Finding a Genealogy Piece of the Tatsui Puzzle!
Nicole wrote a genealogy report in 3rd grade, and then Jaclyn wrote a genealogy book in 2nd grade. Family lineage is important in our family, and I try to create opportunities to get together with extended family to continue those connections even though our Japanese family has been in the US for over 4 generations.
My second cousin Kiyoko hosted a family reunion luncheon to welcome our Tatsui family (Satakes) from Hiroshima, Japan, with over 50 relatives. Besides seeing people I haven’t seen in over 40 years, we had a surprise guest. My grandfather told me stories about how the Tatsui family was originally “Tatsuiguchi” but he didn’t know why or when this happened. The Satakes have been researching their recent find of a Tatsuguchi tombstone next to our Tatsui ancestors in the Hiroshima cemetery, and they reached out to a woman with the same name in LA.
Our surprise guest was Lori Tatsuguchi, who may be the living piece of the name-change puzzle. When she walked through the door, I felt a kinship with her and spent the afternoon talking with her and looking at the photo album that she brought of her father’s short life as a doctor during WWII. The Satakes brought photos of people they didn’t recognize, and when Lori saw one photo, she was shocked and told us that it was a photo of her family! Wow.
The afternoon was a whirlwind of adding data to our RootsMagic software database and filling in bubbles on our 25-foot family tree banner. Now that we have Lori Tatsuguchi in our lives, we’re planning a genealogy trip to Hiroshima with our family. I love the way things fall into place when we make new connections with family members. Can’t wait to discover more about my family roots.
