Should a CV use Gregorian or era years?

Either is acceptable, but be consistent within one document. Education, employment and qualification dates mixed between the two cannot be put in order by the reader. Follow the employer's instruction where there is one.

Is the zodiac sign right for a birth year?

It is the branch corresponding to the Gregorian year. Some traditions start the zodiac year at the lunar new year or at setsubun, so people born in January or early February are sometimes assigned the previous sign. For uses like new year cards, where "this year's animal" is what matters, the question does not arise.

Is there a way to convert in my head?

For Showa, subtract 25 from the last two digits of the Gregorian year (1970 gives Showa 45); for Heisei subtract 1988; for Reiwa subtract 2018. All of them break at the transition years, and the Showa shortcut also breaks from 2000 onwards, so check anything near a boundary here.

Is the date I enter stored?

No, and nothing is sent. The conversion happens entirely in the page.

"Gannen" versus "year 1"

The first year of an era is properly written gannen rather than "Reiwa 1". Software normally handles it as the number 1, and so does the input field here, but the display says "Reiwa gannen". Write gannen when filling in a form by hand.

The years that hold two eras

Showa became Heisei on 8 January 1989, and Heisei became Reiwa on 1 May 2019. The transition day itself is day one of the new era, and the day before is the last day of the old one. So 7 January 1989 was Showa 64 — and the last day of Showa. Showa 64 lasted seven days.

Meiji begins on 25 January 1868, and before that eras changed several times within a year while the calendar in use was lunisolar. Converting a lunisolar date to a Gregorian one needs a correspondence table rather than arithmetic. This tool covers Meiji onwards and says so when given anything earlier.

The calendar itself changed in Meiji 6

Japan made the day after 2 December Meiji 5 (1872) into 1 January Meiji 6 (1873), switching to the solar calendar. Meiji 5 therefore has no 3rd to 30th of December. When working with documents from the early Meiji period, note that the calendar differs on either side of that switch. Conversions here assume the solar calendar.

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Japanese Era ⇄ Western Year

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Enter a date to see the Reiwa, Heisei, Showa, Taisho or Meiji year, or go the other way from an era year. Changeover years show both eras, and the zodiac animal and age come along.

Input

Direction

Date (Gregorian)

Enter the full date if you can: era boundaries fall mid-year (8 Jan 1989, 1 May 2019).

Output

Enter a date or an era year and the conversion appears here.

In a year when the era changed, both eras are shown. 1989 was Showa 64 until 7 January and Heisei 1 from the 8th, so "1989 = Heisei 1" is wrong by a week.

Or type what you want to work out

All tools

Why this one

The transition years come out right: A year in which the era changed contains two eras. 1989 was Showa 64 up to 7 January and Heisei 1 from the 8th; 2019 was Heisei 31 up to 30 April and Reiwa 1 from 1 May. A table that converts by year alone has to round that boundary one way or the other. Give it a date and it lands on the correct side.
It converts both ways: Gregorian to Japanese era and back. Turning "born in Showa 45" into a Gregorian year, and rewriting a Gregorian date on a form in era notation, come up about equally often.
Zodiac sign and current age too: The twelve-branch zodiac sign and the age as of today appear alongside. Those are what you actually need next when looking up an era year — for a new year card, a CV, or sorting out family records.

How to use

Choose a direction
Gregorian to era, or era to Gregorian.
Enter a date or an era year
Going from Gregorian, entering the full date resolves the transition correctly. Going the other way, pick the era and type the year — the first year of an era is entered as 1.
Read the result
The era year (or Gregorian year), zodiac sign, weekday and current age. In a year when the era changed mid-year, both eras are shown.

About the eras

"Gannen" versus "year 1": The first year of an era is properly written gannen rather than "Reiwa 1". Software normally handles it as the number 1, and so does the input field here, but the display says "Reiwa gannen". Write gannen when filling in a form by hand.
The years that hold two eras: Showa became Heisei on 8 January 1989, and Heisei became Reiwa on 1 May 2019. The transition day itself is day one of the new era, and the day before is the last day of the old one. So 7 January 1989 was Showa 64 — and the last day of Showa. Showa 64 lasted seven days.
Nothing before Meiji: Meiji begins on 25 January 1868, and before that eras changed several times within a year while the calendar in use was lunisolar. Converting a lunisolar date to a Gregorian one needs a correspondence table rather than arithmetic. This tool covers Meiji onwards and says so when given anything earlier.
The calendar itself changed in Meiji 6: Japan made the day after 2 December Meiji 5 (1872) into 1 January Meiji 6 (1873), switching to the solar calendar. Meiji 5 therefore has no 3rd to 30th of December. When working with documents from the early Meiji period, note that the calendar differs on either side of that switch. Conversions here assume the solar calendar.

FAQ

Should a CV use Gregorian or era years?: Either is acceptable, but be consistent within one document. Education, employment and qualification dates mixed between the two cannot be put in order by the reader. Follow the employer's instruction where there is one.
Is the zodiac sign right for a birth year?: It is the branch corresponding to the Gregorian year. Some traditions start the zodiac year at the lunar new year or at setsubun, so people born in January or early February are sometimes assigned the previous sign. For uses like new year cards, where "this year's animal" is what matters, the question does not arise.
Is there a way to convert in my head?: For Showa, subtract 25 from the last two digits of the Gregorian year (1970 gives Showa 45); for Heisei subtract 1988; for Reiwa subtract 2018. All of them break at the transition years, and the Showa shortcut also breaks from 2000 onwards, so check anything near a boundary here.
Is the date I enter stored?: No, and nothing is sent. The conversion happens entirely in the page.

Input

Output

Related tools

Why this one

How to use

Choose a direction

Enter a date or an era year

Read the result

About the eras

FAQ