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Japanese Calendar

Japanese calendar

station celebrates Hazuki, the eighth month.]] Since January 1, 1873, Japan has used the Gregorian Calendar, with local names for the months and mostly fixed holidays. Before 1873 a lunisolar calendar was in use, which was adapted from the Chinese calendar.

Years

Since the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, three different systems for counting years have or had been used in Japan:
- The Western Common Era (西暦, seireki) designation
- The Japanese era name (年号, nengō) based on the reign of the current emperor, the year 2005 being Heisei 17
- The imperial year (皇紀, kōki) based on the mythical founding of Japan by Emperor Jimmu in 660BCE Of these three, the first two are still in current use; the imperial calendar was used until the end of World War II.

Months

The modern Japanese names for the months literally translate to "first month", "second month", and so on. The corresponding number is combined with the suffix -gatsu (month):
- January - 一月 (ichigatsu)
- February - 二月 (nigatsu)
- March - 三月 (sangatsu)
- April - 四月 (shigatsu)
- May - 五月 (gogatsu)
- June - 六月 (rokugatsu)
- July - 七月 (shichigatsu)
- August - 八月 (hachigatsu)
- September - 九月 (kugatsu)
- October - 十月 (jūgatsu)
- November - 十一月 (jūichigatsu)
- December - 十二月 (jūnigatsu) In addition, every month has a traditional name, still used by some in fields such as poetry; of the twelve, shiwasu is still widely used today. The opening paragraph of a letter or the greeting in a speech might borrow one of these names to convey a sense of the season. Some, such as yayoi and satsuki, do double duty as given names (for women). These month names also appear from time to time on jidaigeki, which are contemporary television shows and movies set in the Edo period or earlier The name of month: (pronunciation, literal meaning)
- January - 睦月 (mutsuki, affection month)
- February - 如月 or 衣更着 (kisaragi or kinusaragi, changing clothes)
- March - 弥生 (yayoi, new life; the beginning of spring)
- April - 卯月 (uzuki, hare month)
- May - 皐月 or 早月 or 五月(satsuki, fast month)
- June - 水無月 (minatsuki or minazuki, water month -- the 無 character is ateji)
- July - 文月 (fumizuki, book month)
- August - 葉月 (hazuki, leaf month)
- September - 長月 (nagatsuki, long month)
- October - 神無月 (kan'nazuki or kaminazuki, no god month), 神有月 or 神在月; (kamiarizuki, god month – only in Izumo province, where all the gods are believed to gather in October for an annual meeting at the Izumo Shrine)
- November - 霜月 (shimotsuki, frost month)
- December - 師走 (shiwasu, priests run; it is named so because priests are busy making end of the year prayers and blessings.)

Days of the month

Each day of the month has a semi-systematic but irregularly formed name: In the traditional calendar, the thirtieth was the last day of the month, and its traditional name, misoka, survives (although sanjunichi is far more common, and is the usual term). The last day of the year is ōmisoka (the big thirtieth day), and that term is still in use.

Days of the week

The seven day week, with names for the days corresponding directly to those used in Europe, was brought to Japan around 800 AD. The system was used for astrological purposes and little else until 1876, shortly after Japan officially adopted the Western calendar. Fukuzawa Yukichi was a key figure in the decison to adopt this system as the source for official names for the days of the week. The names come from the five visible planets, which in turn are named after the five Chinese elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water), and from the moon and sun (yin and yang).

National holidays

Notes: Single days between two national holidays are taken as a bank holiday. This applies to May 4, which is a holiday each year. When a national holiday falls on a Sunday the following Monday is taken as a holiday. † Traditional date of the founding of Japan by Emperor Jimmu, in 660 BC. Veracity of this claim is often questioned.
- Part of Golden Week

Timeline of changes to the national holidays

- 1948 - The following national holidays were introduced: New Year's Day, Coming-of-Age Day, Constitution Memorial Day, Children's Day, Autumnal Equinox Day, Culture Day, Labour Thanksgiving Day.
- 1966 - Health and Sports Day was introduced in memory of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Vernal Equinox Day was also introduced.
- 1985 - Reform to the national holiday law made May 4, sandwiched between two other national holidays also a holiday.
- 1989 - After Emperor Showa died on January 7, the Emperor's Birthday became December 23 and Greenery Day took place of the former Emperor's birthday.
- 2000, 2003 - Happy Monday Seido (ハッピーマンデー制度 Happī Mandē Seido) moved several holidays to Monday. Starting with 2000: Coming-of-Age Day (formerly January 15), and Health and Sports Day (formerly October 10). Starting with 2003: Marine Day (formerly July 20), and Respect for the Aged Day (formerly September 15).
- 2005, 2007 - According to a May 2005 decision, starting with 2007 Greenery Day will be moved from April 29 to May 4, while April 29 will be known as Showa Day.
- 2009 - September 22 may become sandwiched between two holidays, which would make this day a national holiday.

Seasonal days

Some days have special names to mark the change in seasons. The 24 Sekki (二十四節気 Nijūshi sekki) are days that divide a year in the Lunisolar calendar into twenty four equal sections. Zassetsu (雑節) is a collective term for the seasonal days other than the 24 Sekki. 72 Kō (七十二候 Shichijūni kō) days are made from dividing the 24 Sekki of a year further by three. Some of these names are still used quite frequently in everyday life in Japan.

24 Sekki

- 6 January: 小寒 (Shōkan) a.k.a. 寒の入り (Kan no iri)
- 20 January: 大寒 (Daikan)
- 4 February: 立春 (Risshun) - Beginning of spring
- 19 February: 雨水 (Usui)
- 5 March: 啓蟄 (Keichitsu)
- 21 March: 春分 (Shunbun) - Vernal equinox, middle of spring
- 5 April: 清明 (Seimei)
- 20 April: 穀雨 (Kokuu)
- May 6: 立夏 (Rikka) - Beginning of summer
- May 21: 小満 (Shōman)
- 6 June: 芒種 (Bōshu)
- 21 June: 夏至 (Geshi) - Summer solstice, middle of summer
- 7 July: 小暑 (Shōsho)
- 23 July: 大暑 (Taisho)
- 7 August: 立秋 (Risshū) - Beginning of autumn
- 23 August: 処暑 (Shosho)
- 8 September: 白露 (Hakuro)
- 23 September: 秋分 (Shūbun) - Autumnal equinox, middle of autumn
- 8 October: 寒露 (Kanro)
- 23 October: 霜降 (Sōkō)
- 7 November: 立冬 (Rittō) - Beginning of winter
- 22 November: 小雪 (Shōsetsu)
- 7 December: 大雪 (Taisetsu)
- 22 December: 冬至 (Tōji) - Winter solstice, middle of winter Days can vary by ±1 day. See also: Jieqi.

Zassetsu

Shanichi days can vary as much as ±5 days. Chūgen has a fixed day. All other days can vary by ±1 day. Many zassetsu days occur on multiple seasons:
- Setsubun (節分) refers to the day before each season, or the eves of Risshun, Rikka, Rishū, and Rittō; especially the eve of Risshun.
- Doyō (土用) refers to the 18 days before each season, especially the one before fall which is known as the hottest period of a year.
- Higan (彼岸) is the seven middle days of spring and autumn, with Shunbun at the middle of the seven days for spring, Shūbun for fall.
- Shanichi (社日) is the Tsuchinoe (戊) day closest to Shunbun (middle of spring) or Shūbun (middle of fall), which can be as much as -5 to +4 days away from Shunbun/Shūbun.

