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→Reign Years
==Reign Years==
==Reign Years==
The earliest year dates used in China were the reign year of the ruler. These appear on some of the 13th-century BC bone oracles and early bronze vessels. However, in the 2nd-century BC these were replaced by era names (nengô, see below), and the [[sexagenary cycle]] cycle also started to be used for years around this time. Therefore, reign years were never used for records in Japan, though the system was known from Chinese histories like the classic ''[[Spring and Autumn Annals]]'' (covering 722 to 481 BC).
The earliest year dates used in China were the reign year of the ruler. These appear on some of the 13th-century BCE [[oracle bones]] and early bronze vessels. However, in the 2nd-century BC these were replaced by era names (''nengô'', see below), and the [[sexagenary cycle]] cycle also started to be used for years around this time. Therefore, reign years were never used for records in Japan, though the system was known from Chinese histories like the classic ''[[Spring and Autumn Annals]]'' (covering 722 to 481 BCE).
However, the editors of the [[Nihon Shoki]] for their year dates calculated the reign years of the Japanese emperors, except for the few years for which nengô existed. Thus we have dates like "in the 5th year and the 11th month of the reign of the Emperor [[Emperor Sushun|Hatsuse-be]]." <ref> ''Sources of Japanese Tradition'',1:43. </ref>. The standard historians' dates follow the Shoki, using the later standard names for the emperors, so the above date is known as "Sushun 5."
However, the editors of the [[Nihon Shoki]] for their year dates calculated the reign years of the Japanese emperors, except for the few years for which nengô existed. Thus we have dates like "in the 5th year and the 11th month of the reign of the Emperor [[Emperor Sushun|Hatsuse-be]]." <ref> ''Sources of Japanese Tradition'',1:43. </ref>. The standard historians' dates follow the Shoki, using the later standard names for the emperors, so the above date is known as "Sushun 5."
