Japanese calendar



Since, , has used the , with local names for the months and mostly fixed holidays. Before 1873, a was in use, which was adapted from the. s are still in use.

Years
Since the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, three different systems for counting years have or had been used in Japan:
 * The Western  (西暦, seireki) designation
 * The (年号, nengō) based on the reign of the current, the year  being Heisei 19
 * The (皇紀, ) based on the mythical founding of Japan by  in 660 BC.

Of these three, the first two are still in current use, in the following link you have a convenient converter between the two; the imperial calendar was used from  to the end of.

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 ; 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 s (for women). These month names also appear from time to time on, contemporary shows and  set in the  or earlier.

The name of month: (pronunciation, literal meaning)
 * January - 睦月 (mutsuki, affection month)
 * February - 如月 or 衣更着 ( or, changing clothes)
 * March - 弥生 (yayoi, new life; the beginning of spring)
 * April - 卯月 (uzuki, u-no-hana month; the u-no-hana is a flower, genus )
 * May - 皐月 or 早月 or 五月(satsuki, fast month)
 * June - 水無月 (minatsuki or minazuki, month without water — the na is actually a possessive particle and the 無 character is )
 * July - 文月 (fumizuki, book month)
 * August - 葉月 (hazuki, leaf month)
 * September - 長月 (nagatsuki, long month)
 * October - 神無月 (kaminazuki or, month without gods), 神有月 or 神在月 (kamiarizuki, month with gods – used only in , 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.)

Subdivisions of the month
Japan uses a seven-day week, aligned with the Western calendar. 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. was a key figure in the decision to adopt this system as the source for official names for the. The names come from the five visible planets, which in turn are named after the (wood, fire, earth, metal, water), and from the moon and sun.

Japan also divides the month roughly into three 10-day periods. Each is called a jun (旬). The first is jōjun (上旬); the second, chūjun (中旬); the last, gejun (下旬). These are frequently used to indicate approximate times, for example, "the temperatures are typical of the jōjun of April"; "a vote on a bill is expected during the gejun of this month."

Days of the month
Each day of the month has a semi-systematic but irregularly formed name:

Tsuitachi is a worn-down form of tsukitachi, which means the first of the month. In the traditional calendar, the thirtieth was the last day of the month, and its traditional name, 晦日 misoka, survives (although sanjūnichi is far more common, and is the usual term). The last day of the year is 大晦日  (the big thirtieth day), and that term is still in use.

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 next day that is not a holiday (usually a Monday) is taken as a holiday.

† Traditional date on which according to legend founded Japan in.

* Part of

Timeline of changes to the national holidays

 *  - 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.
 *  - Health and Sports Day was introduced in memory of the 1964 . Vernal Equinox Day was also introduced.
 *  - Reform to the national holiday law made May 4, sandwiched between two other national holidays also a holiday.
 *  - After died on January 7, the Emperor's Birthday became December 23 and Greenery Day took place of the former Emperor's birthday.
 * ,  - (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).
 * ,  - According to a May 2005 decision, starting with 2007 Greenery Day will be moved from April 29 to May 4 replacing a generic national holiday (国民の休日) that existed after 1985 reform, while April 29 will be known as Shōwa Day.
 *  - 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 (二十四節気 Nijūshi sekki) are days that  divide a year in the   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, such as Shunbun, Risshū and Toji, are still used quite frequently in everyday life in Japan.

24 Sekki

 * (立春): - Beginning of spring
 * (雨水):
 * (啓蟄): - awakening of hibernated (insects)
 * (春分): -, middle of spring
 * (清明):
 * (穀雨):
 * (立夏): - Beginning of summer
 * (小満):
 * (芒種):
 * (夏至): - Summer, middle of summer
 * (小暑): - Small heat
 * (大暑): - Large heat
 * (立秋): - Beginning of autumn
 * (処暑):
 * (白露):
 * (秋分): -, middle of autumn
 * (寒露):
 * (霜降):
 * (立冬): - Beginning of winter
 * (小雪): - Small snow
 * (大雪): - Large snow
 * (冬至): -, middle of winter
 * (小寒): - a.k.a. 寒の入り (Kan no iri)
 * (大寒):

Days can vary by ±1 day. See also:.

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.


 * 1)  (1/7) - 人日 (Jinjitsu), 七草の節句 ()
 * 2)  (3/3) - 上巳 (Jōshi, Jōmi), 桃の節句 ()
 * 雛祭り (), Girls' Day.
 * 1)  (端午):  (5/5)
 * 2) * 端午の節句 ('), 菖蒲の節句 (')
 * 3) * Boys' Day. Overlaps with the national holiday.
 * 4)   (7/7) - 七夕 (Shichiseki, ), 星祭り ( )
 * 5)  (9/9) - 重陽 (Chōyō), 菊の節句 ()

Not Sekku:

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 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 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 Lunisolar calendar. Lunisolar 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. Lunisolar February 1st restarts the sequence at tomobiki. Lunisolar 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. (For more see also )