****************** As of 2015, volumes up to the 15th of the Hikone-han Samurajū Yuisho-chō (Records of Hikone Domain Samurai) had been published. The original work consists of 47 volumes, so it was just one volume short of volume 48, which includes my ancestor's record as I had been told by a curator before. However, no new volumes had been published for several years since then. Samurajū Yuisho-chō This is the basic ledger recording the careers of Hikone domain samurai. Compilation began in Genroku 4 (1691) under the orders of the 4th lord Ii Naooki, who instructed his chief retainers to gather the histories of each samurai family and submit them to the overseers for compilation. The records continued to be updated until the abolition of the domain system, being reorganized as changes occurred in rice stipends and other matters. Besides the samurai records (compiled by rice stipend), there are also volumes for foot soldiers, performers, and doctors.
It might be partly thanks to the popularity of "Hikonyan" and efforts toward registering Hikone Castle as a World Heritage Site, but perhaps my inquiries over time—representing "requests from readers"—also helped contribute a little.