Torra Kitchi of Japan

[josie46]

Looking for anything on Ongawa and Kondo Torra Kitchi who were circus performers in the 1870-90's They are in the 1871 census in a guest house in Luton along with several other performers in their troupe ,also from Japan They were born in Yeddo Japan in the 1850's Ongwa married my great aunt Isabella Hunter in April 1872 in Newcastle  Registry Office England They travelled around with the circus having been in Vienna in one of the photos I have of them.
I'm looking for any information on the death or burial of Ongawa who died in Nurnberg after a fall from the high wire on which he was performing in1892.also wondering if Japan keeps old birth records from the 1850's Ongawa and Kondo's father was Ongawa Manna Kitchi according to his marriage cert. Kondo lived until 1925 where he died in Manchester. Thanks Josie

[jorose]

"Yeddo" is another way of writing "Edo", the old name of Tokyo.

Looking at the 1871 census, I believe everyone is listed with the family-name first format, which is why they seem to be grouped by people with the same first name. Kondo (Kondou) is a family name. ~gawa (Original name might be Ogawa or Onagawa?) is a common suffix on surnames.

On the other hand, "~kichi" is common in male given names.  So "Kondo Torra Kitchi" and "Ongawa Torra Kitchi" are likely to be actually two men with the given name Torakichi, not necessarily related.  "Manna Kitchi" is possibly Mankichi (or Minokichi).

Was he ever in the US? http://www.rootschat.com/links/0mbf/  ("Ogawa Torakichi" is mentioned here - they were in NY in 1886, about to head for Paris).

I may have found some small reference on a Japanese site - is it possible, from what you know of the family, that they were back in Japan around 1883-1885?

[josie46]

Hi There Thanks for reply saw the newspaper article.It's possible it was them In 1880 and 1882 Ongawa's wife was definately in London as her 2 children were born then.In 1885 they were travelling as another child was said to have been born in Germany and about 20 years ago I found in the library an old hand written diary of life in the circus by ? Whitley, in it the O'torra wire act is mentioned and it said that they were playing at the circus in Paris with ringmaster Mr Corradini and spending the winter of 1886 there.Haven't found anything about USA before but circuses certainly got around the world in these days. The Kondo Thomas Torra Kichi was definately Ongawa's brother. If you dig any more up please let me know Thanks Josie
pictures are of Isabella Watson ms[Hunter] and Ongawa Torrakichi

[josie46]

another couple of pics jane their daughter

[josie46]

some of the troupe

[Paul Budden]

Josie hi and sorry I can't really assist, but I'm researching the manager of the troupe Frederik Blekman and if you have anything on this guy it might lead to something mutual.

For example...Do you now if he was still the manager in 1892 in Nuremburg?

Many thanks and kind regards, Paul

[josie46]

Hi Paul Sorry I can't help you  I only discovered Frederik when I found them on the 1871 census have you looked for them in the 1881 or 91 censuses of UK, if not I can check for you but as the circuses moved about[these pics were taken in Vienna between 1873 and 1891] not sure where they would be I know Ongawa's wife and 2 children came back to Glasgow where she died a short time after his brother seemed to appear in theatres in England he died in 1925 in Manchester Ongawa's son was sent with orphans to Canada where his descendants live today but they they nothing about his past It was my grandmother that had all the old photos I published don't know how she got them.Have you checked the shipping arrivals and departures on ancestry or deaths in UK. If I find anything i'll get in touch
Regards Josie

[Paul Budden]

Josie many thanks. Yes have been having a search but nothing as yet. Have a friend in Holland looking as we know he was Dutch. If I find anything I'll send through. Best, Paul

[jorose]

Hmm, coming back to this after a while.

http://www.geneaservice.com
 - you will need to sign in and it costs about 10 euros to get the info, but if you search for "Torra" on this French site there is an entry for a "Torra Kitchie", first name "Esv?"  This will be some form of bmd record.

I also found some Japanese references suggesting that ~kitchi (吉) was a common suffix used in stage names by acrobats and similar performers - there was a famous "Hayatake Torakichi" and the stage name was passed down.
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%97%A9%E7%AB%B9%E8%99%8E%E5%90%89 - some lovely period images on this page even if you can't read the text!

Do you know who was the head of their group in the 1870s?  (very hard to get genealogical info out of Japan but I might be able to trace references to their movements if I know who they were working for).