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The , also known as , is the first of the two elements that identify years in the Japanese era calendar scheme. The second element is a number which indicates the year number within the era (with the first year being ""), followed by the literal "" meaning "year". Era names originated in 140 BCE in China, during the reign of the Emperor Wu of Han. As elsewhere in East Asia, the use of era names was originally derived from Chinese imperial practice, although the Japanese system is independent of the
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
,
Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...
, and
Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...
era-naming systems. Unlike these other similar systems, Japanese era names are still in use. Government offices usually require era names and years for official papers. The five era names used since the end of the
Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
in 1868 can be abbreviated by taking the first letter of their romanized names. For example, S55 means Shōwa 55 (i.e. 1980), and H22 stands for Heisei 22 (2010). At 62 years and 2 weeks, Shōwa is the longest era to date. The current era is ,Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
which began on 1 May 2019, following the 31st (and final) year of the . While the started on the day after the death of the Emperor Hirohito (8 January 1989), the Reiwa era began the day after the planned and voluntary
abdication Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...
of the 125th Emperor
Akihito is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression of achieving peace worldwide. B ...
. Emperor Akihito received special one-time permission to abdicate, rather than serving in his role until his death, as is the rule. His elder son,
Naruhito is the current Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era, following the abdication of his father, Akihito. He is the 126th monarch according to Japan's traditional order of succession ...
, ascended to the throne as the 126th
Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his positio ...
on 1 May 2019.


Overview

The system on which the Japanese era names are based originated in China in 140 BC, and was adopted by Japan in 645 AD, during the reign of
Emperor Kōtoku was the 36th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 孝徳天皇 (33)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. The years of his reign lasted from 645 through 654. Traditional narrative Before Kōtoku's ascen ...
. The first era name to be assigned was , celebrating the political and organizational changes which were to flow from the great of 645. Although the regular practice of proclaiming successive era names was interrupted in the late seventh century, it was permanently re-adopted in 701 during the reign of Emperor Monmu (697–707). Since then, era names have been used continuously up through the present day.


Historical ''nengō''

Prior to the
Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
, era names were decided by court officials and were subjected to frequent change. A new era name was usually proclaimed within a year or two after the ascension of a new emperor. A new era name was also often designated on the first, fifth and 58th years of the
sexagenary cycle The sexagenary cycle, also known as the Stems-and-Branches or ganzhi ( zh, 干支, gānzhī), is a cycle of sixty terms, each corresponding to one year, thus a total of sixty years for one cycle, historically used for recording time in China and t ...
, because they were inauspicious years in Onmyōdō. These three years are respectively known as '' kakurei'', '' kakuun'', and '' kakumei'', and collectively known as ''
sankaku (Triangle) is a 2010 Japanese film directed by Keisuke Yoshida. It was released on 26 June 2010. Cast * Sousuke Takaoka as Momose * Erena Ono as Momo * Tomoko Tabata as Kayo * Yuko Oshima is a Japanese actress and former member of Japan ...
''. Era names were also changed due to other felicitous events or natural disasters. In historical practice, starts whenever the emperor chooses; and the first year continues until the next lunar new year, which is understood to be the start of the nengō's second year. Era names indicate the various reasons for their adoption. For instance, the nengō , during the Nara period, was declared due to the discovery of copper deposits in Chichibu. Most nengō are composed of two
kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...
, except for a short time during the
Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the c ...
when four-kanji names were sometimes adopted to follow the Chinese trend. , , and are some famous nengō names that use four characters. Since the
Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...
,
Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
thoughts and ideas have been reflected in era names, such as , and . Although there currently exist a total of 248 Japanese era names, only 73 kanji have been used in composing them. Out of these 73 kanji, 31 of them have been used only once, while the rest have been used repeatedly in different combinations. The vast majority of Japanese Era Names were used for less than 10 years, with two being used for less than a year. Only 28 have been used for more than 10 years and less than 30 years. Only Heisei, Oei, Meiji, and Showa have been used for more than 30 years.


