Japanese calendar

Koinobori, flags decorated like koi, are popular decorations around Children's Day

This mural on the wall of a Tokyo subway 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 2006 being Heisei 18
• The imperial year (皇紀, kōki) based on the mythical founding of Japan by Emperor Jimmu in 660 BCE

Of these three, the first two are still in current use, in the following link [1] you have a convenient converter between the two; 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, 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, month of water — the na is actually a possessive particle and 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 (kaminazuki or kannazuki, month of the gods), 神有月 or 神在月 (kamiarizuki, month of the gods – used only in Izumo province, where all the gods are believed to gather in October for an annual meeting at the Izumo Shrine); as with June, the na is actually a possessive particle and the 無 character is ateji.
• 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, 晦日 misoka, survives (although sanjunichi is far more common, and is the usual term). The last day of the year is 大晦日 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 decision 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

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Holidays of Japan. (Discuss)

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 Emperor Jimmu founded Japan in 660 BC.

* 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 System (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, such as Shunbun, Risshū and Toji, are still used quite frequently in everyday life in Japan.

24 Sekki

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

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.

1. January 7 (1/7) - 人日 (Jinjitsu), 七草の節句 (Nanakusa no sekku)
2. March 3 (3/3) - 上巳 (Jōshi, Jōmi), 桃の節句 (Momo no sekku)

   雛祭り (Hina matsuri), Girls' Day.

3. Tango (端午): May 5 (5/5)
   • 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.
4. July 7 (7/7) - 七夕 (Shichiseki, Tanabata), 星祭り (Hoshi matsuri )
5. 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 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)

See also

• Holidays of Japan
• Calendar
• Japanese era name
• Jikkan Jūnishi
• Chinese Calendar

External links

• Japanese calendar history by the National Diet Library
• The Lunar Calendar in Japan
• Koyomi no page in Japanese
• Koyomi no hanashi in Japanese
• Rokuyō calculator in Japanese
• NengoCalc (Tool for converting Japanese dates into Western equivalents)

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