How to use the japanese era, minguo and buddhist year converter
- Choose where to start: a Gregorian date, a Japanese era date, a Minguo date or a Buddhist era date.
- For a Gregorian date, pick the day. For the others, choose the era if there is one and enter the year, month and day in that system.
- Read the Gregorian date, the Japanese era date (with Japanese characters), the Minguo year and the Buddhist era year.
- Copy the result or download the table as a CSV file.
Formula
Japanese era year = Gregorian year - offset (Reiwa 2018, Heisei 1988, Showa 1925, Taisho 1911, Meiji 1867)
Minguo year = Gregorian year - 1911
Buddhist era year = Gregorian year + 543
Months and days are the same in all four systems. Era years change on the day a new era begins, not on 1 January, which is why a Japanese era needs the exact date.
The day one era ended and the next began
30 April 2019 is Heisei 31 (平成31年4月30日), the last day of the Heisei era. The next day, 1 May 2019, is Reiwa 1 (令和元年5月1日), where year 1 is called gannen.
Today's date in the example, 17 October 2026, is Reiwa 8, Minguo 115 and Buddhist era 2569. Going the other way, Showa 64, 7 January 1989 is the Gregorian date 1989-01-07, the final day of Showa.
What each system is
Japan names years after the reign of an emperor, starting a new count with each reign. The Republic of China (Taiwan) counts Minguo years from 1912. Thailand and several other Buddhist countries add 543 years to the Gregorian year, and in Thailand the new year begins on 1 January.
These calendars are used on government forms, signs and bills in their countries. To convert other calendars, see the Hijri Date Converter and the Ethiopian and Coptic Calendar Converter.
Dates not covered
Japanese eras are given from 1 January 1873, when Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar; before that the months did not match. The Minguo count starts on 1 January 1912. The Thai count is given from 1 January 1941, because before then the year began in April, so the same Gregorian date could belong to two Buddhist era years depending on the month.
Assumptions and limits
- Era boundaries used: Meiji from 1873-01-01 to 1912-07-29, Taisho to 1926-12-24, Showa to 1989-01-07, Heisei to 2019-04-30 and Reiwa from 2019-05-01.
- Year 1 of an era is shown with the word gannen as well as the number.
- The Gregorian calendar is used for every date, including the years before 1582.
- Japanese characters are shown beside the English spelling; no other languages are provided.
- Future era changes cannot be known in advance, so dates after the current era are shown as Reiwa years.
Frequently asked questions
Why does a Japanese date need the month and day?
An era can end and the next begin in the middle of a Gregorian year. 1989 was part of Showa until 7 January and Heisei afterward.
What is gannen?
It is the word for the first year of an era. A date in the first year of Reiwa is usually written with the character for gannen in place of the number 1.
Why does the Thai conversion start in 1941?
Before 1941 the Thai year began on 1 April, so months from January to March belonged to the previous Buddhist era year. The tool avoids the ambiguity by starting from the change.
Does the page cover the Korean Dangi calendar?
No. Only the Japanese eras, the Minguo count and the Buddhist era are included.