Kanreki and the longevity celebrations
Your birth year’s eto comes round again after 60 years, and you return (還) to the same calendar (暦) sign. That is why the 60th birthday is called kanreki.
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1.Who celebrates kanreki this year and next
In 2026, kanreki (turning 60) is celebrated by people born in 1966 (丙午); in 2027, by people born in 1967 (丁未). Kanreki is the year you are 61 in the traditional kazoe count and 60 in full years, so either way it is the same year. If you celebrate the other longevity milestones by kazoe age, they come a year earlier than by full age.
| Celebration | By full age, 2026 | By kazoe age, 2026 | By full age, 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kanreki (age 60) | 1966 | (same) | 1967 |
| Koki (age 70) | 1956 | 1957 | 1957 |
| Kiju (age 77) | 1949 | 1950 | 1950 |
| Sanju (age 80) | 1946 | 1947 | 1947 |
| Beiju (age 88) | 1938 | 1939 | 1939 |
| Sotsuju (age 90) | 1936 | 1937 | 1937 |
| Hakuju (age 99) | 1927 | 1928 | 1928 |
| Hyakuju (age 100) | 1926 | 1927 | 1927 |
2.When and how to celebrate
There is no fixed time: families usually get together on the birthday, at New Year or on Respect for the Aged Day. As well as the traditional red vest (chanchanko), more people now give red accessories such as a wallet, tie, stole or bouquet, or a dinner or a trip.
3.Why a red vest?
Kanreki is also called honke-gaeri, “returning to your original sign”. Because you return to your birth year’s eto, it is like being born again, and so the custom grew of giving a red hood and vest like a baby’s first clothes. Red is also a color that wards off evil.
4.The longevity celebrations
| Name | Age | Origin of the name | Color (recent custom) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kanreki (還暦) | 60 (61 by kazoe) | The eto has come full circle back to your birth year | Red |
| Koki (古希) | 70 | From Du Fu’s line “Few since ancient times have lived to seventy” | Purple |
| Kiju (喜寿) | 77 | The cursive form of 喜 looks like 七十七, “seventy-seven” | Purple |
| Sanju (傘寿) | 80 | The short form of 傘 looks like 八十, “eighty” | Yellow, gold |
| Beiju (米寿) | 88 | 米 can be split into 八十八, “eighty-eight” | Yellow, gold |
| Sotsuju (卒寿) | 90 | The short form 卆 looks like 九十, “ninety” | White, purple |
| Hakuju (白寿) | 99 | Take one (一) from 百, “hundred”, and you get 白 | White |
| Hyakuju (百寿) | 100 | A hundred years: a century | White, peach |
Kanreki is the year you turn 60 (61 in the traditional kazoe count, where you are 1 at birth). The later celebrations were originally counted in kazoe age, but today many families use full age.
Check your age and eto in the age and eto chart.
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