| I
am on a quest to find out everything I can about Mikao
Usui. I have decided that finding a needle in a haystack
is pretty easy, it just depends on how valuable the needle
is. In the case of looking for Usui, some of the hay has been
carted away (not all data still physically exists). One of
the things going for us, is that Mikao Usui is not a common
name. So far I have found less than 15 Usui's out of many
thousands of names, so the first Mikao Usui I find is likely
to be the correct one.
We know
from the Usui memorial that Usui traveled to several countries,
including the United states as an adult, (but likely well
before he discovered Reiki)
What we
don't know is when, why or for how long. It is likely to have
been been 1885-1914, as we know it happened when Usui was
an 'adult', but before he discovered Reiki. Once we know the
date he arrived, it is even possible that more information
about his trip could be located.
I (Jessica)
still don't have any of these answers. But I do have the story
of my search. Perhaps this will serve as the dramatic backdrop
to when I do find record of Usui. Perhaps it will serve as
useful information for others looking to do this research.
Perhaps it will just serve as a reminder for me on where I
left off.
I started
on the internet, checking Reiki web sites, and came up with
nothing.
Then I
did a geneology search, and found nothing. I have since heard
of a new database that went online, a joint effort between
the national archives and the Mormons, but have not yet found
or searched it. There was a reference for Japanese Geneology
search at the Gardena Public Library, but I contacted them
and they have lots on the internment camps, but nothing that
predates that.
I went
to the INS records. I had a vague idea that they might have
records of arrivals. They do, but the data I want is so old
they don't have it anymore, it has been moved to the National
Archives.
I found
the nearest National Archive is about 2 hours from me, so
I canceled my plans for the day, and went to Laguna Nigel,
CA. It was kind of intimidating at first, figuring out where
things were, and how to use the microfilm readers, but I quickly
settled in. The indices were the easiest to search. They are
typed entries, usually on rolodex or 1/2 page sheets, and
are all alphabetized for the whole year range, so for these
you just look under Usui. The names are written in English,
which simplifies life considerably.
If the
records are not indexed, they are much harder to search, as
you are checking the passenger's list for each vessel for
each voyage. In some cases they are handwritten, sometimes
illegibly.
I checked the following
Passenger Arrival Indexes and Lists:
In
March 2001:
New York
Index 1897-1902
Boston Index 1848-1891
New Orleans 1853-1899
San Diego Index 1904-1952 (nothing earlier available)
San Francisco Index 1893-1934 ( found a number of Usui's but
no Mikao) (nothing earlier available)
Galveston Index, 1906-1951
San Pedro, Wilmington, Los Angeles, CA Index 1907-1936 (1
Usui but not Mikao)
In
July 2001:
Port Townsend
and Tacoma passenger lists, un-indexed 1894-1909
Seattle Passenger lists 1908-1917
This was
about a thousand pages of passenger lists - and still nothing.
Thousands of Japanese went through this these ports, most
of them in "asian steerage", rather than in nicer
cabins. (Visions of the movie titanic- which showed life in
all parts of the ship) A huge influx of Japanese around 1900.
This makes sense as Japanese were not allowed to emigrate,
and I suspect tourism was also discouraged until 1885. Many
of the visitors were merchants, laborers and farmers.
I found
many other names I recognized. Many Hayashi's, a few Takata's
and some Doi's. I even found one Teijiro Hayashi who was 33.
(I think the year was 1905. It was on page 579 of the Townsend/Tacoma
index) I found a few Misao and no Mikao's (none of which with
a last name that even resembled Usui). Some pages time made
completely illegible, a few were typed. Most were handwritten,
some beautifully, some at least legibly, and some were a challenge.
I have not yet checked:
Philadelphia
Index 1800-1906
Phiadelphia Index 1906-1926
Having
done the San Francisco Index, I am uncertain if checking the
other San Francisco entries is worthwhile
San Francisco Passenger List from Honolulu (hand written-difficult
to read)
San Francisco Vessel Index 1882-1957
San Francisco Passenger Lists, unindexed) 1893-1953
San Francisco Chinese Passenger Lists (is it possible some
Japanese got lumped into this category?) 1888-1914
Galveston Index, 1896-1906
Galveston
Passenger Lists 1896-1951
(and more,
but you get the idea) |