Seasonal festivals

The following are known as the five seasonal festivals (節句 sekku, also 五節句 go sekku). The Sekku were made official holidays during Edo era. # January 7 (1/7) - 人日 (Jinjitsu), 七草の節句 (Nanakusa no sekku) # March 3 (3/3) - 上巳 (Jōshi, Jōmi), 桃の節句 (Momo no sekku) #: 雛祭り (Hina matsuri), Girls' Day. # May 5 (5/5) - 端午 (Tango), 端午の節句 (Tango no sekku), 菖蒲の節句 (Ayame no sekku) #: Boys' Day. Overlaps with the national holiday Children's Day. # July 7 (7/7) - 七夕 (Shichiseki, Tanabata), 星祭り (Hoshi matsuri ) # September 9 (9/9) - 重陽 (Chōyō), 菊の節句 (Kiku no sekku) Not Sekku:
- January 1 - Japanese New Year
- August 15 - Obon
- December 31 - Ōmisoka

Rokuyō

The rokuyō (六曜) are a series of six days that predict whether there will be good or bad fortune during that day. The rokuyō are still commonly found on Japanese calendars today, and are often used to plan weddings and funerals. The rokuyō are also known as the rokki (六輝). In order, they are:
- 先勝 (senshō) - Good luck before noon, bad luck after noon. Good day for beginnings (in the morning).
- 友引 (tomobiki) - Bad things will happen to your friends. Funerals avoided on this day (tomo = friend, biki = pull, thus a funeral might pull friends toward the deceased).
- 先負 (senbu) - Bad luck before noon, good luck after noon.
- 仏滅 (butsumetsu) - The day Buddha died. Most unlucky day. Weddings best avoided.
- 大安 (taian) - Most lucky day. Good day for weddings.
- 赤口 (shakkō) - The hour of the horse (11 am - 1 pm) is lucky. The rest is bad luck. The rokuyō days are easily calculated from the Japanese Lunar calendar. Lunar January 1st is always senshō, with the days following in the order given above until the end of the month. Thus, January 2nd is tomobiki, January 3rd is senbu, and so on. Lunar February 1st restarts the sequence at tomobiki. Lunar March 1st restarts at senbu, and so on for each month. The last six months repeat the patterns of the first six, so July 1st = senshō and December 1st is shakkō.

April 1

The first day of April has broad significance in Japan. It marks the beginning of the government's fiscal year. Many corporations follow suit. In addition, corporations often form or merge on that date. In recent years, municipalities have preferred it for mergers. On this date, many new employees begin their jobs, and it is the start of many real-estate leases. The school year begins on April 1. (For more see also academic term)

External links

- [http://www.ndl.go.jp/koyomi/e Japanese calendar history by the National Diet Library]
- [http://www2.gol.com/users/stever/calendar.htm The Lunar Calendar in Japan]
- [http://koyomi.vis.ne.jp/mainindex.htm Koyomi no page] in Japanese
- [http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~nm9m-hsy/koyomi/ Koyomi no hanashi] in Japanese Calendar Category:Specific calendars ja:日本のこよみ ms:Kalendar Jepun

1873

1873 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calaber).

Events

January - April

- January 71 - Indian Wars: First Battle of the Stronghold during the Modoc War.
- February 11 - Spanish Cortes deposes King Amadeus I and proclaims the First Spanish Republic.
- February 12 - Former foreign minister Emilio Cistelar y Ripoli becomes prime minister of the new Spanish Republic.
- February 20 - The University of California opens its first medical school in San Francisco, California
- March 1 - E. Remington and Sons of Ilion, New York start production of the first practical typewriter.
- March 3 - Censorship: The U.S. Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any "obscene, lewd, or lascivious" books through the mail.
- April 1 - The British steamer SS Atlantic sinks off Nova Scotia killing 547.
- April 15 - 17 - Indian Wars: Second Battle of the Stronghold

May - August

- May 9 Der Krach: Vienna stock market crash heralds Long Depression
- May 23 - The Canadian Parliament establishes the North West Mounted Police (which will be renamed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1920).
- June 4 - Indian Wars: The Modoc War ends with the capture of Captain Jack.
- July 1 - Prince Edward Island joins the Canadian Confederation.
- July 21 - At Adair, Iowa, Jesse James and the James-Younger gang pull off the first successful train robbery in the American West (US$3,000 from the Rock Island Express).
- August 4 - Indian Wars: While protecting a railroad survey party in Montana, the Seventh Cavalry, under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, clash for the first time with the Sioux (near the Tongue River; only one man on each side is killed).

September - December

- September 16 - German troops leave France upon completion of payment of indemnity for Franco-Prussian War.
- September 18 - New York stock market crash.
- November 6 - Formation of the Halifax Rugby Club.
- November 7 - Alexander Mackenzie becomes Canada's second prime minister.
- November 17 - From Pest, Buda and Óbuda, Budapest, Hungary's capital is formed.
- December 15 - Women of Fredonia, New York march against the retail liquor dealers in town to inaugurate the Woman's Crusade of 1873-74. This led to the creation of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union.

Unknown date

- Toronto Argonauts are founded. The oldest pro sports team still playing in North America.
- Rangers F.C. are founded. Rangers go on to be the most successful club in the world in terms of trophies won.
- The United Kingdom declares war against Ghana's King Kofi KariKari, who was involved in the trading of slaves. The war ended by July and the British established the Gold Coast Colony.
- Coors Brewing Company begins making beer in Golden, Colorado.
- DDT first synthesized.
- Swedish arms company Bofors is incorporated.
- In Mexico, Veracruz to Mexico City railroad completed.
- Royal Montreal Club in Montreal, Quebec is founded, becoming the first permanent golf club in North America.
- Henry Rose exhibits barbed wire at an Illinois county fair, which is taken up by Joseph Glidden and Jacob Haish, who invent a machine to mass-produce it.
- Britain puts pressure on Sultan Barghash Sayyid who closes slave markets in Zanzibar
- Peter Tchaikovsky composes The Tempest
- First running of the Preakness Stakes horse race in Baltimore, Maryland
- SUN was founded
- Womans Temperance League organized by Eliza Daniel Stewart

Births

January-March

- January 7 - Adolph Zukor, Austrian-born film studio pioneer (d. 1976)
- January 10 - George Orton, Canadian athlete (d. 1958)
- January 12 - Spiridon Louis, Greek runner (d. 1940)
- January 20 - Johannes Vilhelm Jensen, Danish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1950)
- January 28 - Colette, French writer (d. 1954)
- February 2 - Maurice Tourneur, French film director (d. 1961)
- February 3 - Karl Jatho, German aviation pioneer (d. 1933)
- February 4 - Étienne Desmarteau, Canadian athlete (d. 1905)
- February 13 - Feodor Chaliapin, Russian bass (d. 1938)
- February 15 - Hans von Euler-Chelpin, German-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1964)
- February 25 - Enrico Caruso, Italian tenor (d. 1921)
- March 3 - William Green, American labor leader (d. 1952)
- March 11 - David Horsley, English-born film executive (d. 1933)
- March 19 - Max Reger, German composer (d. 1916)

