The following is a paper for a UC Davis assignment on the Hashimoto name completed by Sherry.
Part I: Bridging the Generations
In Japan, surnames became a part of one's identity during the Meiji era (1865-1912). Prior to the Meiji era, only royalty and aristocracy possessed surnames -- farmers and peasants were only identified by their given names. Surnames became the norm when the Meiji government established a law that everyone posses a given name and a surname in 1877. This was because Japan wanted a central government and needed to organize its people for drafts, tax purposes, etc. Thus, most people do not have family trees going back past the Meiji era. This was also the beginning of surnames being passed down between generations. Prior to the Meiji era, names were passed down according to loyalty to one's job or depending on where you were living; not necessarily through blood. The name I chose, is my surname, Hashimoto. The literal translation for Hashimoto can be derived from the Chinese characters that it is represented by: "Hashi" translates to "bridge" and "moto" as "originated." Thus, Hashimoto means "Originated by the bridge." Whether this is true or not, I cannot find evidence of, but surnames are given for a reason, so more than likely my family originated by a bridge. It is traditionally said that the first character is the most important in the name, so bridges symbolize where our family must have come from.
I was able to trace the direct line (including names and birth dates) of Hashimoto's from which I have descended from to as far back as 1829. Because the Hashimoto name traces back to before the Meiji era, it is concluded that we were aristocracy, or had enough money to possess a surname. Through further research, I found that the original Hashimoto is the 15th generation descending from the Seiwa Emperor, That would put in about the 10th generation from the original Hashimoto.
As I looked into the history of Fukui, where my family has come from, I read that one place where Shogun warriors had settled was Fukui. The Shoguns had established themselves there at the end of the Edo era. But with the deterioration of power of the Shoguns, they became city leaders or held other prominent Japan in the slowly westernizing Japan in the late 1700 to early 1800's. Therefore, it is possible that I may be a descendent of a Shogun warrior, although the possibilities may be minimal. There have been quite a few famous Hashimoto's over the course of history. The first on record is Sanai Hashimoto (b. 1830) who was a political activist of the Bunsei era and was executed by guillotine for his radical views at the age of 26. Gaho Hashimoto (1835-1908) is a well-known Japanese brush artist who co-founded the Japan Art Academy with author, Kakuzo Okakura. He later established the Art Academy of the Department of Education as well. In 1905, a national Japanese chess (shogi) champion by the name of Koutarou Hashimoto was born and he later founded the Kansai Chess School of which he was the principal of as well. Takako Hashimoto is a famous female poet. Tsuneakira Hashimoto of the Tokugawa era was a well-known scholar from Kyoto, who became governor of Kumamoto, Kyushu. Lastly, probably the most well know Hashimoto of today by Japanese and Americans alike, is Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto. He has served the Japanese government since the 1940's but not until 1995 did he take over as Prime Minister.
Those in the medical profession are probably familiar with Hashimoto's Disease. This is a form of thyroiditis, named for the Japanese doctor who first discovered it. It is a chronic inflammation that is the most common cause of hypothyroidism. The cause of Hashimoto's thyroiditis is unknown and is about eight times as prevalent in women as in men between the ages of 30 and 50.
Out of nearly 200,000 surnames in Japan, I have found that my lineage of Hashimoto's is rich in history. There is a lot of personal history that I was able to find as well about my direct line of ancestors, but that is another essay. I hope to one day leave my name in history as well for my descendants, perhaps not as predominantly as some of my ancestors, but maybe I can do something better for this world and become a part of someone else's scavenger hunt.
Part II: Bridging the Generations
Finding out about my last name really was like a scavenger hunt. I began with the traditional library searches and searching the internet. There was nothing useful. But once I got on a roll, one clue lead to another. This scavenger hunt became a family affair and was really fun for me. I knew what the characters of my last name meant and generally what it symbolized. That led to phone calls to my parents, grandparents, etc. Between then, I had a lot of historic family information dating back to the early 1800's. I wrote to the Fukui city offices in Japan where I knew a few generations of Hashimoto's had come from because in Japan, the city keeps official family documents. But then I realized that just looking up Hashimoto wouldn't get me far, so my mother helped me look through Japanese books on the origin of surnames and at a historical Japanese library in Los Angeles, there was a whole volume on every surname in Japan (dated December 1911) and though some volumes were missing, Hashimoto was listed there and it had everything I would ever want to know about the Hashimoto name.
Coincidentally, my great-uncle was coming to visit the United States over winter break and he served as in the 1940's of Fukui where everyone is either named Hashimoto or Tanabe, so I interviewed him. I was eavesdropping on a conversation between my mother's friend and she mentioned that her spouse was from Fukui, the same neighborhood as my father, and as I entered the conversation, I learned more and more of the history of Hashimoto. One interesting fact that I found was though only royalty uses a family symbol today (similar to a coat of arms), my mother and I were able to narrow down three possible Hashimoto symbols out of the over 200,000 that once existed. That was an exciting find that I will definitely keep on record. Yet, with all the research that I have done on my surname, Hashimoto, there is still a lot more to learn.
THANKS FOR VISITING 