HEIKE SAMURAI CONNECTION RESEARCH
There are probably over a 1000 locations that can make claims to a Heishi (aka Heiki or Taira Clan) Ochiudo connection after their demise when protecting the boy emperor at Dan no Ura in 1185.
It appears that our ancestors were in hiding in their tiny Yamaguchi mountain village (not even found on maps) for maybe as long as 800 years. From the hundreds of weather worn headstones in the village Ohaka I am not surprised.
To support any theory of a Heike connection, even if only circumstantially, local oral legend dictates that my ancestral village and a nearby village (just a 15-min. walk along a path) once had two boats (Nisou Bune) from the Heike period on the mountain top that they brought with them, as well as a Heike (Jyofuku-ji) temple, a reputation for making bows and arrows, a local Kyoto Ben accent (according to local Bhuddist head) used through the mid-1900s and a host of other stories that imply a link. After all, why would farmers in the mountains of Yamaguchi Ken need or have the skill to make bows and arrows?
One particularly interesting story says that the neighboring village once had over 200 villagers prior to the arrival of the fleeing Heike Samurai, but there was some sort of conflict over the Samurai bringing their own Buddhist temple (Jyofuku-ji) temple in 1185, which differed from temple of the indigenous farmers and that this resulted in conflict.
Our theory is that the Samurai did not want to risk being turned over to the Genji (Minamoto) by the local farmers and fled to my ancestral village (a 15-min. walk away).
There is somewhat of a sense of urgency because only one elderly resident is left in the tiny village with any sense of the local history. Furthermore, there is construction starting to take place in the area, rendering any archaeological prospects negligible.
To summarize, we need help with the following:
The local city government says they can only give my Tohon records (family histories) back 3 generations from my eldest living relative - which is three generations past my grandmother - even though when we picked up our Tohon, the clerk said that they have records extending further back into the Edo period. Hence, we need a good argument to gain access to these records before the city destroys them
During the Edo era, a local Daimyo designated an area village to produce Washi. There were many Kozo (mulberry trees) that grew in that area and this was the source of their ability to produce good quality paper. Even today, there are some scattered Kozo trees. Apparently, the Daimyo set a policy that nobody from the village (who knew how to make such high quality Washi) could move out of the village, and if someone else outside of the village wanted to marry someone in the village, that person had to move into the village and stay in order to protect the trade secret. Some of those papermaking tools are still stored in one of the old Kura (storage building, on the second floor). We once asked to see if we could see them but the Yoshikazu and another woman were a little hesitant to show them to us because the owner of the storage was not there.
Nakamuras in Sao Paulo, Brazil
We are trying to locate descendants of above Fukutaro Nakamura. Born 6-6-1890 and emigrating to Brazil in 1919 aboard the ship Sanuki-maru, departing from Kobe, Japan on March 27, 1919. The ship was making its 234th trip to Brazil. His last know address in the 1920s / 1930s was: Rua Nossa Senhora da Lapa 435, Sao Paulo, Brazil.