April-June

- April 1 - Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian composer and pianist (d. 1943)
- April 7 - John McGraw, baseball player and manager (d. 1934)
- April 10 - Kyösti Kallio, Prime Minister and President of Finland (d. 1940)
- April 19 - Sydney Barnes, English cricketer (d. 1967)
- April 22 - Ellen Glasgow, American writer (d. 1945)
- May 4 - Joe De Grasse, Canadian film director (d. 1940)
- May 9 - Anton Cermak, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1933)
- May 17 - Henri Barbusse, French novelist and journalist (d. 1935)
- May 17 - Dorothy Richardson, English feminist writer (d. 1957)
- May 28 - D.D. Sheehan, Irish politician (d. 1948)
- June 3 - Otto Loewi, German-born pharmacologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1961)
- June 26 - Alexis Carrel, French surgeon and biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1944)

July-September

- July 1 - Alice Guy-Blaché, French-American filmmaker (d. 1968)
- July 20 - Alberto Santos-Dumont, Brazilian aviation pioneer (d. 1932)
- August 26 - Lee De Forest, American inventor (d. 1961)
- September 5 - Cornelius Vanderbilt III, American military officer, inventor, engineer (d. 1942)
- September 8 - David O. McKay, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1970)
- September 20 - Sidney Olcott, pioneer film director (d. 1949)
- September 20 - Ferenc Szisz, Hungarian-born race car driver (d. 1944)
- September 21 - Papa Jack Laine, jazz musician (d. 1966)

October-December

- October 14 - Ray Ewry, American athlete (d. 1937)
- October 19 - Jaap Eden, Dutch skater and cyclist (d. 1925)
- October 26 - Thorvald Stauning, Prime Minister of Denmark (d. 1942)
- November 16 - W.C. Handy, American blues composer (d. 1958)
- November 22 - Johnny Tyldesley, English cricketer (d. 1930)
- December 7 - Willa Cather, American novelist (d. 1947)
- December 11 - Josip Plemelj, Slovenian mathematician (d. 1967)
- December 17 - Ford Maddox Ford, English writer (d. 1939)
- December 26 - Thomas Wass, Nottinghamshire bowler (d. 1953)
- December 30 - Al Smith, American politician (d. 1944)

Unknown

- Leon Czolgosz, assassin of U.S. President William McKinley (d.1901)
- William Ernest Hocking, American philosopher (d. 1966)

Deaths

- January 9 - Napoleon III, last Emperor of France (b. 1808)
- January 18 - Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, English writer (b. 1803
- January 20 - Fr. Basil Anthony Mary Moreau, religious leader
- February 7 - Sheridan Le Fanu, Irish writer (b. 1814)
- March 10 - John Torrey, American botanist (b. 1796)
- April 11 - Edward Canby, U.S. general (b. 1817)
- May 6 - José Antonio Páez, first President of Venezuela (b. 1790)
- May 8 - John Stuart Mill, British philosopher (b. 1806)
- May 20 - Sir George-Étienne Cartier, Canadian statesman (b. 1814)
- June 1 - Joseph Howe, Canadian politician (b. 1804)
- September 17 - Alexander Berry, Scottish adventurer and Australian pioneer (b. 1781)
- September 22 - Friedrich Frey-Herosé, member of the Swiss Federal Council (b. 1801)
- September 23 - Jean Chacornac, French astronomer (b. 1823)
- December 14 - Louis Agassiz, Swiss-American geologist and naturalist (b. 1807)
- Tekle Giyorgis II of Ethiopia, deposed Emperor of Ethiopia (ruled 1868 - 1872) Category:1873 ko:1873년 ms:1873 simple:1873 th:พ.ศ. 2416

Lunisolar calendar

A lunisolar calendar is a calendar whose date indicates both the moon phase and the time of the solar year. If the solar year is defined as a tropical year then a lunisolar calendar will give an indication of the season; if it is taken as a sidereal year then the calendar will predict the constellation near which the full moon may occur. Usually there is an additional requirement that the year has a whole number of months, in which case most years have 12 months but every second or third year has 13 months.

Examples

The Hebrew, Hindu lunar, Buddhist, Tibetan calendars, and Chinese calendar used alone until 1912 and then used along with the Gregorian Calendar are all lunisolar, as was the Japanese calendar until 1873, the pre-Islamic calendar, the first century Gaulish Coligny calendar and the second millennium BCE Babylonian calendar. The Hebrew, Chinese and Coligny lunisolar calendars track the tropical year whereas the Buddhist and Hindu lunisolar calendars track the sidereal year. Therefore the first two give an idea of the seasons whereas the last two give an idea of the position among the constellations of the full moon. The Tibetan calendar was influenced by both the Chinese and Hindu calendars. The Islamic calendar is a lunar, but not lunisolar calendar because its date is not related to the sun. The Julian and Gregorian Calendars are solar, not lunisolar, because their dates do not indicate the moon phase — however, without realising it, most Christians do use a lunisolar calendar in the determination of Easter.

Determining leap months

To determine when an embolismic month needs to be inserted, some calendars rely on direct observations of the state of vegetation, while others compare the ecliptic longitude of the sun and the phase of the moon. On the other hand, in arithmetical lunisolar calendars, an integral number of synodic months is fitted into some integral number of years by a fixed rule. To construct such a calendar, the average length of the tropical year is divided by the average length of the synodic month, which gives the number of average months in a year as: 12.368266... Continued fractions of this decimal value give optimal approximations for this value. So in the list below, after the number of synodic months listed in the numerator, an integer number of tropical years as listed in the denominator have been completed: 12 / 1 25 / 2 37 / 3 99 / 8 136 / 11 235 / 19 4131 / 334 The 8-year cycle was used in the ancient Athenian calendar. The 19-year cycle is the classic Metonic cycle, which is used in most arithmetical lunisolar calendars. It is a combination of the 8- and 11-year period, and whenever the error of the 19-year approximation has built up to a full day, a cycle can be truncated to 8 or 11 years, after which 19-year cycles can start anew. The Metonic cycle does not have an integer number of days, but it was adapted to a mean year of 365.25 days by means of the 4×19 year Callipic cycle. The 8-year cycle was also used in early third-century Easter calculations in Rome and Alexandria. Rome used an 84-year cycle from the late third century until 457. Early Christians in Britain and Ireland also used an 84-year cycle until the Synod of Whitby. The 84-year cycle is equivalent to a Callipic 76-year cycle plus an 8-year cycle and so has 1039 lunar months. The last listed approximation (4131/334) is very sensitive to the adopted values for the lunation and year, especially the year. There are different possible definitions of the year, other approximations may be more accurate. For example (4366/353) is more accurate for a vernal equinox tropical year and (1979/160) is more accurate for a sidereal year.

Calculating a "leap month"

A rough idea of the frequency of the intercalary or leap month in all lunisolar calendars can be obtained by the following calculation, using approximate lengths of months and years in days:
- Year: 365.25, Month: 29.53
- 365.25/(12 × 29.53) = 1.0307
- 1/0.0307 = 32.57 common months between leap months
- 32.57/12 − 1 = 1.7 common years between leap years A representative sequence of common and leap years is ccLccLcLccLccLccLcL, which is the classic nineteen-year Metonic cycle. The Hebrew and Buddhist calendars restrict the leap month to a single month of the year, so the number of common months between leap months is usually 36 months but occasionally only 24 months elapse. The Chinese and Hindu lunisolar calendars allow the leap month to occur after or before (respectively) any month but use the true motion of the sun, so their leap months do not usually occur within a couple of months of perihelion, when the apparent speed of the sun along the ecliptic is fastest (now about 3 January). This increases the usual number of common months between leap months to roughly 34 months when a doublet of common years occurs while reducing the number to about 29 months when only a common singleton occurs.

