This page lists major compilations of Japanese genealogies (keizu-shū, 系図集) — printed or manuscript collections that bring together the genealogies of many families in a single work. They are the first places to look when tracing a family line back into the pre-modern period. Entries below are being added gradually; titles are given in romanized Japanese with the original Japanese in parentheses.
Japanese names are given in Japanese order (family name first).
Ancient Clan Registers and Imperial Genealogies
| Title |
Scope |
Notes |
| Shinsen Shōjiroku (新撰姓氏録) |
Clans of the capital region (Kinai) |
Completed in 815 (Kōnin 6) by order of Emperor Saga. 1,182 clans are classified by origin as imperial descent (kōbetsu), descent from deities (shinbetsu) and immigrant descent (shoban), with a further group unclassified. Only an abridged text survives. |
| Honchō Kōin Shōunroku (本朝皇胤紹運録) |
Genealogy of the emperors and imperial princes |
Printed in volume 60 of the Gunsho Ruijū (群書類従), and in an edition extended to 1929 in volume 1 of the Gunsho Keizu Bushū. |
Court and Nobility-Wide Compilations
| Title |
Scope |
Notes |
| Sonpi Bunmyaku (尊卑分脈) |
Court nobility: the Fujiwara, Minamoto, Taira and other lineages |
Compiled in the late Nanbokuchō period, originally by Tōin Kinsada (洞院公定), and revised and expanded by later hands. |
| Keizu Sanyō (系図纂要) |
Imperial family, court nobles, daimyo, major shogunal retainers, Shinto and Buddhist houses |
102 volumes, thought to have been compiled in the final years of the Edo period by Iida Tadahiko (飯田忠彦), based on genealogies gathered for the Mito domain’s Dai Nihon Shi and on earlier works such as the Sonpi Bunmyaku. The original is in the Cabinet Library (Naikaku Bunko); a printed edition was published by Meicho Shuppan (18 volumes in 1973–1977; a new edition in 33 volumes in 1990–1999). |
| Keizu Sōran (系図綜覧) |
Imperial genealogy, Taira lineages and other houses |
Published by Kokusho Kankōkai in 1915 (Taishō 4), in 2 volumes; volume 1 contains the imperial genealogy and volume 2 includes the Taira genealogies. |
| Shoke Chifu Sekki (諸家知譜拙記) |
Court noble (tōshō) houses, from antiquity to the end of the Edo period |
A collection of house-by-house genealogies of court nobles, published by Zoku Gunsho Ruijū Kanseikai in an expanded edition in 1977. |
| Kodai Gōzoku Keizu Shūran (古代豪族系図集覧) |
Ancient clans, imperial family and major Shinto priestly houses |
Edited by Kondō Toshitaka; Tōkyōdō Shuppan, 1993. |
| Kyūtei Kuge Keizu Shūran (宮廷公家系図集覧) |
Court nobles (tōshō houses) and lower nobility |
Kondō Toshitaka; Tōkyōdō Shuppan, 1994; based on the Sonpi Bunmyaku, Keizu Sanyō, Shoka-den and Jige Kaden. |
The Gunsho Ruijū Series
| Title |
Scope |
Notes |
| Gunsho Ruijū, Keifu-bu (群書類従 系譜部) |
Genealogies in volumes 60–63 of the Gunsho Ruijū |
Volume 60: Honchō Kōin Shōunroku; volume 61: Shomonzeki-fu (genealogies of imperial-temple abbots); volumes 62–63: genealogies of clans from the Nakatomi to the Kose, including the Sugawara, Ōe, Tachibana, Ki, Ono, Kiyohara, Nakahara, Wake and Kamo. Compiled by Hanawa Hokiichi (塙保己一); printed from woodblocks 1793–1819. |
| Gunsho Keizu Bushū (群書系図部集) |
Genealogies drawn from the Zoku Gunsho Ruijū tradition |
7 volumes (Zoku Gunsho Ruijū Kanseikai, 1985), compiled by Hanawa Hokiichi with a supplement by Ōta Tōshirō (太田藤四郎), according to the National Diet Library catalog; reported to contain about 400 genealogies of emperors, court nobles and warrior houses. Volume 2 includes portions of the Sonpi Bunmyaku omitted elsewhere. |
Compilations by the Edo Shogunate
| Title |
Scope |
Notes |
| Kan’ei Shoke Keizuden (寛永諸家系図伝) |
Daimyo and shogunal retainer houses |
Compiled under the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu; completed in 1643 (Kan’ei 20) under the supervision of the Confucian scholar Hayashi Razan (林羅山). 186 volumes in two versions (Japanese-style and Chinese-style text), covering over 1,400 families. Printed editions: the kana version (Zoku Gunsho Ruijū Kanseikai, 1980–1997) and the Chinese-style version (Nikkō Tōshōgū, from 1989). |
