Changes

Four major ways have been used to identify years in Japan.  One is by reign years,  a system used in early history; another is counting from the beginning of a year period, or era, (the ''nengô'' 年号system), which is still the official dating system; the third, now used only marginally in Japan, follows the Chinese 60-year cycle (''kanshi'' 干支 system); and the fourth is the Western, or Christian, calendar.

Four major ways have been used to identify years in Japan.  One is by reign years,  a system used in early history; another is counting from the beginning of a year period, or era, (the ''nengô'' 年号system), which is still the official dating system; the third, now used only marginally in Japan, follows the Chinese 60-year cycle (''kanshi'' 干支 system); and the fourth is the Western, or Christian, calendar.