External links

- [http://lunarcal.org Perpetual Chinese Lunar Program]
- [http://www.pburch.net/lunarcal.html Lunisolar Calendar] Category:Calendars ko:태음태양력 ja:太陰太陽暦

Chinese calendar

The Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar formed by combining a purely lunar calendar with a solar calendar. In modern times Chinese usually use the Gregorian Calendar for most day to day activities, but the Chinese calendar is still used for the dating of traditional holidays such as Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) and the Mid-Autumn Festival and in astrology, including choosing the most auspicious date for a wedding or the grand opening of a building. The primary use in day to day activities is for determining the phase of the moon, which is important for farmers and is possible because each day in the calendar corresponds to a particular phase of the month. Other traditional east Asian calendars are similar to if not identical to the Chinese calendar: the Korean calendar is identical, the Vietnamese calendar substitutes the cat for the rabbit in the twelve animals, the Tibetan calendar differs slightly in animal names, and the traditional Japanese calendar used (and still uses) a different method of calculation, resulting in disagreements between the calendars in some years. Elements of the Chinese (or Sino-Uighur) calendar were introduced to the Islamic world following the Mongol invasions. The twelve year cycle, including Turkish/Mongolian translations of the animal names (known as sanawat-e turki سنوات ترکی,) remained in use for chronology, historiography, and bureaucratic purposes in the Persian and Turkish speaking world from Asia Minor to India throughout the Medieval and Early Modern periods. In Iran it remained common in agricultural records and tax assessments until a 1925 law (see Iranian calendar) deprecated its use. In China, the native calendar is the "farmer's calendar" (農曆 nónglì), as opposed to the "civil calendar" (公曆 gōnglì), or "Western calendar" (西曆 xīlì). The Chinese calendar was also called the "old calendar" (舊曆) after the "new calendar" (新曆), i.e. the Gregorian calendar, was adopted as the official calendar.

History

Beginnings

The legendary beginning of the Chinese calendar developed during the first millennium BCE. The legend states that the first Chinese calendar was invented by the first legendary emperor, Huangdi or the Yellow Emperor, whose reign was assigned to 2698-2599 BCE. The fourth legendary emperor, Emperor Yao, added the intercalary month. The 60-year stem-branch (干支 gānzhī) cycle was first assigned to years during the first century BCE. Giving Huangdi some maturity, the first year of the first cycle was assigned to 2637 BCE according to Herbert A. Giles, A Chinese-English Dictionary (1912), and all other Western authors during the late Qing dynasty. Thus since 1984 the current cycle has been 78. However, some modern authors assign the first year of the first cycle to 2697 BCE while Huangdi was still immature, saying we are now in cycle 79. These two epochs give rise to two continuous counts of years, causing the 'Chinese' years 4642 or 4702 to begin in early 2005. The first use of the sexagesimal stem-branch cycle in the calendar was for days on oracle bones dated about 1350 BC in Shang Dynasty. The system was never interrupted and is still marked in the Chinese calendar. The system is independent of other parts of the Chinese calendar and continues to cycle. Although a stem-branch cannot be used to deduce the actual day in historical events, it can assist in converting Chinese dates to other calendars more accurately. The use of the stem-branch in months was much later, probably in the Han Dynasty. Continuously numbered sexagesimal cycles and the years based on them were inventions of Western chronologists—the Chinese themselves did not use either. But they did use unnumbered cycles, albeit in a subservient role to the reign-period year declared by the Emperor of China. Indeed, not using the emperor's reign-period was tantamount to treason punishable by death. But the Boxer rebellion of 1900 left the de facto ruler of China, the Empress Dowager Cixi, weakened and vulnerable to a challenge from Chinese Republicans, who intentionally used a continuous count of years to delegitimize the Qing Dynasty by refusing to use its years. Although republican newspapers used more than one epoch, that selected by Sun Yat-sen, 2698 BCE, was adopted by most overseas Chinese communities outside southeast Asia like San Francisco's Chinatown, causing their year 4703 to begin in early 2005. Many chronologists, being unfamiliar with its history, think that 2698 BCE is an error for the 2697 BCE epoch obtained from sexagesimal cycles, whereas it is actually the only epoch actually used by some Chinese, albeit a minority (most Chinese don't use any continuous count of years from a legendary epoch).

Early History

The earliest archaeological evidence of the Chinese calendar appears on oracle bones of the late second millennium BCE Shang dynasty. They show a 12-month lunisolar year having an occasional thirteenth month, and even a fourteenth month. Because Chinese dates are on firm ground beginning in 841 BCE, the calendar of the early Zhou dynasty is known to have used arbitrary intercalations. The first month of its year was near the winter solstice and its intercalary month was after the twelfth month. The sìfēn 四分 (quarter remainder) calendar, which began about 484 BCE, was the first calculated Chinese calendar, so named because it used a solar year of 365¼ days, along with a 19-year = 235-month Rule Cycle, known in the West as the Metonic cycle. The winter solstice was in its first month and its intercalary month was inserted after the twelfth month. Beginning in 256 BCE with the Qin kingdom, which would later become the Qin dynasty, the intercalary month was an extra ninth month at the end of a year that began with the tenth month, now placing the winter solstice in the eleventh month. This year continued to be used during the first half of the Western Han Dynasty.

The "No Principal Term" Rule

The great Emperor Wu of the Western Han dynasty introduced the basic rules that have governed the Chinese calendar ever since. His Tàichū 太初 (Grand Inception) calendar of 104 BCE had a year with the winter solstice in the eleventh month and designated as intercalary any calendar month (a month of 29 or 30 whole days) during which the sun does not pass a principal term (remained within the same sign of the zodiac throughout). Because the sun's mean motion was used to calculate the jiéqì 節氣/节气 until 1645, this intercalary month was equally likely to occur after any month of the year. However, the conjunction of the sun and moon (the astronomical new moon) used the mean motions of both the sun and moon only until 619, the second year of the Tang dynasty, when both began to use true motions modeled using two offset opposing parabolas (with small linear and cubic components). Unfortunately, the parabolas did not meet smoothly at the mean motion, but met with a discontinuity or jump.

The True Sun and Moon

With the introduction of Western astronomy into China via the Jesuits, the motions of both the sun and moon began to use sinusoids in the 1645 Shíxiàn (時憲書, Constant Conformity) calendar of the Qing dynasty, made by the Jesuit Adam Schall. The true motion of the sun was now used to calculate the jiéqì, which caused the intercalary month to often occur after the second through the ninth months, but rarely after the tenth through first months. A few autumn-winter periods have one or two calendar months where the sun enters two signs of the zodiac, interspersed with two or three calendar months where the sun stays within one sign.

The Gregorian Reform and the 1929 time change

The Gregorian calendar was adopted by the nascent Republic of China effective January 1, 1912 for official business, but the general populace continued to use the traditional calendar of the Qing Dynasty. The status of the Gregorian calendar between about 1916 and 1921 while China was controlled by several competing warlords is unknown. From about 1921 until 1928 warlords continued to control northern China, but the Kuomintang controlled southern China and probably used the Gregorian calendar. After the Kuomintang declared a reconstituted Republic of China October 10, 1928, they decreed that effective 1 January, 1929, everyone must use the Gregorian calendar. They also decreed that effective 1 January 1929, all of China must use the coastal time zone that had been used by all European treaty ports along the Chinese coast since 1904. This changed the beginning of each calendar day, for both the traditional and Gregorian calendars, by +14.3 minutes from Beijing midnight to midnight at the longitude 120° east of Greenwich. This caused some discrepancies, such as with the 1978 Mid-Autumn Festival. There was a new moon on September 3, 1978, at 00:07, Chinese Standard Time[http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/phase/phases.1901-2000.html]. Using the old Beijing timezone, the New Moon occurred at 23:53 on the 2nd, so the eighth month began on a different day in the calendars. Hong Kong people (using the traditional calendar) celebrated the Festival on 16 September, but those in China celebrated on 17 September. [http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/calendar/cal.pdf] (see page 18) The Kuomintang may have begun to number the years of their republic in 1929, regarding 1912 as year 1. When the Communists gained control of mainland China October 1, 1949, they simply continued using the Gregorian calendar, but now numbered the years in the Western manner, beginning with 1949. On both mainland China and Taiwan, the months of the Gregorian calendar are numbered 1-12 just like the months of the traditional calendar.

