Japanese Zodiac Calculator
Enter a Western year to find its Japanese zodiac animal, branch and full 60-year eto name. Check birth years and New Year card references instantly.
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How to use it
- Enter a four-digit Western year, such as a birth year or the current year.
- Read the large animal name and the Japanese branch character.
- Use the stem-branch line when you need the full 60-year eto name.
- For astrology, confirm which New Year or seasonal boundary that source uses.
How it works
The twelve earthly branches repeat every 12 years and are associated with familiar animals such as Rat, Ox, Tiger and Horse. The ten heavenly stems repeat every 10 years. Advancing both sequences together produces 60 distinct stem-branch combinations.
This calculator maps a Western calendar year to both cycles. For everyday Japanese use, including nengajo New Year cards and ordinary birth-year references, it treats January 1 through December 31 as one zodiac year.
Astrology systems may instead use Lunar New Year or setsubun and risshun boundaries. The result here is a calendar reference, not a fortune or personality reading.
Check the animal and the full cycle separately
Enter 1984 and 2026 to reproduce these results. The animal column is a 12-year cycle; the final column combines a stem and branch in a 60-year cycle. The English animal name is this site’s translation, while the Japanese characters let you compare the result with the source table.
This tool accepts a Gregorian year, not a birth date. It returns the same result for every day in that year and does not calculate Lunar New Year, the start of spring, a personal horoscope or compatibility. If another service uses a different year boundary, first compare the stated method rather than treating either animal as a verified personal prediction.
| Year | Animal | Branch | Stem and branch |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Rat | 子 | 甲子 |
| 2026 | Horse | 午 | 丙午 |
Sources and what they support
Sources checked: . These references do not certify a result for your individual application.
- National Astronomical Observatory: the sixty stem-branch pairs (Japanese)
Supports the ten-stem/twelve-branch structure, pairings and readings. The Gregorian-year input convention and English translations are choices of this tool.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Japanese zodiac animal for 2026?
2026 is the Year of the Horse. Its branch is 午 (uma), and its full sexagenary-cycle name is 丙午 (hinoe-uma), often described in English as the Fire Horse.
Is eto the same as the twelve zodiac animals?
In everyday Japanese, 干支 (eto) often means the twelve-animal cycle. Strictly, it combines the ten heavenly stems with the twelve earthly branches to make a 60-year cycle.
Does the Japanese zodiac change on Lunar New Year?
For ordinary Japanese age charts and New Year cards, the animal is commonly assigned by the Western calendar year from January 1 through December 31. This tool follows that convention.
Why can another astrology source show a different animal for January?
Some fortune-telling systems use Lunar New Year or the start of spring as a boundary. Those systems serve a different purpose and can classify early-year births differently.
Why is a 60th birthday called kanreki?
The ten stems and twelve branches return to the same pairing every 60 years. Kanreki (還暦) literally refers to the calendar cycle returning.