How to use Japanese era converter
- 1
Choose the era
Japanese era is already selected; pick Reiwa, Heisei, Shōwa, Taishō or Meiji in the era list.
- 2
Type the era year, month and day
Enter 1 for gannen. The Western date and weekday appear at once in the large card.
- 3
Going the other way
Switch Convert from to Gregorian and pick a Western date to read its wareki, eto and lunar date.
- 4
Look up a whole year
Scroll the year chart to find an era year, an age or an eto, or use the school chart for résumé dates.
Limits and Pro
Free: full dates from 1 January 1873 (Meiji 6) to 2299, era years from Meiji 1 (1868), and charts of 173 years (1868–2040) and 61 school cohorts (born 1955–2015).
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About Japanese era converter
Japanese forms, pension statements, driving licences and résumés date things in wareki, the era calendar: 令和8年 instead of 2026. This page converts a full wareki date to the Western date and back, and the chart below lists every year from 1868 to 2040 with its era year, the age a person born in it reaches on their birthday this year, and its eto, the sexagenary sign such as 丙午.
An era starts on the day an emperor takes the throne, not on 1 January. Taishō began on 30 July 1912, Shōwa on 25 December 1926, Heisei on 8 January 1989 and Reiwa on 1 May 2019, so 1912, 1926, 1989 and 2019 each have two era names in the chart. Meiji is the exception: it was declared in October 1868 and applied to the whole year. The first year of an era is written gannen (元年) rather than 1.
For a quick sum, add 2018 to a Reiwa year, 1988 to Heisei, 1925 to Shōwa, 1911 to Taishō and 1867 to Meiji. The converter does the same while keeping month and day, and tells you when a date such as Heisei 31, 1 May has already moved into the next era.
A second chart gives school entry and graduation years for a résumé, for people born from 2 April to 1 April of the next year. Dates before 1873 (Meiji 1–5) followed the old lunisolar calendar and are shown as era years only.
Privacy
The era arithmetic and both charts run in this page; nothing about the dates you enter, such as a birth date for a résumé, leaves your browser. The last date and calendar you used are kept in local storage on this device so the page reopens where you left it.
Features
Year chart 1868–2040
Western year, era year, age this year and eto for 173 years, with both names in change-over years.
Résumé school years
Elementary entry to university graduation for cohorts born 1955–2015, in Western and era years.
Exact era boundaries
Dates around 30 July 1912, 25 December 1926, 8 January 1989 and 1 May 2019 land in the right era.