The counting in the Land of the Rising Sun, or what year in Japan

In Japan, everything is different. They do not dress like that, they eat and sit differently, otherwise they consider days and years. It is difficult for a Western person to understand what year it is in Japan. Since ancient times, the Japanese have taken for themselves the Chinese lunisolar calendar, but this nation with its special mentality made special changes to it. Now it is used mainly during ceremonies, in astrology or for some cultural purposes. We will try to deal with the calendar in detail in Japan. What year is it now, we will also clarify.

Calculus of the years - ways

The Japanese call their island state "Nippon", which means the Motherland of the Sun, the Chinese translated this name as the Land of the Rising Sun, the Russians distorted it to the word "Japan". These islands had three ways of calculating the years, two of which are still valid today. But we will mention all three.

The most ancient, which now does not apply, came from the founding of Japan by the legendary Emperor Jimmu more than five hundred years BC. E.

The Japanese copied the other system from the Chinese. Celestial in those days was the most developed of all Asian countries. The year when the new emperor began to rule, after the death of the previous one, began a new countdown. What year is it in Japan to find out easily. 28th 年 (the hieroglyph stands for the word "year") of the reign of Emperor Akihito.

In 1873, the Gregorian calendar was adopted in the country. It has gradually taken root and is used on a par with the traditional. 2017 年 - this is the current year in Japan. The first in the writing is put a year, then - a month, the last - a number. All this is written with our traditional figures. May 13, 2017 will look like this: 2017-5-13.

The reign of the emperor

We keep our account of the days from the Nativity of Christ, without changing anything. In Japan, there was another practice. The new emperor, when he enters the throne (he does not really rule), then he chooses a motto - nengo, under which the time of his power will pass.
This motto, made up of two successful hieroglyphs, requires that the entire period of government pass smoothly, without cataclysms. A special state commission that studies ancient Chinese scrolls with classical literature for its selection was created and created in Japan. What is the year now? This period is called the Heisei era, which in translation means Peace and Tranquility. It began in 1989, when the divine elected Akihito came to power.

Cyclic Calendar

With him, the West is already quite well acquainted, but notes the onset of the Eastern New Year on their dates, which do not coincide with the original source. Over this sixty-year cycle, every year, any animal and special element controls.
These elements, which are controlled by Saturn, are five: wood, fire, metal, water and earth. They have their own colors: blue, red, yellow, white, black. In addition, the path of Jupiter is divided into twelve segments, each of which corresponds to an animal. They go in the sequence that came to the Buddha: rat, horse, bull, sheep, tiger, monkey, rabbit, cock, dragon, dog, snake, pig. We have already celebrated the New Year and know what year it is in Japan now - the Rooster, of course. His symbol was on many European trinkets, objects of utensils and clothes.

Chronology in Japan

What is the year now? The chronology in Japan makes Europeans look into the astrological signs of the coming year. We strive to please the new creature that is coming, to cook delicious dishes for it, so that it protects us for a year. Of course, this is just a ritual that adds spice to the New Year holiday and is forgotten in the western countries the next morning. But in the states of Asia, the New Year, which falls on the interval between the twenties of January and February, is celebrated on a grand scale. Fireworks and observance of all rituals are required. So, for example, the Japanese visit Shinto temples, buy a Daruma toy-deity, make a wish and paint one eye to it. When the year is over, if the desire has come true, then Daruma is painted over with the second eye, and if not, then do not touch. In any case, the wooden pupa goes back to that temple, where it was bought and burnt in special bonfires.

Sakura Time

From the north, from the Sea of Okhotsk to the south, where Japan is washed by the Pacific Ocean, an archipelago stretches out, with almost seven thousand islands. Its length is three and a half thousand kilometers. Therefore, the question of weather for any Japanese is considered a good form.

The Japanese are waiting for the beginning of the warm winds, when the blooming cherry blossom will replace the winter.
Only on different islands it is at different times. In the south, on the island of Kyushu, cherry can announce the spring in February, and in the northern islands of Hokkaido and Aomori only in May. So if they ask: "What time of the year is now in Japan?", Then it is necessary to be guided not by the calendar, but by the geographical location of this or that island. It's like in our country - on the Black Sea coast the spring is already going to pass into the summer, and in Moscow, piercing through the evil northern winds blowing through in May, there is a cold rain, and at night frosts. And according to the calendar - the spring, which the inhabitants of the suburbs can not wait.

We hope that it is now clear to everyone how the current year is calculated in Japan.