''Nengō'' in modern Japan

Mutsuhito , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...
assumed the throne in 1867, during the third year of the era. On 23 October 1868, the era name was changed to , and a system was adopted, wherein era names would change only upon immediate imperial succession. This system is similar to the now-defunct Chinese system used since the days of the
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...
. The Japanese nengō system differs from Chinese practice, in that in the Chinese system the era name was not updated until the year following the emperor's death. In modern practice, starts immediately upon the emperor's accession and ends on 31 December. Subsequent years follow the
Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...
. For example, the Meiji era lasted until 30 July 1912, when the Emperor died and the era was proclaimed. 1912 is therefore known as both "Meiji 45" and , although Meiji technically ended on 30 July with Mutsuhito's death. This practice, implemented successfully since the days of Meiji but never formalized, became law in 1979 with the passage of the . Thus, since 1868, there have only been five era names assigned: Meiji, Taishō, Shōwa, Heisei, and Reiwa, each corresponding with the rule of only one emperor. Upon death, the emperor is thereafter referred to by the era of his reign. For example, Mutsuhito is posthumously known as . It is protocol in Japan that the reigning emperor be referred to as or . To call the current emperor by the current era name, i.e. "Reiwa", even in English, is a faux pas, as this is – and will be – his
posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments ...
. Use of the emperor's given name (i.e., "Naruhito") is rare, and is considered vulgar behaviour in Japanese. The
Emperor Akihito is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression of achieving peace worldwide. Bo ...
abdicated on 30 April 2019, necessitating a change in nengō. The new name, made public on the morning of 1 May of the same year, is .


Periods without era names

The era name system that was introduced by
Emperor Kōtoku was the 36th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 孝徳天皇 (33)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. The years of his reign lasted from 645 through 654. Traditional narrative Before Kōtoku's ascen ...
was abandoned after his death; no era names were designated between 654 and 686. The system was briefly reinstated by Emperor Tenmu in 686, but was again abandoned upon his death about two months later. In 701,
Emperor Monmu was the 42nd emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 文武天皇 (42) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Monmu's reign spanned the years from 697 through 707. Traditional narrative Befor ...
once again reinstated the era name system, and it has continued uninterrupted through today. Although use of the
Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...
for historical dates became increasingly common in Japan, the traditional Japanese system demands that dates be written in reference to era names. The apparent problem introduced by the lack of era names was resolved by identifying the years of an imperial reign as a period. p. 402 citing
pp. 54–55 PP, pp or Pp may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Pianissimo'', a music term meaning ''very quiet'', from Dynamics (music), musical dynamics * Production code for the 1967–1968 ''Doctor Who'' serial ''The Enemy of the World'' *Police proc ...
The year-periods (nengō) do not ordinarily overlap with the reigns of the early monarchs; and generally, a new one was chosen whenever it was deemed necessary to commemorate an auspicious or ward off a malign event.
Although in modern Japan posthumous imperial names correspond with the eras of their reign, this is a relatively recent concept, introduced in practice during the
Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
and instituted by law in 1979. Therefore, the posthumous names of the emperors and empresses who reigned prior to 1868 may not be taken as era names by themselves. For example, the year 572—the year in which Emperor Bidatsu assumed the
Chrysanthemum Throne The is the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The term also can refer to very specific seating, such as the throne in the Shishin-den at Kyoto Imperial Palace. Various other thrones or seats that are used by the Emperor during official functions ...
– is properly written as "" (''Bidatsu-Tennō Gannen'', "the first year of Emperor Bidatsu"), and not "" (''Bidatsu Gannen'', "the first year of Bidatsu"), although it may be abbreviated as such. By incorporating both proper era names and posthumous imperial names in this manner, it is possible to extend the nengō system to cover all dates from 660 BCE through today.


Unofficial era name system

In addition to the official era name system, in which the era names are selected by the imperial court, one also observes—primarily in the ancient documents and epigraphs of shrines and temples—unofficial era names called , also known as or . Currently, there are over 40 confirmed shinengō, most of them dating from the
middle ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. ''Shinengō'' used prior to the reestablishment of the era name system in 701 are usually called . Because official records of ''shinengō'' are lacking, the range of dates to which they apply is often unclear. For example, the well-known itsunengō is normally said to refer to 650–654 CE; a poetic synonym for the Hakuchi era. However, alternate interpretations exist. For example, in the Nichūreki, Hakuhō refers to 661–683 CE, and in some medieval temple documents, Hakuhō refers to 672–685 CE. Thus, shinengō may be used as an alternative way of dating periods for which there is no official era name. Other well-known ''itsunengō'' and ''shinengō'' include (591–621+ CE), (686), (1460), (1506–1507 or 1507–1509) and (1540–1543). The most recent ''shinengō'' is (1904–1905), named for the
Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
.


''Kyūshū nengō''

Edo period scholar Tsurumine Shigenobu proposed that , said to have been used in ancient
Kumaso The were a mythical people of ancient Japan mentioned in the ''Kojiki'', believed to have lived in the south of Kyūshū until at least the Nara period. The last leader of the Kumaso, Torishi-Kaya was killed by Yamato Takeru in 397. The name of K ...
, should also be considered a form of ''shinengō''. This claim is not generally recognized by the academic community. Lists of the proposed ''Kyūshū nengō'' can be seen in the Japanese language entries and .


