Japanese Calendar: Calendar

At present, Japan uses the Gregorian calendar and also the Japanese era name system.

Japan has more than one traditional system for counting years, including

• The Chinese calendar (sexagenary cycle)
• The Japanese Imperial year (皇紀, kōki) or "National calendar year" based on the legendary founding of Japan by Emperor Jimmu in 660 BC.
• The Japanese era name (年号, nengō) based on the reign of the current emperor

Since the Meiji period, Japan has used the Western Common Era (Anno Domini) (西暦, seireki) system.

In Japan today, the old Chinese calendar is rarely used. The system of counting years from the reign of Emperor Jimmu has been abandoned.

 

The Japanese calendar has yearly holidays and traditional events. Some of these preserve ancient customs.

The names and dates of some of Japan's national holidays have changed over time.

• Japanese Imperial year
• Japanese era names