| Kansei Chōshū Shokafu (寛政重修諸家譜) |
Daimyo and shogunal retainer houses |
Begun in 1799 (Kansei 11) and completed in 1812 (Bunka 9), with Hotta Masaatsu (堀田正敦) as the person in charge. 1,530 volumes covering 1,114 clans (2,132 houses). Printed editions include the Kokumin Tosho edition (1922–1923) and the Shintei Kansei Chōshū Shokafu (新訂寛政重修諸家譜) from Zoku Gunsho Ruijū Kanseikai, regarded as a basic reference for researching hatamoto houses. |
| Tokugawa Shoke Keifu (徳川諸家系譜) |
Main and branch lines of the Tokugawa family |
4 volumes, Zoku Gunsho Ruijū Kanseikai, 1970–1984. |
| Hankanfu (藩翰譜) |
Daimyo houses of 10,000 koku or more |
By Arai Hakuseki; the modern Shinpen Hankanfu covers 337 houses from 1600 to 1786. |
| Danka-fu (断家譜) |
Extinct daimyo and shogunal houses |
Completed in 1809; about 880 houses. |
Domain (Han) Compilations
| Title |
Domain |
Notes |
| Shūshin Kafu (衆臣家譜) |
Sōma Nakamura Domain (相馬中村藩, Mutsu Province) |
Genealogies of the domain’s retainers, prepared by domain order in 1839; 102 volumes in the original, reprinted in 18 volumes. |
| Nanbu-han Sankō Shoke Keizu (南部藩参考諸家系図) |
Morioka Domain (盛岡藩, Nanbu clan) |
Genealogies of the Nanbu clan and the retainers of Morioka Domain, presented to the lord in 1861 (Bunkyū 1); 282 Nanbu branch lines and 2,491 retainer lines. The modern edition (Kokusho Kankōkai, 1984–1985, 5 volumes) was edited by Maezawa Takashige and others. |
| Date Seishin Kafu (伊達世臣家譜) |
Sendai Domain (仙台藩) |
Retainer genealogies of the Date domain; reprinted in the Sendai Sōsho series, with a sequel (Zokuhen) in the Sendai-han Shiryō Taisei series. |
| Akita-han Shoshi Keizu (秋田藩諸士系図) |
Akita Domain (秋田藩, Satake clan) |
Compiled from the genealogies and documents that the domain ordered its retainers to submit in 1696 (Genroku 9), alongside the Satake family record Satake Kafu (佐竹家譜). Held by the Akita Prefectural Archives. |
| Hagi-han Batsuetsuroku (萩藩閥閲録) |
Hagi Domain (萩藩, Mōri clan, Suō and Nagato Provinces) |
A collection of documents and genealogies of the domain’s retainers, compiled by Nagata Seibei (永田政純) on the order of the lord Mōri Yoshimoto, begun in 1720 (Kyōhō 5). Records 789 houses; published by the Yamaguchi Prefectural Archives in 1967 with a supplement (Iroku) in 1971. |
| Hanshi Kafu (藩士家譜) |
Tottori Domain (鳥取藩) |
Retainer genealogies of the Ikeda domain. Nearly all of the surviving text is transcribed in the Tottori Kenshi, Kinsei Shiryō-hen volumes 9–13 (『鳥取県史』近世資料編). |
| Okayama-han Kachū Shoshi Kafu (岡山藩家中諸士家譜) |
Okayama Domain (岡山藩) |
Genealogies of the domain’s retainers; some volumes are missing from the copy held by the Okayama Prefectural Library. |
| Shinpen Shimazu-shi Seiroku Shiryū Keizu (新編島津氏世録支流系図) |
Satsuma Domain (薩摩藩, Shimazu clan) |
Branch-line genealogies of the Shimazu, edited by the domain’s records office; part of the genealogical material held by the Kagoshima Prefectural Reimeikan. |
General Reference Works
| Title |
Scope |
Notes |
| Nihon Shi Sōran (日本史総覧) |
Imperial family, warrior houses, schools and many other groups |
Shinjinbutsu Ōraisha, 1983–1986. |
| Nihon Keifu Sōran (日本系譜綜覧) |
Imperial and noble houses and lineages of schools |
By Hiki Shōichi; Kaizōsha, 1936. |
Registers of Heads, Biographies and Chronologies
Genealogies from the Meiji Era Onward
How to Use These Collections
A genealogy collection are the result of research conducted by each family and its compiler, but may contain misunderstandings or the claims of its compilers and of the families who submitted their lines. When a family line appears in one of these works, it is useful to compare it with other genealogies, temple records and family documents, and to note which edition or manuscript you consulted, since many works circulate in several versions with differing contents.
Individual articles for the works above will be linked from this page as they are published.