Software support


Character sets

Certain era names have specific characters assigned to them, for instance ㋿ for the
Reiwa period is the current era of Japan's official calendar. It began on 1 May 2019, the day on which Emperor Akihito's elder son, Naruhito, ascended the throne as the 126th Emperor of Japan. The day before, Emperor Akihito abdicated the Chrysanthemum ...
, which can also be written as . These are included in
Unicode Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology standard for the consistent encoding, representation, and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems. The standard, wh ...
: Code points U+32FF (㋿), U+337B (㍻), U+337C (㍼), U+337D (㍽) and U+337E (㍾) are used for the Reiwa, Heisei, Shōwa, Taishō and Meiji eras, respectively.


Calendar libraries

Certain calendar libraries support the conversion from and to the era system, as well as rendering of dates using it. Since the release of Java 8, the
Japanese calendar Japanese calendar types have included a range of official and unofficial systems. At present, Japan uses the Gregorian calendar together with year designations stating the year of the reign of the current Emperor. The written form starts with t ...
is supported in the new Date and time API for the year Meiji 6 (1873) onwards.


Support for the new era in Japanese imperial transition of 2019

Computers and software manufacturers needed to test their systems in preparation for the new era which began on 1 May 2019. ''Windows'' provided a test mechanism to simulate a new era ahead of time. Java Development Kit 11 supported this era using the placeholders "" for Japanese, "NewEra" for other languages. The final name was added in JDK 12.0.1, after it was announced by the Japanese government.
Unicode Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology standard for the consistent encoding, representation, and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems. The standard, wh ...
code point U+32FF (㋿) was reserved for representing the new era name, Reiwa. The list of Japanese era names is the result of a
periodization In historiography, periodization is the process or study of categorizing the past into discrete, quantified, and named blocks of time for the purpose of study or analysis.Adam Rabinowitz. It's about time: historical periodization and Linked Ancie ...
system which was established by
Emperor Kōtoku was the 36th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 孝徳天皇 (33)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. The years of his reign lasted from 645 through 654. Traditional narrative Before Kōtoku's ascen ...
in 645. The system of was irregular until the beginning of the 8th century. After 701, sequential era names developed without interruption across a span of centuries. As of 1 April 2019, there have been 239 era names.


List of Japanese era names

To convert a Japanese year to a
Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...
year, find the first year of the Japanese era name (also called ''nengō''). When found, add the number of the Japanese year, then subtract 1.


Asuka period The was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 (or 592 to 645), although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after t ...


Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the c ...


Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...


Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...


Nanboku-chō period The Nanboku-chō period (南北朝時代, ''Nanboku-chō jidai'', "North and South court period", also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period), spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the formative years of the Mur ...


Southern Court


Northern Court The , also known as the Ashikaga Pretenders or Northern Pretenders, were a set of six pretenders to the throne of Japan during the Nanboku-chō period from 1336 through 1392. The present Imperial House of Japan is descended from the Northern Cou ...


Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...


Azuchi–Momoyama period The was the final phase of the in Japanese history from 1568 to 1600. After the outbreak of the Ōnin War in 1467, the power of the Ashikaga Shogunate effectively collapsed, marking the start of the chaotic Sengoku period. In 1568, Oda Nobuna ...


Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...


Modern Japan

The "one reign, one era name" () system was implemented in 1868 AD.


