Japanese calendar

Japan counts years by imperial era, names each year after one of twelve animals, and has its own way of counting age. These tools work it all out for you, in your browser.

Today in Japan

Date: 令和8年11月14日
Era: Reiwa, year 8
On forms: R8.11.14
Year of the: Horse 丙午

Calendar tools

Japanese era converter Convert between Western years and Reiwa, Heisei, Shōwa, Taishō and Meiji years. Open the tool →
Japanese zodiac (eto) Find the animal and the 60-year pair for any year, and why 2026 is a special one. Open the tool →
Yakudoshi: unlucky years Check whether you are in an unlucky year, and which birth years are affected this year. Open the tool →
Japanese age: kazoedoshi, shichi-go-san and longevity Your traditional age, a child's shichi-go-san years, and celebrations from 60 to 100. Open the tool →

Common questions

What year is it in the Japanese calendar?

In 2026 it is Reiwa 8 (令和8年). The Reiwa era began on 1 May 2019, so Reiwa years are the Western year minus 2018.

What is my Japanese zodiac animal?

It is the animal of the calendar year you were born. 2026 is the year of the horse, 2025 was the snake and 2027 is the sheep. Japan uses the boar where China uses the pig.

What are the unlucky ages in Japan?

Counted in kazoedoshi, the main unlucky years are 25, 42 and 61 for men, and 19, 33 and 37 for women, with 61 also listed by many shrines. The worst are 42 for men and 33 for women.

How do you work out kazoedoshi?

Take the current year, subtract the birth year and add one. A baby is 1 at birth and everyone turns a year older on 1 January, so kazoedoshi is one or two years more than full age.

Era start dates are the official dates of each change of era. Customs such as yakudoshi and shichi-go-san vary between shrines and regions.