年 is year, 月 is month, 日 is date

年 is year, 月 is month, 日 is date

When you are filling out forms in Japan, you may notice that the year is not the normal (Gregorian / A.D.) calendar year, like 2019. The Japanese still use their imperial calendar year, which coinsides with the emperor’s reign. The current era is Heisei (平成), which started on January 8th, 1989. So 1989 was the year 1 of Heisei, and 2019 is year 31 of Heisei.

In modern Japan, the era lasted until the emporer’s death. However, the current Heisei Emporer expressed his wish to abdicate due to health concerns. He will be stepping down on April 30, 2019. The new era name starting on May 1st has not been announced yet, and is expected to be announced on April 1st.

Anyways, you have to know your years in two ways in Japan. You will probably have the option to select one of the following for the year (年):

  • 明治 / 明 / Meiji / M for the Meiji era
  • 大正 / 大 / Taisho / T for the Taisho era
  • 昭和 / 昭 / Showa / S for the Showa era
  • 平成 / 平 / Heisei / H for the Heisei era
  • And if you’re lucky, 西暦 / 西 / A.D. for the Gregorian calendar

Converting Japanese Imperial Calendar Years

Here is a quick guide on converting between the years.

Convert between A.D. and Meiji

Convert between A.D. and Meiji

The Meiji (明治) era started on October 23, 1868, up until July 30, 1912. So between those dates, get the Meiji year by subtracting 1867.
The Taisho (大正) era started on July 30, 1912, up until December 25, 1926. So between those dates, get the Tasho year by subtracting 1911.
You probably won’t have to worry about these two unless you’re talking about Japanese history, or your great-grandparents. 🙂

Convert between A.D. and Showa

Convert between A.D. and Showa

The Showa (昭和) era started on December 25, 1926, up until January 7, 1989. So between those dates, get the Showa year by subtracting 1925. You can just subtract 25 from the year without the century for shorthand calculations. To reverse, just add 25 to the Showa year to get the Gregorian calendar year.

Convert between A.D. and Heisei

Convert between A.D. and Heisei

The Heisei (平成) era started on January 8, 1989, and will end on April 30, 2019. So between those dates, get the Heisei year by subtracting 1988. You can just add 12 from the year without the century for shorthand calculations. To reverse, just subtract 12 to the Showa year to get the Gregorian calendar year.

The new era will start on May 1, 2019. So between those dates, get the imperial year by subtracting 2018. You can just subtract 18 from the year without the century for shorthand calculations. To reverse, just add 18 to the year to get the Gregorian calendar year.

Japanese Imperial Calendar Years Table

Here are some tables in case you don’t want to do the calculations.

平成 Heisei conversion table (1/8/1989 – 4/30/2019)

A.D. Heisei A.D. Heisei
2000 12
2001 13
2002 14
2003 15
2004 16
2005 17
2006 18
2007 19
2008 20
1989 1 2009 21
1990 2 2010 22
1991 3 2011 23
1992 4 2012 24
1993 5 2013 25
1994 6 2014 26
1995 7 2015 27
1996 8 2016 28
1997 9 2017 29
1998 10 2018 30
1999 11 2019 31

昭和 Showa conversion table (12/25/1926 – 1/7/1989)

A.D. Showa A.D. Showa A.D. Showa A.D. Showa
1940 15 1960 35 1980 55
1941 16 1961 36 1981 56
1942 17 1962 37 1982 57
1943 18 1963 38 1983 58
1944 19 1964 39 1984 59
1945 20 1965 40 1985 60
1926 1 1946 21 1966 41 1986 61
1927 2 1947 22 1967 42 1987 62
1928 3 1948 23 1968 43 1988 63
1929 4 1949 24 1969 44 1989 64
1930 5 1950 25 1970 45
1931 6 1951 26 1971 46
1932 7 1952 27 1972 47
1933 8 1953 28 1973 48
1934 9 1954 29 1974 49
1935 10 1955 30 1975 50
1936 11 1956 31 1976 51
1937 12 1957 32 1977 52
1938 13 1958 33 1978 53
1939 14 1959 34 1979 54

大正 Taisho conversion table (7/30/1912 – 12/25/1926)

A.D. Taisho
1912 1
1913 2
1914 3
1915 4
1916 5
1917 6
1918 7
1919 8
1920 9
1921 10
1922 11
1923 12
1924 13
1925 14
1926 15
Convert between A.D. and Taisho

Convert between A.D. and Taisho

明治 Meiji conversion table (10/23/1868 – 7/30/1912)

A.D. Meiji A.D. Meiji A.D. Meiji
1880 13 1900 33
1881 14 1901 34
1882 15 1902 35
1883 16 1903 36
1884 17 1904 37
1885 18 1905 38
1886 19 1906 39
1887 20 1907 40
1868 1 1888 21 1908 41
1869 2 1889 22 1909 42
1870 3 1890 23 1910 43
1871 4 1891 24 1911 44
1872 5 1892 25 1912 45
1873 6 1893 26
1874 7 1894 27
1875 8 1895 28
1876 9 1896 29
1877 10 1897 30
1878 11 1898 31
1879 12 1899 32