In 1986, my uncle, Toshi Nakahiro (Nisei: 1928-2000) invited the Sansei generation of Yataro and Chiyono Nakahiro to dinner at a Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles. His goal was to share the Nakahiro Family Tree and its history with the next generation. At the time, the Sansei in our family were mere youngsters ranging from tweens to teenagers.
Toshi, son of Denjiro Nakahiro (Issei: 1891-1970), conducted extensive research both in the United States and in Japan to piece together the family lineage from the early 1800s. At dinner, Toshi shared with us a computer printout (in DOS format) of the family tree. It was overwhelming. Until then, we possessed a vague notion of how we were all related and interconnected. We knew our grandparents were siblings, we knew our parents had many cousins and we knew there were many more second cousins we’ve not yet met. This was the first time we viewed our family lineage on one giant piece of paper. Much of the data was missing since half the families were still in Japan with no contact information.
A collaborative effort to revive Toshi’s work began in 2015. Special thanks go to the elders (Hiroshi Furuno, Sumi Maruyama, Kimiko Moriyama, Hisako Nakamura, and George Sasaki), the Sansei, and Japanese relatives who painstakingly pieced the information required to update the Nakahiro Family Tree.
In 2019, the Nakahiro descendants celebrated the 100th Anniversary of the immigration of our fathers, mothers, grandfathers, and grandmothers. We are now five generations strong.
This family tree will continue as a collective endeavor, and will hopefully be carried forth by the Yonsei and their children.
