The Japanese calendar reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004
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Japanese calendar

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Since 1872 Japan has used the Gregorian Calendar, with local names for the months and mostly fixed holidays. Before 1872 a lunisolar calendar was in use, which was adopted from the Chinese calendar.

Table of contents
1 Months
2 Days
3 Holidays
4 Seasonal Festivals
5 Rokuyō
6 Further reading
7 External Links

Months

The modern Japanese names for the months literally translate to "first month," "second month," and so on. The corresponding number is combined with the suffix -gatsu (month):

In addition, every month has a traditional name. Highly literate people will know all twelve. These are elegant ways to refer to the months, and find use in certain limited fields such as poetry. The opening paragraph of a letter or the greeting in a speech might borrow one of these names to convey a sense of the season. Some, such as Yayoi and Satsuki, do double duty as given names (for women). These month names also appear from time to time on jidaigeki, which are contemporary television shows and movies set in the Edo period or earlier.

Here is a list of the traditional names.

The name of month: (pronunciation, literal meaning)

Days

Each day of the month has a semi-systematic but irregularly formed name:

1 一日 ついたち tsuitachi 2 二日 ふつか futsuka
3 三日 みっか mikka 4 四日 よっか yokka
5 五日 いつか itsuka 6 六日 むいか muika
7 七日 なのか nanoka 8 八日 ようか yōka
9 九日 ここのか kokonoka 10 十日 とおか tōka
11 十一日 じゅういちにち jūichinichi 12 十二日 じゅうににち jūninichi
13 十三日 じゅうさんにち jūsannichi 14 十四日 じゅうよっか jūyokka
15 十五日 じゅうごにち jūgonichi 16 十六日 じゅうろくにち jūrokunichi
17 十七日 じゅうしちにち jūshichinichi 18 十八日 じゅうはちにち jūhachinichi
19 十九日 じゅうくにち jūkunichi 20 二十日 はつか hatsuka
21 二十一日 にじゅういちにち nijūichinichi 22 二十二日 にじゅうににち nijūninichi
23 二十三日 にじゅうさんにち niūsannichi 24 二十四日 にじゅうよっか nijūyokka
25 二十五日 にじゅうごにち nijūgonichi 26 二十六日 にじゅうろくにち nijūrokunichi
27 二十七日 にじゅうしちにち nijūshichinichi 28 二十八日 にじゅはちにち nijūhachinichi
29 二十九日 にじゅくにち nijūkunichi 30 三十日 さんじゅうにち sanjūnichi
31 三十一日 さんじゅういちにち sanjūichinichi

In the traditional calendar, the thirtieth was the last day of the month, and its traditional name, misoka, survives (although sanjunichi is far more common, and is the usual term). The last day of the year is omisoka (the big thirtieth day), and that term is still in use.

Holidays

Notes: Single days between two national holidays are taken as a bank holiday. This applies to May 4, which is a holiday each year. When a national holiday falls on a Sunday the following Monday is being taken as a holiday.
Date English Name Local Name Remarks
January 1 New Year's Day 元日  
Moveable Monday Coming-of-age Day 成人の日 2nd Monday of January
February 11 National Foundation Day 建国記念日  
March 20 or 21 Vernal Equinox Day 春分の日  
April 29 Greenery Day みどりの日 Golden Week
May 3 Constitution Memorial Day 憲法記念日
May 4 National Holiday  
May 5 Children's Day 子供の日
Moveable Monday Maritime Day 海の日 3rd Monday of July
Moveable Monday Respect for the Aged Day 敬老の日 3rd Monday of September
September 23 or 24 Autumnal Equinox Day 秋分の日  
Moveable Monday Health-Sports Day 体育の日 2nd Monday of October
November 3 Culture Day 文化の日  
November 23 Labor Thanksgiving Day 勤労感謝の日  
December 23 The Emperor's Birthday 天皇誕生日  

The list and the table are to be merged.

The list of national holidays:

This table includes 雑節 (Zassetsu), 二十四節気 (24 Sekki) and some others. (Except 中元 (chugen) and お盆 (obon), days vary according to the year.)

Some of these names are still used quite frequently in everyday life in Japan. It is common that daily weather reports use 冬至 (Touji).

Seasonal Festivals

The following are known as the five seasonal festivals (sekku 節句)

Rokuyō

The rokuyō (六曜) are a series of six days that predict whether there will be good or bad fortune during that day. The rokuyō are still commonly found on Japanese calendars today, and are often used to plan weddings and funerals. The rokuyō are also known as the rokki (六輝). In order, they are:

Further reading

Here is a good website that explains the history of the Japanese calendar: http://www.ndl.go.jp/koyomi/e

External Links

See also: Calendar, Japanese era name, Chinese Calendar