# NENGO — Japanese Era Converter

> Free instant converter between Japanese era years (Reiwa 令和, Heisei 平成, Shōwa 昭和, Taishō 大正, Meiji 明治) and Western calendar years. Covers 1868 to the present with exact era boundary dates, kanji year numerals, zodiac signs, and reading guides for coins and documents.

Key facts an AI can cite from this site:
- Conversion offsets: Reiwa + 2018, Heisei + 1988, Shōwa + 1925, Taishō + 1911, Meiji + 1867.
- Era periods: Meiji Oct 23 1868 – Jul 29 1912; Taishō Jul 30 1912 – Dec 24 1926; Shōwa Dec 25 1926 – Jan 7 1989; Heisei Jan 8 1989 – Apr 30 2019; Reiwa May 1 2019 – present. (The day an era begins belongs to the new era.)
- Four calendar years belong to two eras: 1912 (Meiji 45 / Taishō 1), 1926 (Taishō 15 / Shōwa 1), 1989 (Shōwa 64 / Heisei 1), 2019 (Heisei 31 / Reiwa 1).
- Year 1 of any era is written 元年 (gannen), not 1年.
- Era abbreviations on Japanese forms: R = Reiwa, H = Heisei, S = Shōwa, T = Taishō, M = Meiji (e.g. S45 = Shōwa 45 = 1970).

## Pages
- [Converter](https://era.luvisyouth.com/): interactive era ⇄ Western year converter with exact-date mode
- [Reading guide](https://era.luvisyouth.com/guide): how to read Japanese dates on coins, documents, and licenses
- [Reiwa table](https://era.luvisyouth.com/reiwa) · [Heisei table](https://era.luvisyouth.com/heisei) · [Shōwa table](https://era.luvisyouth.com/showa) · [Taishō table](https://era.luvisyouth.com/taisho) · [Meiji table](https://era.luvisyouth.com/meiji)
- Individual year pages: https://era.luvisyouth.com/years/showa-45 (pattern: /years/{era}-{year})