戸籍
Meanings
family register; household registry
Official government record of a family unit, documenting births, deaths, marriages, and relationships. A core concept in Japanese family law.
In Japan, when you submit a birth notification, it is recorded in the family register.
When you get married, a new family register may be created.
census; population register
Rarely used alone for a modern national census; more often seen in historical or legal contexts referring to population records based on the household registry system.
The population registers of the Edo period were called shūmon ninbetsuchō.
Usage patterns
- 〈人〉が戸籍に入るfor someone to be entered into a family register (e.g. through marriage or adoption)
After getting married, she was entered into her husband's family register.
- 戸籍を移すto transfer one's family register (to another municipality)
We decided to transfer our family register when we moved.
- 〈人〉が戸籍から抜けるfor someone to be removed from a family register
After the divorce, he was removed from his mother's family register.
- 〈人〉の戸籍を調べるto look into someone's family register (e.g. for genealogy or legal checks)
I looked into the family register to learn about my ancestors' roots.