Since the Meiji Period, Japanese eras are named after the current emperor’s reign. This means that whenever a new emperor starts his reign, Japanese dates start from the year 1.
In this way, 1868 became Meiji 1; 1912, Taisho 1; 1926, Showa 1; and 1989, Heisei 1.
The year 2019 became Reiwa 1 when Emperor Akihito abdicated and his son Naruhito ascended the throne as the 126th Emperor of Japan.
The emperor is named after his era upon his death. So Emperor Hirohito is known in Japan as Showa Tenno (Emperor Showa).
Meiji: Emperor Mutsuhito (睦仁). Reign: February 3, 1867 ~ July 30, 1912
Taisho: Emperor Yoshihito (嘉仁). Reign: July 30, 1912 ~ December 25, 1926
Showa: Emperor Hirohito (裕仁). Reign: December 25, 1926 ~ January 7, 1989
Heisei: Emperor Akihito (明仁). Reign: January 7, 1989 ~ April 30, 2019
Reiwa: Emperor Naruhito (徳仁). Reign: May 1, 2019 ~
MeijiShowa displays both CE and Japanese dates.
| Year | Meiji | Taisho | Showa | Heisei | Reiwa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1868 | 1912 | 1926 | 1989 | 2019 |
| 2 | 1869 | 1913 | 1927 | 1990 | 2020 |
| 3 | 1870 | 1914 | 1928 | 1991 | 2021 |
| 4 | 1871 | 1915 | 1929 | 1992 | 2022 |
| 5 | 1872 | 1916 | 1930 | 1993 | 2023 |
| 6 | 1873 | 1917 | 1931 | 1994 | 2024 |
| 7 | 1874 | 1918 | 1932 | 1995 | 2025 |
| 8 | 1875 | 1919 | 1933 | 1996 | 2026 |
| 9 | 1876 | 1920 | 1934 | 1997 | 2027 |
| 10 | 1877 | 1921 | 1935 | 1998 | 2028 |
| 11 | 1878 | 1922 | 1936 | 1999 | 2029 |
| 12 | 1879 | 1923 | 1937 | 2000 | 2030 |
| 13 | 1880 | 1924 | 1938 | 2001 | |
| 14 | 1881 | 1925 | 1939 | 2002 | |
| 15 | 1882 | 1926 | 1940 | 2003 | |
| 16 | 1883 | — | 1941 | 2004 | |
| 17 | 1884 | — | 1942 | 2005 | |
| 18 | 1885 | — | 1943 | 2006 | |
| 19 | 1886 | — | 1944 | 2007 | |
| 20 | 1887 | — | 1945 | 2008 | |
| 21 | 1888 | — | 1946 | 2009 | |
| 22 | 1889 | — | 1947 | 2010 | |
| 23 | 1890 | — | 1948 | 2011 | |
| 24 | 1891 | — | 1949 | 2012 | |
| 25 | 1892 | — | 1950 | 2013 | |
| 26 | 1893 | — | 1951 | 2014 | |
| 27 | 1894 | — | 1952 | 2015 | |
| 28 | 1895 | — | 1953 | 2016 | |
| 29 | 1896 | — | 1954 | 2017 | |
| 30 | 1897 | — | 1955 | 2018 | |
| 31 | 1898 | — | 1956 | 2019 | |
| 32 | 1899 | — | 1957 | — | |
| 33 | 1900 | — | 1958 | — | |
| 34 | 1901 | — | 1959 | — | |
| 35 | 1902 | — | 1960 | — | |
| 36 | 1903 | — | 1961 | — | |
| 37 | 1904 | — | 1962 | — | |
| 38 | 1905 | — | 1963 | — | |
| 39 | 1906 | — | 1964 | — | |
| 40 | 1907 | — | 1965 | — | |
| 41 | 1908 | — | 1966 | — | |
| 42 | 1909 | — | 1967 | — | |
| 43 | 1910 | — | 1968 | — | |
| 44 | 1911 | — | 1969 | — | |
| 45 | 1912 | — | 1970 | — | |
| 46 | — | — | 1971 | — | |
| 47 | — | — | 1972 | — | |
| 48 | — | — | 1973 | — | |
| 49 | — | — | 1974 | — | |
| 50 | — | — | 1975 | — | |
| 51 | — | — | 1976 | — | |
| 52 | — | — | 1977 | — | |
| 53 | — | — | 1978 | — | |
| 54 | — | — | 1979 | — | |
| 55 | — | — | 1980 | — | |
| 56 | — | — | 1981 | — | |
| 57 | — | — | 1982 | — | |
| 58 | — | — | 1983 | — | |
| 59 | — | — | 1984 | — | |
| 60 | — | — | 1985 | — | |
| 61 | — | — | 1986 | — | |
| 62 | — | — | 1987 | — | |
| 63 | — | — | 1988 | — | |
| 64 | — | — | 1989 | — |