Rules

The following rules have been valid since 104 BCE, although some of the details were unnecessary before 1645. Note that these rules do not specify the detailed calculations, permitting either mean or true motions of the Sun and Moon to be used, depending on the historical period. # The months are lunar months, such that the first day of each month beginning at midnight is the day of the astronomical new moon. # Each year has 12 regular months, which are numbered in sequence (1 to 12)and have alternative names. Every second or third year has an intercalary month (閏月 rùnyuè), which may come after any regular month. It has the same number as the preceding regular month, but is designated intercalary. # Every other jiéqì of the Chinese solar year is equivalent to an entry of the sun into a sign of the tropical zodiac (a principle term or cusp). # The sun always passes the winter solstice (enters Capricorn) during month 11. # If there are 12 months between two successive occurrences of month 11, at least one of these 12 months must be a month during which the sun remains within the same zodiac sign throughout (no principle term or cusp occurs within it). If only one such month occurs, it is designated intercalary, but if two such months occur, only the first is designated intercalary. # The times of the astronomical new moons and the sun entering a zodiac sign are determined in the Chinese Time Zone by the Purple Mountain Observatory (紫金山天文台 Zǐjīnshān Tiānwéntái) outside Nanjing using modern astronomical equations. The Zodiac Sign which the sun enters during the month and the ecliptic longitude of that entry point usually determine the number of a regular month. Month 1, zhēngyuè, literally means principal month. All other months are literally numbered, second month, third month, etc. Some believe the above correspondence to be always true, but there are exceptions, which, for example, prevent Chinese New Year from always being the second new moon after the winter solstice, or that cause the holiday to occur after the Rain Water jieqi. An exception will occur in 2033-2034, when the winter solstice is the second solar term in the eleventh month. The next month is a no-entry month and so is intercalary, and a twelfth month follows which contains both the Aquarius and Pisces solar terms (deep cold and rain water). The Year of the Tiger thus begins on the third new moon following the Winter Solstice, and also occurs after the Pisces (rain water) jieqi, on February 19. Another occurrence was in 1984-85, after the sun had entered both Capricorn at 270° and Aquarius at 300° in month 11, and then entered Pisces at 330° during the next month, which should have caused it to be month 1. The sun did not enter any sign during the next month. In order to keep the winter solstice in month 11, the month which should have been month 1 became month 12, and the month thereafter became month 1, causing Chinese New Year to occur on 20 February 1985 after the sun had already passed into Pisces at 330° during the previous month, rather than during the month beginning on that day. On those occasions when a dual-entry month does occur, it always occurs somewhere between two months that do not have any entry (non-entry months). It usually occurs alone and either includes the winter solstice or is nearby, thus placing the winter solstice in month 11 (rule 4) chooses which of the two non-entry months becomes the intercalary month. In 1984-85, the month immediately before the dual-entry month 11 was a non-entry month which was designated as an intercalary month 10. All months from the dual-entry month to the non-entry month that is not to be intercalary are sequentially numbered with the nearby regular months (rule 2). The last phrase of rule 5, choosing the first of two non-entry months between months 11, has not been required since the last calendar reform, and will not be necessary until the 2033-34 occasion, when two dual-entry months will be interspersed among three non-entry months, two of which will be on one side of month 11. The leap eleventh month produced is a very rare occasion. See [http://www.chinesecalendar.net/] for details. Exceptions such as these are rare. Fully 96.6% of all months contain only one entry into a zodiacal sign (have one principle term or cusp), all obeying the numbering rules of the jiéqì table, and 3.0% of all months are intercalary months (always non-entry months between principle terms or cusps). Only 0.4% of all months either are dual-entry months (have two principle terms or cusps) or are neighboring months that are renumbered. It is only after the 1645 reform that this situation arose. Then it became necessary to fix one month to always contain its principal term and allow any other to occasionally not contain its principal term. Month 11 was chosen, because its principal term (the winter solstice) forms the start of the Chinese Solar year (the sui). The Chinese lunar calendar and the Gregorian Calendar often sync up every 19 years (Metonic cycle). Most Chinese people notice that their Chinese and Western birthdays often fall on the same day on their 19th, 38th birthday etc. However, a 19-year cycle with an certain set of intercalary months is only an approximation, so an almost identical pattern of intercalary months in subsequent cycles will eventually change after some multiple of 19 years to a quite different 19-year cycle. The Chinese zodiac (see Nomenclature and Twelve Animals sections) is only used in naming years—it is not used in the actual calculation of the calendar. In fact, the Chinese have a very different constellation system. The twelve months are closely connected with agriculture, so they are alternatively named after plants: # Primens (first month) 正月: Latin "primus mensis". # Apricomens (apricot month) 杏月: apricot blossoms. # Peacimens (peach month) 桃月: peach blossoms. # Plumens (plum month) 梅月: plum ripens. # Guavamens (guava month) 榴月: guava blossoms. # Lotumens (lotus month) 荷月: lotus blossoms. # Orchimens (orchid month) 蘭月: orchid blossoms. # Osmanthumens (osmanthus month) 桂月: osmanthus blossoms. # Chrysanthemens (chrysanthemum month) 菊月: chrysanthemum blossoms. # Benimens (good month) 良月: good month. # Hiemens (hiemal month) 冬月: hiemal month. # Lamens (last month) 臘月: last month.

Nomenclature

The years are named by a cycle of 10 Heavenly Stems and a cycle of 12 Earthly Branches. Each year is named by a pair of one stem and one branch called a Stem-Branch (干支 gānzhī). The Heavenly Stems are associated with Yin Yang and the Five Elements. Recent 10-year periods began in 1984, 1994, 2004, etc. Earthly Branches are associated with the Twelve Animals. Recent 12-year periods began in 1984, 1996, etc. The 60-year cycle formed by combining the two cycles is known as a jiǎzǐ (甲子). It is not 120 because half of the combinations are unused. Jiǎzǐ is named after the first year in the 60-year cycle which is called jiǎzǐ. Some figures of speech use "jiǎzǐ" to mean "a full lifespan"—one who has lived more than a jiǎzǐ is obviously blessed. (Compare the Biblical "three-score years and ten.") This 60-year cycle is insufficient for historical references. During the Imperial period, the Nian Hao (Era name of an emperor) was placed in front of the year name for distinction. Example: 康熙壬寅 (Kāngxī rényín) (1662 AD) is the first 壬寅 (rényín) year during the reign of 康熙 (Kāngxī). Using a particular emperor's nian hao was implicit recognition of the legitimacy of that emperor which could be very politically significant in cases of disputed succession or revolt. In addition, it also made it difficult for Chinese historians to avoid taking sides over which dynasty was more legitimate in talking about earlier periods in which China was divided. The months, days, and hours can also be denoted using Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, though they are commonly addressed using Chinese numerals instead. Together, four Stem-Branch pairs form the Eight Characters (八字 bāzì) used in Chinese astrology. There is a distinction between a solar year and a lunar year in the Chinese calendar because the calendar is lunisolar. A lunar year (年 nián) is from one Chinese new year to the next. A solar year (歲 suì) is either the period between one "start of spring" and the next or the period between two winter solstices (see Jiéqì section). A lunar year is exclusively used for dates, whereas a solar year, especially that between winter solstices, is used to number the months.

