How is the Japanese era year calculated?

Each modern era begins on an exact Gregorian date — Reiwa on 1 May 2019, Heisei on 8 January 1989, Shōwa on 25 December 1926, Taishō on 30 July 1912 and Meiji on 23 October 1868. The era year equals the Gregorian year minus the era's start year plus one, so the first year of an era is year 1 (Gannen / 元年).

How accurate is the conversion?

It is exact for the modern Meiji-to-Reiwa eras, which each have a fixed Gregorian start date. The tool finds the latest era beginning on or before your date, so transition days are handled correctly. Dates before the Meiji era (1868) are not covered.

What year is Reiwa 8 in the Gregorian calendar?

Reiwa began in 2019, so Reiwa 8 is 2019 + 8 − 1 = 2026. In general the Gregorian year equals the era start year plus the era year minus one.

What does Gannen (元年) mean?

Gannen (元年) literally means "origin year" and is the conventional name for the first year of any Japanese era. Instead of writing Reiwa 1, official documents write Reiwa Gannen (令和元年). This tool labels the first year of an era as 元年.

How is a date that falls on an era transition day handled?

The tool selects the latest era whose official start date is on or before your date, comparing year, month and day. So 8 January 1989 (the first day of Heisei) is Heisei 1, while 7 January 1989 is still Shōwa 64.

Why does my emperor or year fall outside Meiji to Reiwa?

This converter only covers the five modern eras that have fixed, single Gregorian start dates. Pre-Meiji eras used the lunisolar calendar and changed frequently, so their conversion is not a simple year-offset and is intentionally excluded.

Is my date sent anywhere?

No. The converter is privacy-first — all processing happens locally in your browser and no date ever leaves your device.

Japanese Era Converter (Gengō / 和暦)

Japanese era converter

Japan dates documents, coins and official forms using the Japanese era system (Gengō / 元号), where years are counted from the start of each emperor’s era rather than continuously. This converter translates between ordinary Gregorian dates and wareki (和暦) era years, covering the five modern eras — Reiwa, Heisei, Shōwa, Taishō and Meiji. It is useful for reading Japanese forms, visa paperwork, birth certificates and historical records.

How it works

Each modern era has one fixed Gregorian start date:

Era	Kanji	Gregorian start
Meiji	明治	23 October 1868
Taishō	大正	30 July 1912
Shōwa	昭和	25 December 1926
Heisei	平成	8 January 1989
Reiwa	令和	1 May 2019

To convert a Gregorian date, the tool finds the latest era whose start date is on or before that date (comparing year, month and day), then computes:

era year = Gregorian year − era start year + 1

The first year of any era is year 1, written Gannen (元年). Converting the other way, the Gregorian year is era start year + era year − 1.

Example

Take 28 May 2026. The latest era beginning on or before that date is Reiwa (started 1 May 2019). The era year is 2026 − 2019 + 1 = 8, so the result is 令和8 (Reiwa 8). Going back the other way, Reiwa 8 maps to 2019 + 8 − 1 = 2026.

It is privacy-first: every calculation happens locally in your browser and nothing is ever sent anywhere.