The Japanese Zodiac and Sixty-Year Calendar

Alongside era names, Japan uses a sixty-year cycle inherited from China, called eto. Each year combines one of twelve animals with one of ten heavenly stems. The cycle appears on boxes, prints, calendars and New Year objects, and it can help date an inscription that gives no era name.

The twelve animals

The ten stems

The stems pair the five elements, wood, fire, earth, metal and water, each in an elder and younger form: 甲 kinoe, 乙 kinoto, 丙 hinoe, 丁 hinoto, 戊 tsuchinoe, 己 tsuchinoto, 庚 kanoe, 辛 kanoto, 壬 mizunoe and 癸 mizunoto. A stem and an animal together name a year, and the combination repeats every sixty years.

Recent years in the cycle

• 2024: 甲辰, kinoe-tatsu, wood dragon.
• 2025: 乙巳, kinoto-mi, wood snake.
• 2026: 丙午, hinoe-uma, fire horse. Folklore attached special significance to this year, and in 1966, the last fire horse year, Japan's birth rate fell noticeably.
• 2027: 丁未, hinoto-hitsuji, fire sheep.

Dating with the cycle

An inscription such as 甲子年 tells you the year within a sixty-year cycle, so it could mean 1864, 1924 or 1984. Combine it with style, materials and the form of the inscription to choose the right cycle. Where an era name is also given, the date is exact.

Customs and objects

• Kanreki. At sixty, a person completes a full cycle and celebrates by wearing red, a symbol of rebirth.
• New Year objects. Small figures, prints, plates and charms of the year's animal are made each year and collected in sets of twelve.

Related references

• Japanese Era Names
• Numerals and Dates on Boxes
• Maneki-neko, Daruma and Good-Luck Charms