Twelve animals

The Twelve animals (十二生肖 shí'èr shēngxiào, or colloquially 十二屬相 shí'èr shǔxiāng) representing the twelve Earthly Branches are, in order, the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep (or goat), monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. A legend explains the sequence in which the animals were assigned. Supposedly, the twelve animals fought over the precedence of the animals in the cycle of years in the calendar, so the Chinese gods held a contest to determine the order. All the animals lined up on the bank of a river and were given the task of getting to the opposite shore. Their order in the calendar would be set by the order in which the animals managed to reach the other side. The cat wondered how he would get across if he was afraid of water. At the same time, the ox wondered how he would cross with his poor eyesight. The calculating rat suggested that he and the cat jump onto the ox's back and guide him across. The ox was steady and hard-working so that he did not notice a commotion on his back. In the meanwhile, the rat snuck up behind the unsuspecting cat and shoved him into the water. Just as the ox came ashore, the rat jumped off and finished the race first. The lazy pig came to the far shore in twelfth place. And so the rat got the first year named after him, the ox got the second year, and the pig ended up as the last year in the cycle. The cat finished too late to win any place in the calendar, and vowed to be the enemy of the rat forevermore. See Chinese zodiac for more details.

Jieqi

Chinese months follow the phases of the moon. The solar-based agricultural calendar is made up of twenty-four points called jiéqì 節氣. They are essentially seasonal markers to help farmers decide when to plant or harvest crops, as the lunisolar calendar is for obvious reasons unreliable in this respect. The term Jiéqì is usually translated as "Solar Terms" (lit. Nodes of Weather). Each is the instant when the sun reaches one of twenty-four equally spaced points along the ecliptic, including the solstices and equinoxes, positioned at fifteen degree intervals. In the table below, these measures are given in the standard astronomical convention of ecliptic longitude, zero degrees being positioned at the vernal equinox point. Because the calculation is solar-based, these jiéqì fall around the same date every year in solar calendars such as the Gregorian Calendar, but do not form any obvious pattern in the Chinese calendar. The dates below are approximate and may vary slightly from year to year due to the intercalary rules of the Gregorian calendar. Jiéqì are published each year in farmers' almanacs. Chinese New Year is usually the new moon day closest to lìchūn. Each calendar month under the heading "M" contains the designated jiéqì called a principle term, which is an entry into a sign of the zodiac, also known as a cusp. Here term has the archaic meaning of a limit, not a duration. In Chinese astronomy, seasons are centered on the solstices and equinoxes, whereas in the standard Western definition, they begin at the solstices and equinoxes. Thus the term Beginning of Spring and the related Spring Festival fall in February, when it is still very chilly in temperate latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. Note: The third jiéqì was originally called 啓蟄 (qǐzhé) but renamed to 驚蟄 (jīngzhé) in the era of the Emperor Jing of Han (漢景帝) to avoid writing his given name 啓 (also written as 啟, a variant of 啓). The "Song of Solar Terms" (節氣歌; pinyin: jiéqìgē) is used to ease the memorization of jiéqì: :春雨驚春清穀天 chūn yǔ jīng chūn qīng gǔtiān,
:夏滿芒夏暑相連 xià mǎn máng xià shǔ xiānglián,
:秋處露秋寒霜降 qiū chù lù qiū hán shuāng xiáng,
:冬雪雪冬小大寒 dōng xuě xuě dōng xiǎo dà hán.

Holidays

The Chinese calendar year has nine main festivals, seven determined by the lunisolar calendar, and the other two derived from the solar agricultural calendar. (Note that the farmers actually used a solar calendar, and its twenty-four terms, to determine when to plant crops, due to the inaccuracy of the lunisolar traditional calendar. However, the traditional calendar has also come to be known as the agricultural calendar.) The two special holidays are the Tomb-Sweeping Festival and the Winter Solstice Festival, falling upon the respective solar terms, the former occurring at ecliptic longitude 15 degrees, the latter at 270 degrees. As for all other calendrical calculations, the calculations use civil time in China, eight hours ahead of UTC.

Korean calendar

The traditional Korean calendar is directly derived from the Chinese calendar. In the early nineteenth century Korea relied on close diplomatic relations with China while shutting off relations with all other countries. In recognition of this relationship, the ruler of Korea would make a point of accepting the new Chinese calendar from the Emperor of China each year with great pageantry. The calendar had:
- The Chinese zodiac of 12 Earthly Branches (animals), which were used for counting hours and years;
- Ten Heavenly Stems, which were combined with the 12 Earthly Branches to form a sixty-year cycle;
- Twenty-four turning points (jeolgi 節氣 절기) in the year, spaced roughly 15 days apart;
- Lunar Months. The Korean calendar traditionally counts years from 2333 BCE, the date of the legendary founding of Korea by Dangun. The lunar calendar is rarely used now in modern Korea except for the observation of traditional holidays (cf. Korean Lunar Festivals) and the marking of birthdays by older Koreans.

External links

- [http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/calendar/chinese.html Rules for the Chinese Calendar]
- [http://www.hermetic.ch/cal_stud/chinese_cal.htm The Structure of the Chinese Calendar]
- [http://www.char4u.com/chinese-zodiac-sign.php Chinese Zodiac Chart] Find your Chinese Zodiac sign based on your date of birth.
- [http://fluffy.uoregon.edu/eddy/years.html Years of China, Japan, and Korea]
- Calendar Conversion
- [http://www.hermetic.ch/chcal/chcal.htm Chinese Calendrics] Windows software, converts all dates
- [http://www.mandarintools.com/calendar.html Gregorian-Chinese calendar converter]- works only for the republican age (after 1912)
- [http://www.sinica.edu.tw/~tdbproj/sinocal/luso.html Two Thousand Year Chinese Calendar Converter] (in Chinese)- works for all dates from the Han Dynasty until 2100
- Pages from the Hong Kong Observatory [http://www.hko.gov.hk/contente.htm website]
- [http://www.hko.gov.hk/gts/time/lunarcal.htm The Chinese Agricultural Calendar or Nongli]
- [http://www.hko.gov.hk/gts/time/24solarterms.htm The 24 Solr Terms of Jieqi]
- [http://www.hko.gov.hk/gts/time/stemsandbranches.htm Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches]
- [http://www.hko.gov.hk/gts/time/12animals.htm The 12-Year Animal Cycle]
- [http://www.hko.gov.hk/gts/time/conversion.htm Gregorian-Lunar Calendar Conversion Table]
- [http://fluffy.uoregon.edu/eddy/years.html Calendar years for China and Korea]
- [https://wiki.wsu.edu/index.php/Chinese_Calendar_2005 Chinese Lunar Calendar 2005]
- [https://wiki.wsu.edu/index.php/Chinese_Calendar_2006 Chinese Lunar Calendar 2006] Category:Specific calendars Calendar Calendar ja:中国暦 ko:음력

Japanese era name

Japanese era name (年号, nengō, lit. year name) is a common calendar scheme used in Japan to count years. For example, the year 2005 is Heisei 17, and 2006 would be Heisei 18. Like similar systems in East Asia, the era name system was originally derived from Chinese Imperial practice, although the Japanese system is independent from the Chinese or Korean calendar systems. Unlike other similar systems, the Japanese era name is still in use. Government offices usually require era names and years for official papers. Sometimes an era name is expressed with the first letter of the romanized name. For example, S55 means Shōwa 55. At 64 years, Shōwa is the longest era to date.

