About NENGO

Why this site exists

Japanese era years (元号 gengō) appear on coins, official documents, driver's licenses, vintage cameras, and book colophons — but converting them to Western years usually means hunting through tables. NENGO does the conversion instantly, handles the tricky era-change years (1912, 1926, 1989, 2019) down to the exact day, and teaches you to read the dates yourself.

Editorial policy & data sources

The era boundary dates used by this site follow the officially recorded transition dates of the five modern eras: Meiji (from Oct 23, 1868), Taishō (from Jul 30, 1912), Shōwa (from Dec 25, 1926), Heisei (from Jan 8, 1989), and Reiwa (from May 1, 2019). Zodiac years follow the standard twelve-animal cycle used in Japan.

All conversion runs as JavaScript in your browser. Nothing you type is transmitted or stored. The era data is checked against those official dates, and any error found is corrected promptly.

Scope

This site covers 1868 (Meiji 1) to the present. Pre-Meiji Japan used over 240 historical era names on a lunar calendar; converting those accurately requires specialized historical tables, which is a different job than this site aims to do well.

How the site is funded

NENGO is free to use and is funded by advertising served through Google AdSense. Ads are clearly distinguishable from content. We do not sell any product, and we do not charge for any feature. See the privacy policy for what ad cookies involve.

Operation

NENGO is a small, independently operated reference site. It is not affiliated with the Government of Japan, the Imperial Household Agency, or any official body.