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READING JAPANESE DATES
Do you have problem reading dates on Japanese coins? Well, your problems are now things of the past!!! Just follow these easy steps :
STEP 1 : Identify the era/reign of Emperor.
 Meiji era (1868-1912)
 Taisho era (1912-1926)
 Showa era (1926-1989)
 Heisei era (1989-now)
STEP 2 : Identify the Japanese numerical characters(called "kanji").
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| 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
Year |
Take note that some dates on Japanese coins(eg:¥10,¥50,etc.) are given in regular numbers.
If exist these characters  , that means it's the first year of the era, or Year 1. |
STEP 3 : Convert into the conventional date.
For Meiji, add the character date to 1867.
For Taisho, add the character date to 1911.
For Showa, add the character date to 1925.
For Heisei, add the character date to 1988.
 | EXAMPLE
The image on your left shows a regular-issue 500 yen coin with the location of the era and date. In this example, the era is Heisei and the date is Year 10. So, all we have to do is to add 10 to 1988. Then, we will have the date of this Japanese coin, which is 1998. (Although Heisei era begins in 1989, but we should add 10 to 1988 because 1989 is already the first year.) |
HAVE FUN READING YOUR JAPANESE COINS !!
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