How to read it

1960 minus 1926, the year Shōwa began, plus one, gives 35: 昭和35年. The shortcut Japanese people use: add 25 to a Shōwa year and you have the last two digits of the Western year — 35 + 25 = 60. On paper it is S35: 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. Someone born in 1960 turns 66 in 2026. In kazoedoshi 数え年 — the traditional count that starts at one at birth and adds a year every New Year — they are 67.

1960 in the Chinese zodiac

1960 is the year of the Metal Rat (庚子). The zodiac year began on 28 January 1960.

Other years

• 1955昭和30年
• 1956昭和31年
• 1957昭和32年
• 1958昭和33年
• 1959昭和34年
• 1961昭和36年
• 1962昭和37年
• 1963昭和38年
• 1964昭和39年
• 1965昭和40年

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