coordinate places the family hometown in the former Tachibana Village, modern Shingū Town, near the Tachibanaguchi/Harukami corridor.
Place confidence
Tachibana Village, Kasuya County, Fukuoka 99%Federal birthplace record and Clarence’s 1931 hometown visit converge.
Tachibanaguchi / Harukami corridor 75%Modern geography around the mapped point and former village office. Exact household lot remains unknown.
Kumamoto, Suguru birthplace 95%Prefecture secure, village not recovered.
Okawa–Kurume–Miyama 筬島 cluster 30%A surname-origin lead only. No record yet ties Suguru to this Fukuoka corridor.
Hawaii County, Shizue birthplace 95%WRA says Hawaii County; exact town or plantation still missing.
Chronology
Nobujiro Nishizu born
NUMIDENT-derived entry: Fukuoka, parents Tokuhei Nishizu and Kane Yasutake.
Nobujiro in St. Helena, California
Local history records place him as a farmworker at Wheeler Ranch on Zinfandel Lane.
Shige reaches Seattle
1973 profile says 1907 as a picture bride; WRA says 1908.
Suguru’s reported U.S. arrival
WRA Form 26 entry. Exact ship and port remain unresolved.
John and Trudes born in Los Angeles
The two U.S.-born branches would later marry.
Clarence visits Tachibana
He met his father’s brothers, sisters, and relatives in the Nishizu household during a judo tour.
Shinjiro detained by the FBI
A federal memorandum records his custody shortly after Pearl Harbor.
Forced removal and incarceration
The Nishizu family went through Pomona to Heart Mountain; the Osajima family was incarcerated at Manzanar.
Sam in Manzanar industrial work
Camp newspaper lists him in domestic sewing-machine repair.
Contradictions, hypotheses, and excluded trails
Genealogy becomes reliable when the awkward evidence stays visible.
Conflict matrix
| Issue | Evidence A | Evidence B | Current judgment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nobujiro vs Shinjiro | Family obituaries and Social Security derivative: Nobujiro | Federal detention and camp records: Shinjiro | Same man, 97%. Preserve both aliases until original Japanese/U.S. application is inspected. |
| Shige birth year | 1973 profile: 15 Nov 1887 | WRA: 1888 | 1887 favored, 85%; one-year age drift is common. |
| Shige arrival | Profile: Seattle in 1907 | WRA: 1908 | 1907 favored, 70%; passenger manifest needed. |
| Shizue birth | WRA + SSDI-derived: 6 Aug 1901 | Memorial/California index: 26 Aug 1903 | 1901 favored, 72%; Hawaii certificate decides. |
| Osajima kanji | 筬島 matches reading and regional surname | No Suguru document with kanji recovered | Probable at 87%, not yet a personal identity lock. |
| Kane surname kanji | Yasutake normally 安武 | Derivative record provides romanization only | 安武 at 80%; given-name characters unknown. |
Candidate watchlist
These belong on the corkboard, not in the pedigree.
Kumeji Nishikawa, 1871–1937
A Japan-born Nishikawa buried in Paauhau, Hawaii County. Geography and generation fit a possible father of Shizue, but there is no direct relationship evidence and Nishikawa is not rare enough to bridge the gap.
5–10% candidate onlyModern Nishizu households in Tachibanaguchi
The surname remains concentrated in the precise hometown corridor, including a Nishizu manufacturing business and current civic listings. This supports local surname continuity, not kinship to Tokuhei’s household.
<10% for any specific modern relationshipHistoric 筬島 cluster near Okawa
The rare surname has a strong Fukuoka/Chikugo presence and local origin traditions. Suguru was born in neighboring Kumamoto, so migration across the prefectural border is plausible but unproved.
30% geographic hypothesis安武 families in the Shingū region
Yasutake remains present in northern Fukuoka. Until Kane’s koseki or a marriage register is found, local surname survival cannot identify her parents.
20% regional leadFalse merges rejected
Yasuo Ronald “Ron” Osajima’s family is separate. His oral history names father Hakaru and mother Yukiko. He should not be merged into Suguru and Shizue’s household.
Other Nishikawa public trees were not used. Similar given names and Hawaii residence are insufficient without matching dates, parents, spouse, or a source chain.
The Fukui place-name origin of “Nishizu” is not this pedigree. Surname-etymology sites may cite Nishizu-shō in Wakasa, but the documented family hometown is Tachibana Village in Fukuoka. A general surname origin cannot overwrite the family’s own locality.
Source ledger
Direct links are included for reproducibility. Some databases require a free account, subscription, physical visit, or descendant request.
| Source | Quality | Contribution |
|---|
Highest-value next records
These are the records most likely to replace anonymous boxes with named people.
1. Nobujiro’s original SS-5 or full NUMIDENT
Would directly verify Tokuhei and Kane, potentially preserve Japanese name spellings, and clarify Nobujiro/Shinjiro. The derivative is strong, but the original application is the gold rivet.
2. Shingū reconstructed koseki
Using Nobujiro’s 30 October 1877 birth and Tachibana hometown, a direct descendant can ask Shingū’s Resident Division for koseki, joseki, and kaisei-gen-koseki. Proof of lineal relationship is normally required.
3. Shizue’s Hawaii birth certificate
Should resolve 1901 versus 1903 and may name both parents, their ages, residences, and birthplaces. Hawaii’s 1896–1909 birth indexes are available at designated libraries; actual records are held by the Department of Health.
4. Shizue’s SS-5 / full NUMIDENT
SSN 570-01-0874 is the leading identifier. The application may provide father’s name and mother’s maiden name, potentially unlocking both Japanese immigrant grandparents at once.
5. Suguru’s immigration and Japanese passport files
His 1915 arrival, exact birth date, and Kumamoto prefecture create a narrow search target. The manifest or passport register may give village, nearest relative, destination, and guarantor.
6. Clarence’s full 1991 oral-history transcript
His book-length corrected transcript is held in the Iwao Ishino papers at Michigan State University. Because he described meeting his father’s siblings in Tachibana, it may name Japanese relatives or the family temple.
7. Shige’s 1907/1908 passenger manifest
A picture-bride manifest can identify departure port, nearest relative, husband’s address, and village. It may also clarify whether Takayama was her birth surname and the exact kanji.
8. Shingū local-history and temple survey
The town history museum collects local historical materials. Once the lot, temple, or household is identified, ask about old village maps, grave registers, religious population rolls, land books, and Tachibana Village papers.
Access reality
No responsible public-web search can literally inspect every record. Some decisive materials are not name-indexed, are visible only as archival images, sit behind database accounts, or are legally restricted to descendants. The dossier records both the evidence found and the exact doors still closed.