April 16, 2020

Densho is pleased to announce a new digital genealogy series with Linda Harms Okazaki, noted expert in Japanese American genealogy. All sessions will be held on Zoom and advance registration is required. The initial webinar will be held on April 30th, with subsequent webinars to be held every two to three weeks (check back soon — we’ll update this post with dates and times as they are finalized).

1. Introduction to Genealogy (April 30th, 10-11am PST): Densho Family History Program with Tom Ikeda, followed by a discussion by Linda Harms Okazaki about the importance of family history and tips for getting started with your search.
>> Access Webinar Recording <<

2. Navigating Websites (June 18th, 10-11am PST): So much of our research requires knowing how to navigate websites. Although not everything is online, there are a lot of resources available at our fingertips which can help the family historian. Tom Ikeda will show you how to navigate the resources on the Densho website. Linda Okazaki will help you with strategies for successful research utilizing Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and more.
>> Access Webinar Recording <<

3. U.S. Records (July 2nd, 10-11am PST): It’s important to understand where records are located, how to find or order them, and how to extract critical data. Learn about some of the most important documents for your family history journey, including vital records, census, land and more. Some of the information is necessary for jumping the pond and researching in Japan.
>> Access Webinar Recording <<

4. Immigration Records (July 9th, 10-11am PST): Have you always wondered when your ancestors first immigrated? Did you know that Japanese immigrants and their Nisei children often traveled back to Japan to visit relatives, maintain businesses, or to be educated. Learn how to search a variety of immigration records in this session, beginning with passenger manifests and moving on to Immigration Investigative Case Files, A-files and more.
>> Access webinar recording <<
>> Access resource list <<

5. Incarceration Camp Records (July 16th, 10-11am PST): Most Nikkei from the western states were incarcerated during WWII. Some individuals came from other states and even Latin America. You will learn about the abundance of archival material at the National Archives pertaining to the War Relocation Authority and the Department of Justice. Densho will co-present this session.
>> Access webinar recording <<

6. Military Records (July 23rd, 10-11am PST): Many Nikkei registered for the draft in WWI and WWII. Some of them served. During this session, we will cover how to go about finding US military records for your ancestors.
>> Access webinar recording <<
>> Access resource list <<

7. Family History Records in Japan (July 30th, 10-11am PST): Privacy laws in Japan, coupled with the language barrier, makes searching for Japanese records seem impossible. It might be daunting, but it is absolutely possible! Learn what records are available in Japan, and how you can use the documents found in your US research to obtain those Japanese materials.
>> Access webinar recording <<
>> Access resource list <<

8. Preserving Your Family Archives (August 6th, 10-11am PST): Densho-led session on how to preserve family papers, photos artifacts, and memorabilia.
>> Access webinar recording <<
>> Access resource list <<
>> View presentation slides <<

9. Writing Your Family History (August 13th, 10-11am PST): Your family history should be shared. We’ll share tips and strategies in a final session co-facilitated by Densho and Linda Harms Okazaki.
>> Access webinar recording <<
>> Access resource list <<

10. Recording Oral Histories (August 20th, 10-11am PST): Learn best practices for conducting and recording your own oral history interviews with Tom Ikeda.
>> Register now<<

Linda Harms Okazaki is a fourth-generation Californian, active in the genealogy and Japanese American communities in California and beyond. She is passionate about teaching Nikkei to research, document, and share their personal family histories, and has been researching her husband’s ancestry since 2012, documenting his family in the incarceration camps and in Japan. Linda is a charter member of the Nikkei Genealogical Society and a contractual genealogist with Ancestry.com’s ProGenealogists, and has a bimonthly column, “Finding Your Nikkei Roots” with the Nichi Bei Weekly.

Funding for this workshop was provided by the Terasaki Family Foundation.

Contact Densho with questions: info@densho.org /206.320.0095