How to read it

1871 minus 1868, the year Meiji began, plus one, gives 4: 明治4年. The shortcut Japanese people use: add 67 to a Meiji year and you have the last two digits of the Western year — 4 + 67 = 71. On paper it is M4: forms print the era options — 明・大・昭・平・令, or the letters M T S H R — beside the date box, and you circle one and write the number. One caveat: until 1873 Japan kept the lunisolar calendar, so 明治4年 actually began on the lunar new year, a few weeks into 1871, and ran into 1872. The one-to-one match between era years and Western years starts with Meiji 6, when 3 December Meiji 5 was followed by 1 January 1873.

Other years

• 1868明治元年
• 1869明治2年
• 1870明治3年
• 1872明治5年
• 1873明治6年
• 1874明治7年
• 1875明治8年
• 1876明治9年

Every year of the Meiji era → · How the Japanese calendar works, and every year 1868–2050