How to read it

1961 minus 1926, the year Shōwa began, plus one, gives 36: 昭和36年. The shortcut Japanese people use: add 25 to a Shōwa year and you have the last two digits of the Western year — 36 + 25 = 61. On paper it is S36: 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 1961 turns 65 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 66.

1961 in the Chinese zodiac

1961 is the year of the Metal Ox (辛丑). The zodiac year began on 15 February 1961.

Other years

• 1956昭和31年
• 1957昭和32年
• 1958昭和33年
• 1959昭和34年
• 1960昭和35年
• 1962昭和37年
• 1963昭和38年
• 1964昭和39年
• 1965昭和40年
• 1966昭和41年

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