Non- periods

Unofficial non- periods () before 701 are called . Pre-Taika chronology intervals include: *Reign of Emperor Jimmu, 660–581 BC *Reign of Emperor Suizei, 581–548 BC *Reign of Emperor Annei, 548–510 BC *Reign of Emperor Itoku, 510–475 BC *Reign of Emperor Kōshō, 475–392 BC *Reign of Emperor Kōan, 392–290 BC *Reign of Emperor Kōrei, 290–214 BC *Reign of Emperor Kōgen, 214–157 BC *Reign of Emperor Kaika, 157–97 BC *Reign of Emperor Sujin, 97–29 BC *Reign of Emperor Suinin, 29 BC–AD 71 *Reign of Emperor Keikō, AD 71–131 *Reign of Emperor Seimu, 131–192 *Reign of Emperor Chūai, 192–201 *Regency of Empress Jingū, 201–270 *Reign of Emperor Ōjin, 270–313 *Reign of Emperor Nintoku, 313–400 *Reign of Emperor Richū, 400–406 *Reign of Emperor Hanzei, 406–412 *Reign of Emperor Ingyō, 412–454 *Reign of Emperor Ankō, 454–457 *Reign of Emperor Yūryaku, 457–480 *Reign of Emperor Seinei, 480–485 *Reign of Emperor Kenzō, 485–488 *Reign of Emperor Ninken, 488–499 *Reign of Emperor Buretsu, 499–507 *Reign of Emperor Keitai, 507–534 *Reign of Emperor Ankan, 534–536 *Reign of Emperor Senka, 536–540 *Reign of Emperor Kinmei, 540–572 *Reign of Emperor Bidatsu, 572–586 *Reign of Emperor Yōmei, 586–588 *Reign of Emperor Sushun, 588–593 *Reign of Emperor Suiko, 593–629 *Reign of Emperor Jomei, 629–645 Post-Taika chronology intervals not covered by the system include: *Reign of Empress Saimei, 655–662 ...
Saimei (period) The Saimei period is a chronological timeframe during the Asuka period of Japanese history. The Saimei period describes a span of years which were considered to have begun in the 1315th year of the Yamato dynasty.Murray, David. (1894). , citing W ...
*Reign of Emperor Tenji, 662–672 ...
Tenji (period) The Tenji period is a brief span of years during the Asuka period of Japanese history. The Tenji period describes a span of years which were considered to have begun in the 1322nd year of the Yamato dynasty.Murray, , citing William Bramsen. (188 ...
*Reign of Emperor Kōbun, 672–673 ...
Kōbun (period) The Kōbun period is a chronological timeframe during the Asuka period of Japanese history. The Kōbun period describes a span of years which were considered to have begun in the 1332nd year of the Yamato dynasty.Murray, , citing William Bramsen. ...
or Sujaku (or Suzaku) *Reign of Emperor Tenmu, 673–686 ...
Tenmu (period) The Temmu period is a chronological timeframe during the Asuka period of Japanese history. The Temmu period describes a span of years which were considered to have begun in the 1333rd year of the Yamato dynasty.Murray, David. (1894). , citing Wil ...
or
Hakuhō period The was an unofficial of Emperor TenmuNussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Hakuhō''" in ; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, ''see'Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File. after '' Hakuchi'' and before '' Such ...
Compare "Hakuhō"
p. 280 P. is an abbreviation or acronym that may refer to: * Page (paper), where the abbreviation comes from Latin ''pagina'' * Paris Herbarium, at the ''Muséum national d'histoire naturelle'' * ''Pani'' (Polish), translating as Mrs. * The ''Pacific Rep ...
*Reign of Empress Jitō, 687–697 ...
Jitō (period) were medieval territory stewards in Japan, especially in the Kamakura and Muromachi shogunates. Appointed by the shōgun, ''jitō'' managed manors, including national holdings governed by the kokushi or provincial governor. There were also de ...
*Reign of Emperor Monmu, 697–701 (697) 文武 Monmu ...
Monmu (period) The Monmu period is a chronology, chronological timeframe during the Asuka period of Japanese history. The Mommu period describes a span of years which were considered to have begun in the 1357th year of the Yamato dynasty.Murray, David. (1894). ...


See also

*
Calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a physi ...
*
Japanese calendar Japanese calendar types have included a range of official and unofficial systems. At present, Japan uses the Gregorian calendar together with year designations stating the year of the reign of the current Emperor. The written form starts with t ...
*
Japanese imperial year The , colloquially known as the or "national calendar year" is a unique calendar system in Japan. It is based on the legendary foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu in 660 BC. ''Kōki'' emphasizes the long history of Japan and the Imperial dyna ...
* ''Jikkan Jūnishi'' (sexagenary cycle) *
Regnal name A regnal name, or regnant name or reign name, is the name used by monarchs and popes during their reigns and, subsequently, historically. Since ancient times, some monarchs have chosen to use a different name from their original name when they ...
* Regnal years worldwide


Notes


Citations


References

* * * ''
Daijirin is a comprehensive single-volume Japanese dictionary edited by , and first published by in 1988. This title is based upon two early Sanseidō dictionaries edited by Shōzaburō Kanazawa (金沢庄三郎, 1872–1967), ''Jirin'' (辞林 "Forest o ...
'', 2nd edition. * ''
Daijisen The is a general-purpose Japanese dictionary published by Shogakukan in 1995 and 1998. It was designed as an "all-in-one" dictionary for native speakers of Japanese, especially high school and university students. History Shogakukan intended for ...
'', 1st edition. * ''
Kōjien is a single-volume Japanese dictionary first published by Iwanami Shoten in 1955. It is widely regarded as the most authoritative dictionary of Japanese, and newspaper editorials frequently cite its definitions. As of 2007, it had sold 11 mil ...
'', 5th edition. * * Online conversion of Japanese dates into their Western equivalents; calculation is based on tables from and . * * Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959)
''The Imperial House of Japan.''
Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society
OCLC 194887
* '' Nihon Ōdai Ichiran'' * * * * . * . * . * * .


External links


Nengō converter
{{Chronology Calendar eras
Era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of ...