In Japan, there are currently two main calendar systems used, mainly differentiated by the year of reference. What you would already be familiar is the 西暦 (sei-reki – Anno Domini/Common Era) which uses a reference from around 2000 years ago. For example, at the time of writing, we are in 2014 A.D. (or C.E.).
The alternative year reference used in Japan is the 年号 (nen-gou – era name) which is pegged to the reign of the Emperors. The current era is the Heisei Era and this is the 26th year of the current Emperor’s reign, hence 2014 A.D. is the same year as Heisei 26. You may find some forms requiring such a field although leeway is often given even if you write the western year.
However, there exists a slight complication in the fact that the dates generally are not supposed to overlap and the reign of the Emperors do not start at a fixed day in the year. If you refer to the table below, you might already notice that the end of an era and the start of the next era fall on the same year (e.g. Taisho 1 and Meiji 45 both refer to 1912).
So which is the correct reference? Basically, all you have to do is to look at the start date of the era (2nd row), and that would be the day of transition. I.e. Any date before 30 July 1912 is Meiji 45, while anything after is Taisho 1.
| Meiji Era （明治） | Taisho Era（大正） | Showa Era (昭和） | Heisei Era (平成) |
| 8 Sep 1868 | 30 Jul 1912 | 25 Dec 1926 | 8 Jan 1989 |
| Meiji 1 = 1868 | Taisho 1 = 1912 | Showa 1 = 1926 | Heisei 1 = 1989 |
| Meiji 2 = 1869 | Taisho 2 = 1913 | Showa 2 = 1927 | Heisei 2 = 1990 |
| Meiji 3 = 1870 | Taisho 3 = 1914 | Showa 3 = 1928 | Heisei 3 = 1991 |
| Meiji 4 = 1871 | Taisho 4 = 1915 | Showa 4 = 1929 | Heisei 4 = 1992 |
| Meiji 5 = 1872 | Taisho 5 = 1916 | Showa 5 = 1930 | Heisei 5 = 1993 |
| Meiji 6 = 1873 | Taisho 6 = 1917 | Showa 6 = 1931 | Heisei 6 = 1994 |
| Meiji 7 = 1874 | Taisho 7 = 1918 | Showa 7 = 1932 | Heisei 7 = 1995 |
| Meiji 8 = 1875 | Taisho 8 = 1919 | Showa 8 = 1933 | Heisei 8 = 1996 |
| Meiji 9 = 1876 | Taisho 9 = 1920 | Showa 9 = 1934 | Heisei 9 = 1997 |
| Meiji 10 = 1877 | Taisho 10 = 1921 | Showa 10 = 1935 | Heisei 10 = 1998 |
| Meiji 11 = 1878 | Taisho 11 = 1922 | Showa 11 = 1936 | Heisei 11 = 1999 |
| Meiji 12 = 1879 | Taisho 12 = 1923 | Showa 12 = 1937 | Heisei 12 = 2000 |
| Meiji 13 = 1880 | Taisho 13 = 1924 | Showa 13 = 1938 | Heisei 13 = 2001 |
| Meiji 14 = 1881 | Taisho 14 = 1925 | Showa 14 = 1939 | Heisei 14 = 2002 |
| Meiji 15 = 1882 | Taisho 15 = 1926 | Showa 15 = 1940 | Heisei 15 = 2003 |
| Meiji 16 = 1883 | Showa 16 = 1941 | Heisei 16 = 2004 | |
| Meiji 17 = 1884 | Showa 17 = 1942 | Heisei 17 = 2005 | |
| Meiji 18 = 1885 | Showa 18 = 1943 | Heisei 18 = 2006 | |
| Meiji 19 = 1886 | Showa 19 = 1944 | Heisei 19 = 2007 | |
| Meiji 20 = 1887 | Showa 20 = 1945 | Heisei 20 = 2008 | |
| Meiji 21 = 1888 | Showa 21 = 1946 | Heisei 21 = 2009 | |
| Meiji 22 = 1889 | Showa 22 = 1947 | Heisei 22 = 2010 | |
| Meiji 23 = 1890 | Showa 23 = 1948 | Heisei 23 = 2011 | |
| Meiji 24 = 1891 | Showa 24 = 1949 | Heisei 24 = 2012 | |
| Meiji 25 = 1892 | Showa 25 = 1950 | Heisei 25 = 2013 | |
| Meiji 26 = 1893 | Showa 26 = 1951 | Heisei 26 = 2014 | |
| Meiji 27 = 1894 | Showa 27 = 1952 | ||
| Meiji 28 = 1895 | Showa 28 = 1953 | ||
| Meiji 29 = 1896 | Showa 29 = 1954 | ||
| Meiji 30 = 1897 | Showa 30 = 1955 | ||
| Meiji 31 = 1898 | Showa 31 = 1956 | ||
| Meiji 32 = 1899 | Showa 32 = 1957 | ||
| Meiji 33 = 1900 | Showa 33 = 1958 | ||
| Meiji 34 = 1901 | Showa 34 = 1959 | ||
| Meiji 35 = 1902 | Showa 35 = 1960 | ||
| Meiji 36 = 1903 | Showa 36 = 1961 | ||
| Meiji 37 = 1904 | Showa 37 = 1962 | ||
| Meiji 38 = 1905 | Showa 38 = 1963 | ||
| Meiji 39 = 1906 | Showa 39 = 1964 | ||
| Meiji 40 = 1907 | Showa 40 = 1965 | ||
| Meiji 41 = 1908 | Showa 41 = 1966 | ||
| Meiji 42 = 1909 | Showa 42 = 1967 | ||
| Meiji 43 = 1910 | Showa 43 = 1968 | ||
| Meiji 44 = 1911 | Showa 44 = 1969 | ||
| Meiji 45 = 1912 | Showa 45 = 1970 | ||
| Showa 46 = 1971 | |||
| Showa 47 = 1972 | |||
| Showa 48 = 1973 | |||
| Showa 49 = 1974 | |||
| Showa 50 = 1975 | |||
| Showa 51 = 1976 | |||
| Showa 52 = 1977 | |||
| Showa 53 = 1978 | |||
| Showa 54 = 1979 | |||
| Showa 55 = 1980 | |||
| Showa 56 = 1981 | |||
| Showa 57 = 1982 | |||
| Showa 58 = 1983 | |||
| Showa 59 = 1984 | |||
| Showa 60 = 1985 | |||
| Showa 61 = 1986 | |||
| Showa 62 = 1987 | |||
| Showa 63 = 1988 | |||
| Showa 64 = 1989 |
If you are looking for dates of holidays in Japan instead, refer to this.
*Feature image credits: geraldford (CC license)
