What Do They Look Like?
How Do You Read Them?

Family Registries:
3 Basic Layouts

Below are two basic koseki formats or layouts. (This is not to say though that there are not other variations of the same form.) Also included below is a sample of a family section from a koseki where wives and children are usually noted.

An older version (1920) of a koseki from Iwate-ken prefecture

A newer version (1993) of a koseki from Hokkaido prefecture

The family section of a koseki