Japanese calendar
| Day | Kanji | Romaji | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 17 | 冬の土用 | Fuyu no doyō | |
| February 3 | 節分 | Setsubun | The eve of Risshun by one definition. |
| March 21 | 春社日 | Haru shanichi | Also known as 春社 (Harusha, Shunsha). |
| March 18 - March 24 | 春彼岸 | Haru higan | The seven days surrounding Shunbun. |
| April 17 | 春の土用 | Haru no doyō | |
| May 2 | 八十八夜 | Hachijū hachiya | Literally meaning 88 nights (since Risshun). |
| June 11 | 入梅 | Nyūbai | Literally meaning entering tsuyu. |
| July 2 | 半夏生 | Hangeshō | One of the 72 Kō. Farmers take five days off in some regions. |
| July 15 | 中元 | Chūgen | Sometimes considered a Zassetsu. |
| July 20 | 夏の土用 | Natsu no doyō | |
| September 1 | 二百十日 | Nihyaku tōka | Literally meaning 210 days (since Risshun). |
| September 11 | 二百二十日 | Nihyaku hatsuka | Literally meaning 220 days. |
| September 20 - September 26 | 秋彼岸 | Aki higan | |
| September 22 | 秋社日 | Aki shanichi | Also known as 秋社 (Akisha, Shūsha). |
| October 20 | 秋の土用 | Aki no doyō |
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.
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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.
- January 7 (1/7) - 人日 (Jinjitsu), 七草の節句 (Nanakusa no sekku)
- March 3 (3/3) - 上巳 (Jōshi, Jōmi), 桃の節句 (Momo no sekku)
- 雛祭り (Hina matsuri), Girls' Day.
- 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.
- July 7 (7/7) - 七夕 (Shichiseki, Tanabata), 星祭り (Hoshi matsuri )
- September 9 (9/9) - 重陽 (Chōyō), 菊の節句 (Kiku no sekku)
Not Sekku:
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Rokuyō
The rokuyō (六曜) are a series of six days that supposedly 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, though most people ignore them in ordinary life. The rokuyō are also known as the rokki (六輝). In order, they are:
| Kanji | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 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). Typically crematoriums are closed this day. |
| 先負 | Senbu | Bad luck before noon, good luck after noon. |
| 仏滅 | Butsumetsu | Symbolizes the day Buddha died. Considered the most unlucky day. Weddings are best avoided. Some Shinto shrines close their offices on this day. |
| 大安 | Taian | The most lucky day. Good day for weddings and events like shop openings. |
| 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 Lunisolar calendar. Lunisolar 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. Lunisolar February 1st restarts the sequence at tomobiki. Lunisolar 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, December 1st is shakkō and the moon-viewing day of "August 15th" is always a "butsumetsu."
This system did not become popular in Japan until the end of the Edo period.
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April 1
The first day of April has broad significance in Japan. It marks the beginning of the government's fiscal year.[2] 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)
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See also
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References
- ^ The Japanese Calendar History. National Diet Library, Japan (2002). Retrieved on 2007-03-19.[ National Diet Library, Japan "The Japanese Calendar"-Calendar History 2]
- ^ THE JAPANESE FISCAL YEAR AND MISCELLANEOUS DATA (PDF). Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (2003). Retrieved on 2007-10-08.
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External links
- Japanese calendar tables and zodiac signs, in Kanji, Hiragana, Romaji, and English,
- Japanese calendar history by the National Diet Library
- The Lunar Calendar in Japan
- The Japanese Lunar Calendar Mechanics of the Japanese lunar calendar and hints on using NengoCalc (see below)
- Koyomi no page in Japanese
- Koyomi no hanashi in Japanese
- Rokuyō calculator in Japanese
- Rokuyō calendar in English
- Convert Western Years to Japanese Years converts Gregorian calendar years to Japanese Emperor Era years (known as nengo)
- Japanese Year Dates Detailed explanations of Reign years, Era years, Cyclic years, Western years, Imperial years
- NengoCalc (Tool for converting Japanese dates into Western equivalents)
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