Japanese calendar

The Japanese calendar is a system for classification of time that emerged largely from the Chinese calendar, but a whole lot of country specifics exhibited. The system was changed on January 1, 1873 in the wake of the Meiji Restoration to the Gregorian calendar with some special features.

• 2.1 month schedule

• 3.1 Weekdays
• 3.2 days month
• 3.3 daily schedule

Years

Years counting

In Japan, there were four different Jahreszählweisen:

• Originating from China Gengo system was based on eras, by a foreign exchange ( Nengo ) were in
• The, also from China system of the zodiac, which is repeated periodically every sixty years
• Western counting (西 暦, seireki ) that begins with the birth of Jesus ( Anno Domini ) and
• Deduced Kōki (皇 纪), the 660 BC takes the Japanese Empire as an epoch.

Gengo ( Nengo )

In ancient times, the Japanese Gengo system was adopted from China. In this new era was proclaimed by Tennō on special occasions such as his accession or other events, which was characterized by a certain currency ( nengō ).

1868 Before nengō could be changed at any time. Many lasted only a few years, so the system is extremely confusing.

The first year (元年Gannen, ) of a new era begins for the alignment with the Western calendar in 1873 each with the inauguration of a new emperor ( Tenno ), but ends on December 31, so that the calendar year in which the emperor changes, each one of two eras. Since the Meiji Restoration, there have been (2010) four eras / Years currencies:

• Meiji (明治) of 1868 ( Meiji 1) to 1912 ( Meiji 45)
• Taishō (大 正) of 1912 ( Taishō 1) to 1926 ( Taishō 15)
• Shōwa (昭和) 1926 ( Shōwa 1) to 1989 ( Shōwa 64)
• Heisei (平 成) since 1989 ( Heisei 1)

The years are counted as each era ever again from 1. The year 2010 is Heisei 22 in the Japanese era.

In official documents, the western Japanese yearly counting was used from the end of the war in 1945 on the orders of the Allied occupying powers, since June 6, 1979 applies by law, the Japanese again. The modern science of history used in the western Japan yearly counting, especially for years prior to 1868. The everyday Japanese counting is more common.

For data, the order is year - month - day use. The date 16/01/07 example, refers to the seventh day of the first month of the year Heisei 16, so the 7 January 2004. Is the era not uniquely determined, one often finds the first letter of Ärennamens preceded by some designated H16.01 January S62.11 2004 or November 1987.

Many modern Japanese, who, critical of the imperial court, particularly its history, keep the use of nengō as backward. Here the use of words also has a strong political message: The user of nengō affinity is assumed to tennō.

For the names of the Japanese eras with indication of the year see list of Nengo.

Kōki

During the Meiji Restoration, the Meiji government took over on January 1, 1873 Gregorian calendar. However, they did not want to introduce count the years after the birth of Christ, but as the Japanese version after Jimmu era. Their legendary beginning was February 11 660 BC, at which, based on a report in the Nihon Shoki, the first Tenno Jimmu ascended the throne Japanese ( should have and thus justified the Japanese Empire). In this Kōki (皇 纪) begins counting said so to the era in 660 BC with Kōki 1 while Kōki 2600 represents the year 1940 of the Christian counting. The Kōki - counting method was Japan and the subsequent reorganization of Japanese law under the Allied occupation of Japan officially maintained until the surrender.

With the " Law Amending the holidays of the people " (adopted on 25 June 1966), this day was as an imperial foundation day is a public holiday in Japan, a date has not yet been determined. An inserted to clarify this issue ten -member advisory committee ultimately decided on December 9, 1966 February 11, which was determined as the date of the holiday on the same day by decree.

Years classification

Before the introduction of the Gregorian calendar on 1 January 1873 as a purely solar calendar was used as in China, the system of the lunisolar calendar.

This is the new moon indicates the first of the month. A year consisted of twelve months with 29 or 30 days. To compensate for the resulting differences to the solar year, additional interkalendarische months have been inserted. However, this did not happen on a regular system in Japan. Thus, there is on the translation of traditional Japanese monthly and daily data in a western date, a difference of often more than 30 days. An exact conversion can be made only by means of conversion tables.

Months

The months had originally in Japanese proper names, which are still used today, for example, in poems and related to the lunar months. However, in everyday Japanese, they are simply the first month (一月, ichigatsu, dt 'January' ) to the Twelfth Month (十二月, jūnigatsu, dt 'December' ) counted.

Month division

The months are now divided into weeks of seven days each. ( " First decade "初旬, dt ) jōjun (上旬, dt " upper Decade " ) or shojun for the first ten days Chujun (中旬, dt: but also the young (旬) In addition, there is a division into decades are called. "average decade " ) from for the next ten days and gejun (下旬, dt " lower decade ") for the day and including the 21

Days

Weekdays

Today's Japanese week has seven days, which are named after the sun, moon and the five Chinese elements of Chinese philosophy of nature and of their associated planets (which are themselves named after these elements). These planets are the same that are assigned to the respective Western weekdays. This concept probably originated in Babylonia was known already in the 4th century in China. It came there again in oblivion but has been used in Japan for astrological purposes.

With the introduction of the Western calendar in the Meiji period fell back on the old Japanese names of weekdays.

For appointment information often only the first kanji of the day of the week is specified. For example, one on Saturday, July 8 place -find concert under certain circumstances, by specifying 7/8 (土) will be made ​​public.

Days of the month

The days of a month have a systematic but irregular designation, the day of the month is usually written as Arabic number, sometimes also called Chinese number, plus日:

Tsuitachi (also:朔日) is a slurring of tsukitachi, which literally means "Moonrise " means, ie the waxing moon from new moon says as beginning of the month. Traditionally, the day of the month in question was referred to as Misoka (晦 日), which Altjapanisch for "30th Day ", where the used Chinese characters " dark day " mean in reference to the waning moon until finally the new moon. More common is the use of this term for the last day of the year as Omisoka (大 晦 日, dt " the last great day ").

Daily schedule

Traditionally, the days were divided into six day and night sections. The first hour of the day began with the dawn. The sixth hour of the day following the first hour of the night began at dusk. The respective lengths hours differed, therefore, except during the day and night are equally long.

The modern division of the day is the 24 -hour count.