Overview

Nengō, originated in China in 140 BC, was adopted by Japan in AD 645 during the reign of Empress Kōtoku (孝徳天皇). The first era name was Taika (大化), celebrating the revolutionary political changes following the great Taika reform (大化改新). Although the practice of nengō was once interrupted in the latter half of the seventh century, it was re-adopted in 701 and has been used continuously ever since.

Historical nengō

Prior to the Meiji period, era names were decided by court officials and were subjected to frequent change. A new nengō was usually proclaimed within a year or two after the ascendance of the new emperor. Besides the changes in emperor's reign, a new nengō was designated at two points in each sexagenary cycle (the first and the fifty-eighth year), because these years were considered to be auspicious according to the Chinese astrological principles. Era names were also renewed due to other felicitous events or natural disasters. Era names indicate the various reasons for their adoption. For instance, the nengō Wado (和銅) during the Nara period was declared due to the discovery of copper deposits in Japan. Since the Heian period, Confucian thoughts and ideas have been reflected in era names, such as Daido (大同), Konin (弘仁) and Tencho (天長). Nengō are normally written with two kanji, except during Nara period when four Kanji names were sometimes adopted to follow the Chinese trend. Tenpyo Kanpo (天平感宝), Tenpyo Shoho (天平勝宝), Tenpyo Hoji (天平宝字) and Tenpyo Jingo (天平神護) are among the famous nengō names in four characters. In Japan, there currently exist a total number of 247 era names since Taika until the present Heisei. Despite such large number of era names, only seventy-two kanji were used. Out of the seventy-two kanji, thirty of them were used only once, while the rest were repeatedly used in different combinations to create new era names.

Nengō in Modern Japan

Since the ascension of the Meiji Emperor (明治天皇), it has been the practice to change era names only upon imperial succession. This practice became the law in 1979. Upon his death, an emperor is thereafter referred to with the name of the era marked by his reign. (For example, the 124^th Emperor, Hirohito (裕仁), is posthumously known as the Shōwa Emperor(昭和天皇).) In modern practice, the first year of a reign (元年 gannen) starts immediately upon the emperor's ascension to the throne, but always ends on December 31^st. Subsequent years follow the Gregorian calendar. Meiji (明治), the nengō declared in 1868, continued until the death of the Meiji emperor in 1912. His son's reign of Taisho (大正) era lasted until December 25, 1926, when the Shōwa (昭和) era was proclaimed. The first year of Shōwa era thus consisted only of the last few days of December in 1926. After the death of Shōwa emperor (昭和天皇) in 1989, the present reign of Heisei emperor (平成天皇) began. 1989 is known as both "Shōwa 64" and "Heisei Gannen (平成元年)", although technically Shōwa 64 ended on January 7^th with Hirohito's death. Note that it is protocol in Japan that the reigning emperor is almost always referred to as Tennō Heika (天皇陛下, His Majesty the Emperor). Less frequently, the more informal Kinjō Tennō (今上天皇, current emperor) is used. The use of the emperor's given name is extremely rare in Japanese even today. To call the current emperor by the current era name Heisei, even in English, would be a faux pas, as it is and will be his posthumous name. These conventions are the source of great confusion not only in other languages, but also for the Japanese themselves.

