The personnel inquiry records: a historical microdatabase of elites and families in prewar Japan

Abstract This paper introduces an individual-level historical database from five editions of the Japanese Personnel Inquiry Records (PIR), published between 1903 and 1939. The PIR is a selective biographical directory of individuals in leading public- and private-sector positions. We harmonize biographical and family information across editions and document changes in listed individuals’ characteristics and family size, as well as the extent to which their biological sons and adopted children appear in the same or later PIR editions. Illustrative applications examine geographical mobility, marriage, and family formation. These applications show how the database supports historical research while highlighting limitations arising from changing coverage and incomplete family records.