Q: Why do the Japanese have two different ways of telling the date?

Great question!

When you spend enough time in Japan to be involved in the administrative matters, you will soon realise that the country operates on two date systems.

One of them is the numerical Western-style calendar, seireki 西暦 (せいれき), following the American rather than European date format (i.e. month comes first and day comes second), that may be accompanied by the kanji for year 年, month 月 and day 日. Years are following the decimal system and continue uninterrupted, marking the continuous passage of time.

The second calendar, so-called wareki 和暦 (われき), is based on gengo 元号 (げんごう), a system calculating the years in reference to the regnal reign. This system was introduced from China around 7th century AD and had been helping keep track of time in accordance to which emperor/empress were in power (yes! there have been female rulers in Japan - you can read about them in more detail here).

Initially, one era name was assigned to one ruler for each reign, however it quickly got complicated in the Japanese Middle Ages with the emergence of the institution of shōgun, the military rulers. (We won’t elaborate on that here but you can find out more about Historical Eras in Japan from my other article here.)

How does it work?

Years are added as long as the reign lasts, and the count restarts at the beginning of a new era.

Upon ascending to the throne, His Royal Highness the Emperor of Japan assumes a carefully selected new name which becomes the name of the new era (年号 nengō or 元号 gengō). The meaning behind the characters often conveys the general intent/hopes for the upcoming reign. That name will later become the Emperor’s posthumous name.

The ascension to the chrysanthemum throne always marks the beginning of the new era in the Japanese history. The years are then calculated accordingly, the first year of the era being the year His Royal Highness ascended to the throne.

令和時代（れいわじだい）Reiwa Era
　　　　　reign of the Emperor Naruhito 徳仁　(2019-)　　
平成時代（へいせいじだい）Heisei Era
　　　　　reign of the Emperor Akihito 明仁　(1989-2019) 　
昭和時代（しょうわじだい）Shōwa Era
　　　　　reign of the Emperor Hirohito 裕仁　(1926-1989)
　　　　　posthumous name 昭和天皇 Shōwa Tennō
大正時代（たいしょうじだい）Taishō Era
　　　　 reign of the Emperor Yoshihito 嘉仁　(1912-1926)
　　　　　posthumous name 大正天皇 Taishō Tennō
明治時代（めいじじだい）Meiji Era
　　　　　reign of the Emperor Mutsuhito 睦仁　(1868-1912)
　　　　　posthumous names: 明治天皇 Meiji Tennō
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 明治大帝 Meiji Taitei
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 明治聖帝 Meiji Seitei　　　

But why the two systems?

The current system is a compromise to honour the centuries-old calendar tradition with the uniformity required to partake in the world economy.

Its origins date back to the great modernisation during the Meiji Restoration (明治維新 meiji isshin or 御一新 goisshin). It all happened after Japan was forced to open it’s borders after over 200-year-long period of seclusion (the so-called 鎖国 sakoku period), and had little choice but to find the golden mean when adapting to the rules and systems practiced worldwide.

How does it work in practice?

Think about it as being date-bilingual. In practice, everybody memorises the year they (and their closest family) were born, and which year of which era the dates correspond to.

It is also obvious which year it is currently, as it is +1 from the previous one 😉

For anything else and when in doubt, people usually double-check the dates by consulting the charts like this one below.

Which year in Japanese era is year…

P.S. If you’re going to live in Japan - don’t worry, you will have no problem adjusting to the date system! (Just jot down your date of birth in Japanese era and keep in the passport for safekeeping, just in case! ☺️)

You will feel more confident if you learn some kanji before you go to Japan! Good luck! 🍀