Conversion table from nengō to Gregorian calendar years

The Japanese calendars prior to 1873 were derived from the Chinese. Japan adopted the Chinese calendar in 645. To convert a Japanese year to a Western year, find the first year of the nengō (=era name, see list below). When found, subtract 1, and add the number of the Japanese year. For example, the 23rd year of the Showa Era (Showa 23) would be 1948 ... 1926 − 1 = 1925, then 1925 + 23 = 1948.
- 645 大化 Taika
- 650 白雉 Hakuchi (era)
- 686 朱鳥 Shuchō
- 701 大宝 Taihō or Daihō
- 704 慶雲 Keiun
- 708 和銅 Wadō
- 715 霊亀 Reiki
- 717 養老 Yōrō
- 724 神亀 Jinki
- 729 天平 Tenpyō
- 749 天平感宝 Tenpyō-kanpō
- 749 天平勝宝 Tenpyō-shōhō
- 757 天平宝字 Tenpyō-hōji
- 765 天平神護 Tenpyō-jingo
- 767 神護景雲 Jingo-keiun
- 770 宝亀 Hōki
- 781 天応 Ten'ō
- 782 延暦 Enryaku
- 806 大同 Daidō
- 810 弘仁 Kōnin
- 824 天長 Tenchō
- 834 承和 Jōwa or Shōwa or Sōwa
- 848 嘉祥 Kajō
- 851 仁寿 Ninju
- 854 斉衡 Saikō
- 857 天安 Tennan
- 859 貞観 Jōgan
- 877 元慶 Gangyō or Gankyō or Genkei
- 885 仁和 Ninna
- 889 寛平 Kanpyō
- 898 昌泰 Shōtai
- 901 延喜 Engi (era)
- 923 延長 Enchō
- 931 承平 Jōhei or Shōhei
- 938 天慶 Tengyō
- 947 天暦 Tenryaku
- 957 天徳 Tentoku
- 961 応和 Ōwa
- 964 康保 Kōhō
- 968 安和 Anna (era)
- 970 天禄 Tenroku
- 973 天延 Ten'en
- 976 貞元 Jōgen
- 978 天元 Tengen (era)
- 983 永観 Eikan
- 985 寛和 Kanna (era)
- 987 永延 Eien
- 988 永祚 Eiso
- 990 正暦 Shōryaku or Jōryaku or Shōreki
- 995 長徳 Chōtoku
- 999 長保 Chōhō
- 1004 寛弘 Kankō
- 1012 長和 Chōwa
- 1017 寛仁 Kannin
- 1021 治安 Jian (era)
- 1024 万寿 Manju (era)
- 1028 長元 Chōgen
- 1037 長暦 Chōryaku
- 1040 長久 Chōkyū
- 1044 寛徳 Kantoku
- 1046 永承 Eishō or Eijō or Yōjō
- 1053 天喜 Tengi
- 1058 康平 Kōhei
- 1065 治暦 Jiryaku
- 1069 延久 Enkyū
- 1074 承保 Jōhō
- 1077 承暦 Jōryaku or Shōryaku or Shōreki
- 1081 永保 Eihō
- 1084 応徳 Ōtoku
- 1087 寛治 Kanji (era)
- 1094 嘉保 Kahō
- 1096 永長 Eichō
- 1097 承徳 Jōtoku or Shōtoku
- 1099 康和 Kōwa
- 1104 長治 Chōji
- 1106 嘉承 Kajō or Kashō or Kasō
- 1108 天仁 Tennin (era)
- 1110 天永 Ten'ei
- 1113 永久 Eikyū
- 1118 元永 Gen'ei
- 1120 保安 Hōan
- 1124 天治 Tenji
- 1126 大治 Daiji or Taiji
- 1131 天承 Tenshō or Tenjō
- 1132 長承 Chōshō or Chōjō
- 1135 保延 Hōen
- 1141 永治 Eiji
- 1142 康治 Kōji
- 1144 天養 Ten'yō
- 1145 久安 Kyūan
- 1151 仁平 Ninpei or Ninpyō
- 1154 久寿 Kyūju
- 1156 保元 Hōgen
- 1159 平治 Heiji
- 1160 永暦 Eiryaku
- 1161 応保 Ōhō
- 1163 長寛 Chōkan
- 1165 永万 Eiman
- 1166 仁安 Ninnan
- 1169 嘉応 Kaō
- 1171 承安 Jōan or Jōan
- 1175 安元 Angen
- 1177 治承 Jishō or Jijō
- 1181 養和 Yōwa
- 1182 寿永 Juei
- 1184 元暦 Genryaku
- 1185 文治 Bunji
- 1190 建久 Kenkyū
- 1199 正治 Shōji
- 1201 建仁 Kennin
- 1204 元久 Genkyū
- 1206 建永 Ken'ei
- 1207 承元 Jōgen
- 1211 建暦 Kenryaku
- 1213 建保 Kenpō
- 1219 承久 Jōkyū
- 1222 貞応 Jōō
- 1224 元仁 Gennin
- 1225 嘉禄 Karoku
- 1227 安貞 Antei
- 1229 寛喜 Kanki or Kangi
- 1232 貞永 Jōei
- 1233 天福 Tenpuku
- 1234 文暦 Bunryaku
- 1235 嘉禎 Katei
- 1238 暦仁 Ryakunin
- 1239 延応 En'ō
- 1240 仁治 Ninji
- 1243 寛元 Kangen
- 1247 宝治 Hōji
- 1249 建長 Kenchō
- 1256 康元 Kōgen
- 1257 正嘉 Shōka
- 1259 正元 Shōgen
- 1260 文応 Bun'ō
- 1261 弘長 Kōcho
- 1264 文永 Bun'ei
- 1275 建治 Kenji
- 1278 弘安 Kōan
- 1288 正応 Shōō
- 1293 永仁 Einin
- 1299 正安 Shōan
- 1302 乾元 Kengen
- 1303 嘉元 Kagen
- 1306 徳治 Tokuji
- 1308 延慶 Enkei or Enkyō
- 1311 応長 Ōchō
- 1312 正和 Shōwa
- 1317 文保 Bunpō
- 1319 元応 Gen'ō
- 1321 元亨 Genkyō or Genkō
- 1324 正中 Shōchū
- 1326 嘉暦 Karyaku
- 1329 元徳 Gentoku
- 1331 元弘 Genkō
- 1334 建武 Kenmu Southern Court
- 1336 延元 Engen
- 1340 興国 Kōkoku
- 1346 正平 Shōhei
- 1370 建徳 Kentoku
- 1372 文中 Bunchū
- 1375 天授 Tenju
- 1381 弘和 Kōwa
- 1384 元中 Genchū (Genchū 9 became Meitoku 3 upon reunification) Northern Court
- 1332 正慶 Shōkei
- 1333 (Northern court not in existence between 1333 and 1336)
- 1338 暦応 Ryakuō
- 1342 康永 Kōei
- 1345 貞和 Jōwa
- 1350 観応 Kan'ō or Kannō
- 1352 文和 Bunna
- 1356 延文 Enbun
- 1361 康安 Kōan
- 1362 貞治 Jōji
- 1368 応安 Ōan
- 1375 永和 Eiwa
- 1379 康暦 Kōryaku
- 1381 永徳 Eitoku
- 1384 至徳 Shitoku
- 1387 嘉慶 Kakei
- 1389 康応 Kōō
- 1390 明徳 Meitoku Reunification
- 1394 応永 Ōei
- 1428 正長 Shōchō
- 1429 永享 Eikyō
- 1441 嘉吉 Kakitsu
- 1444 文安 Bunnan
- 1449 宝徳 Hōtoku
- 1452 享徳 Kyōtoku
- 1455 康正 Kōshō
- 1457 長禄 Chōroku
- 1460 寛正 Kanshō
- 1466 文正 Bunshō
- 1467 応仁 Ōnin
- 1469 文明 Bunmei
- 1487 長享 Chōkyō
- 1489 延徳 Entoku
- 1492 明応 Meiō
- 1501 文亀 Bunki
- 1504 永正 Eishō
- 1521 大永 Daiei
- 1528 享禄 Kyōroku
- 1532 天文 Tenbun or Tenmon
- 1555 弘治 Kōji
- 1558 永禄 Eiroku
- 1570 元亀 Genki
- 1573 天正 Tenshō - the name was suggested by Oda Nobunaga
- 1592 文禄 Bunroku
- 1596 慶長 Keichō
- 1615 元和 Genna
- 1624 寛永 Kan'ei
- 1644 正保 Shōhō
- 1648 慶安 Keian
- 1652 承応 Jōō
- 1655 明暦 Meireki
- 1658 万治 Manji
- 1661 寛文 Kanbun
- 1673 延宝 Enpō
- 1681 天和 Tenna
- 1684 貞享 Jōkyō
- 1688 元禄 Genroku
- 1704 宝永 Hōei
- 1711 正徳 Shōtoku
- 1716 享保 Kyōhō
- 1736 元文 Genbun
- 1741 寛保 Kanpō
- 1744 延享 Enkyō
- 1748 寛延 Kan'en
- 1751 宝暦 Hōreki
- 1764 明和 Meiwa
- 1772 安永 An'ei
- 1781 天明 Tenmei
- 1789 寛政 Kansei
- 1801 享和 Kyōwa
- 1804 文化 Bunka
- 1818 文政 Bunsei
- 1830 天保 Tenpō
- 1844 弘化 Kōka
- 1848 嘉永 Kaei
- 1854 安政 Ansei
- 1860 万延 Man'en
- 1861 文久 Bunkyū
- 1864 元治 Genji
- 1865 慶応 Keiō
- 1868 明治 Meiji - Emperor Meiji
- 1912 大正 Taishō - Emperor Taishō
- 1926 昭和 Shōwa - Emperor Shōwa
- 1989 平成 Heisei - Akihito, the reigning emperor

Unofficial nengō system (私年号)

Besides the official nengō system, one encounters in pre-modern works the use of private or unofficial nengō system, known as shinengō (私年号). Little is known about the origin of shinengō. However, scholars have pointed out that the shinengō Hakuho (白鳳) was used during the period from 673 to 686, when no official nengō was designated. Another shinengō Hoko (法興) is said to have been in use during the reign of Emperor Suiko (推古天皇), by the Prince Shotoku (聖徳太子) and his followers. While nengō represented the authority of the emperor, shinengō provided an alternative during the eras of fragmented government, such as the Northern and Southern court.

External links

Japanese resources:
- [http://www.allcalendars.net/JapaneseYearConverter.php Convert Gregorian calendar years to Japanese nengo]
- [http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2272.html Another converter but this one also converts vice versa]
- http://www.meijijingu.or.jp/intro/qa/13.htm
- http://www2.plala.or.jp/kamkamkam/gimon6/gimon66/297.htm
- http://www.koubunken.co.jp/Pense/2000/02.html
- [http://homepage1.nifty.com/history/history.html Comparative timeline of Chinese, Japanese and Korean historical events]
- ja:元号一覧 (日本)

2005

2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. 2005 is the World Year of Physics, the Year of the Rooster in the Chinese calendar, and the International Year of the Eucharist in Catholicism. See also Wikipedia's almanac of events for this year.

Events

January

- January 4 - Death of the Governor of Baghdad, Ali Al-Haidri, assassinated by gunmen.