Although these days many Japanese people and particularly businesses use the Christian calendar, the traditional Japanese-style calendar is still very much in use. Probably the influence of the USA and Europe have made Japanese businesses adapt and adopt – for trade’s sake – but usually both time keeping arrangements are seen side by side.
The original Japanese calendar was based on the Emperor’s reign. If you look down the list you will see that the last year of one emperor is also the first year of the next emperor. Obviously the day the Emperor passes away would be the last day of his reign and the next day would be the start of the new calendar. It is also important to know that the Emperor is never referred to by his personal name, only ever by his official name.
Here is the list of years since the start of the era of modern Emperors of Japan:
明治天皇
めいじてんのう
meiji tennō
Emperor Meiji
|
(personal name) Mutsuhito |
|
Meiji 1 = 1868
|
|
Meiji 2 = 1869
|
|
Meiji 3 = 1870
|
|
Meiji 4 = 1871
|
|
Meiji 5 = 1872
|
|
Meiji 6 = 1873
|
|
Meiji 7 = 1874
|
|
Meiji 8 = 1875
|
|
Meiji 9 = 1876
|
|
Meiji 10 = 1877
|
|
Meiji 11 = 1878
|
|
Meiji 12 = 1879
|
|
Meiji 13 = 1880
|
|
Meiji 14 = 1881
|
|
Meiji 15 = 1882
|
|
Meiji 16 = 1883
|
|
Meiji 17 = 1884
|
|
Meiji 18 = 1885
|
|
Meiji 19 = 1886
|
|
Meiji 20 = 1887
|
|
Meiji 21 = 1888
|
|
Meiji 22 = 1889
|
|
Meiji 23 = 1890
|
|
Meiji 24 = 1891
|
|
Meiji 25 = 1892
|
|
Meiji 26 = 1893
|
|
Meiji 27 = 1894
|
|
Meiji 28 = 1895
|
|
Meiji 29 = 1896
|
|
Meiji 30 = 1897
|
|
Meiji 31 = 1898
|
|
Meiji 32 = 1899
|
|
Meiji 33 = 1900
|
|
Meiji 34 = 1901
|
|
Meiji 35 = 1902
|
|
Meiji 36 = 1903
|
|
Meiji 37 = 1904
|
|
Meiji 38 = 1905
|
|
Meiji 39 = 1906
|
|
Meiji 40 = 1907
|
|
Meiji 41 = 1908
|
|
Meiji 42 = 1909
|
|
Meiji 43 = 1910
|
|
Meiji 44 = 1911
|
|
Meiji 45 = 1912
|
大正天皇
たいしょうてんのう
taishō tennō
Emperor Taisho
|
(personal name) Yoshihito |
|
Taishō 1 = 1912
|
|
Taishō 2 = 1913
|
|
Taishō 3 = 1914
|
|
Taishō 4 = 1915
|
|
Taishō 5 = 1916
|
|
Taishō 6 = 1917
|
|
Taishō 7 = 1918
|
|
Taishō 8 = 1919
|
|
Taishō 9 = 1920
|
|
Taishō 10 = 1921
|
|
Taishō 11 = 1922
|
|
Taishō 12 = 1923
|
|
Taishō 13 = 1924
|
|
Taishō 14 = 1925
|
|
Taishō 15 = 1926
|
昭和天皇
しょうわてんのう
shōwa tennō
Emperor Showa
|
(personal name) Hirohito |
|
Shōwa 1 = 1926
|
|
Shōwa 2 = 1927
|
|
Shōwa 3 = 1928
|
|
Shōwa 4 = 1929
|
|
Shōwa 5 = 1930
|
|
Shōwa 6 = 1931
|
|
Shōwa 7 = 1932
|
|
Shōwa 8 = 1933
|
|
Shōwa 9 = 1934
|
|
Shōwa 10 = 1935
|
|
Shōwa 11 = 1936
|
|
Shōwa 12 = 1937
|
|
Shōwa 13 = 1938
|
|
Shōwa 14 = 1939
|
|
Shōwa 15 = 1940
|
|
Shōwa 16 = 1941
|
|
Shōwa 17 = 1942
|
|
Shōwa 18 = 1943
|
|
Shōwa 19 = 1944
|
|
Shōwa 20 = 1945
|
|
Shōwa 21 = 1946
|
|
Shōwa 22 = 1947
|
|
Shōwa 23 = 1948
|
|
Shōwa 24 = 1949
|
|
Shōwa 25 = 1950
|
|
Shōwa 26 = 1951
|
|
Shōwa 27 = 1952
|
|
Shōwa 28 = 1953
|
|
Shōwa 29 = 1954
|
|
Shōwa 30 = 1955
|
|
Shōwa 31 = 1956
|
|
Shōwa 32 = 1957
|
|
Shōwa 33 = 1958
|
|
Shōwa 34 = 1959
|
|
Shōwa 35 = 1960
|
|
Shōwa 36 = 1961
|
|
Shōwa 37 = 1962
|
|
Shōwa 38 = 1963
|
|
Shōwa 39 = 1964
|
|
Shōwa 40 = 1965
|
|
Shōwa 41 = 1966
|
|
Shōwa 42 = 1967
|
|
Shōwa 43 = 1968
|
|
Shōwa 44 = 1969
|
|
Shōwa 45 = 1970
|
|
Shōwa 46 = 1971
|
|
Shōwa 47 = 1972
|
|
Shōwa 48 = 1973
|
|
Shōwa 49 = 1974
|
|
Shōwa 50 = 1975
|
|
Shōwa 51 = 1976
|
|
Shōwa 52 = 1977
|
|
Shōwa 53 = 1978
|
|
Shōwa 54 = 1979
|
|
Shōwa 55 = 1980
|
|
Shōwa 56 = 1981
|
|
Shōwa 57 = 1982
|
|
Shōwa 58 = 1983
|
|
Shōwa 59 = 1984
|
|
Shōwa 60 = 1985
|
|
Shōwa 61 = 1986
|
|
Shōwa 62 = 1987
|
|
Shōwa 63 = 1988
|
|
Shōwa 64 = 1989
|
平成天皇
へいせいてんのう
heisei tennō
Emperor Heisei
|
(personal name) Akihito
|
|
Heisei 1 = 1989
|
|
Heisei 2 = 1990
|
|
Heisei 3 = 1991
|
|
Heisei 4 = 1992
|
|
Heisei 5 = 1993
|
|
Heisei 6 = 1994
|
|
Heisei 7 = 1995
|
|
Heisei 8 = 1996
|
|
Heisei 9 = 1997
|
|
Heisei 10 = 1998
|
|
Heisei 11 = 1999
|
|
Heisei 12 = 2000
|
|
Heisei 13 = 2001
|
|
Heisei 14 = 2002
|
|
Heisei 15 = 2003
|
|
Heisei 16 = 2004
|
|
Heisei 17 = 2005
|
|
Heisei 18 = 2006
|
|
Heisei 19 = 2007
|
|
Heisei 20 = 2008
|
|
Heisei 21 = 2009
|
|
Heisei 22 = 2010
|
|
Heisei 23 = 2011
|
|
Heisei 24 = 2012
|
|
Heisei 25 = 2013
|
Lami Japan 