Basics

The sexagenary cycle and nacchin

Published Oct 29, 2026

Pair the ten stems and twelve branches in order and you get 60 combinations. The eto of your birth year comes round again 60 years later, which is why the kanreki celebration falls at 60.

All sixty

#	Eto	Reading	Nacchin	Recent years
1	甲子	Kinoe-ne Yang Wood Rat	Gold in the Sea	1924, 1984
2	乙丑	Kinoto-ushi Yin Wood Ox	Gold in the Sea	1925, 1985
3	丙寅	Hinoe-tora Yang Fire Tiger	Fire in the Furnace	1926, 1986
4	丁卯	Hinoto-u Yin Fire Rabbit	Fire in the Furnace	1927, 1987
5	戊辰	Tsuchinoe-tatsu Yang Earth Dragon	Wood of the Great Forest	1928, 1988
6	己巳	Tsuchinoto-mi Yin Earth Snake	Wood of the Great Forest	1929, 1989
7	庚午	Kanoe-uma Yang Metal Horse	Earth by the Roadside	1930, 1990
8	辛未	Kanoto-hitsuji Yin Metal Goat	Earth by the Roadside	1931, 1991
9	壬申	Mizunoe-saru Yang Water Monkey	Gold of the Sword's Edge	1932, 1992
10	癸酉	Mizunoto-tori Yin Water Rooster	Gold of the Sword's Edge	1933, 1993
11	甲戌	Kinoe-inu Yang Wood Dog	Fire on the Mountaintop	1934, 1994
12	乙亥	Kinoto-i Yin Wood Pig	Fire on the Mountaintop	1935, 1995
13	丙子	Hinoe-ne Yang Fire Rat	Water in the Ravine	1936, 1996
14	丁丑	Hinoto-ushi Yin Fire Ox	Water in the Ravine	1937, 1997
15	戊寅	Tsuchinoe-tora Yang Earth Tiger	Earth on the Castle Wall	1938, 1998
16	己卯	Tsuchinoto-u Yin Earth Rabbit	Earth on the Castle Wall	1939, 1999
17	庚辰	Kanoe-tatsu Yang Metal Dragon	White Pewter	1940, 2000
18	辛巳	Kanoto-mi Yin Metal Snake	White Pewter	1941, 2001
19	壬午	Mizunoe-uma Yang Water Horse	Willow Wood	1942, 2002
20	癸未	Mizunoto-hitsuji Yin Water Goat	Willow Wood	1943, 2003
21	甲申	Kinoe-saru Yang Wood Monkey	Water from the Well	1944, 2004
22	乙酉	Kinoto-tori Yin Wood Rooster	Water from the Well	1945, 2005
23	丙戌	Hinoe-inu Yang Fire Dog	Earth on the Rooftop	1946, 2006
24	丁亥	Hinoto-i Yin Fire Pig	Earth on the Rooftop	1947, 2007
25	戊子	Tsuchinoe-ne Yang Earth Rat	Thunderbolt Fire	1948, 2008
26	己丑	Tsuchinoto-ushi Yin Earth Ox	Thunderbolt Fire	1949, 2009
27	庚寅	Kanoe-tora Yang Metal Tiger	Pine and Cypress Wood	1950, 2010
28	辛卯	Kanoto-u Yin Metal Rabbit	Pine and Cypress Wood	1951, 2011
29	壬辰	Mizunoe-tatsu Yang Water Dragon	Long-Flowing Water	1952, 2012
30	癸巳	Mizunoto-mi Yin Water Snake	Long-Flowing Water	1953, 2013
31	甲午	Kinoe-uma Yang Wood Horse	Gold in the Sand	1954, 2014
32	乙未	Kinoto-hitsuji Yin Wood Goat	Gold in the Sand	1955, 2015
33	丙申	Hinoe-saru Yang Fire Monkey	Fire at the Foot of the Mountain	1956, 2016
34	丁酉	Hinoto-tori Yin Fire Rooster	Fire at the Foot of the Mountain	1957, 2017
35	戊戌	Tsuchinoe-inu Yang Earth Dog	Wood of the Plain	1958, 2018
36	己亥	Tsuchinoto-i Yin Earth Pig	Wood of the Plain	1959, 2019
37	庚子	Kanoe-ne Yang Metal Rat	Earth on the Wall	1960, 2020
38	辛丑	Kanoto-ushi Yin Metal Ox	Earth on the Wall	1961, 2021
39	壬寅	Mizunoe-tora Yang Water Tiger	Gold Leaf	1962, 2022
40	癸卯	Mizunoto-u Yin Water Rabbit	Gold Leaf	1963, 2023
41	甲辰	Kinoe-tatsu Yang Wood Dragon	Lamp Fire	1964, 2024
42	乙巳	Kinoto-mi Yin Wood Snake	Lamp Fire	1965, 2025
43	丙午	Hinoe-uma Yang Fire Horse	Water of the Heavenly River	1966, 2026
44	丁未	Hinoto-hitsuji Yin Fire Goat	Water of the Heavenly River	1967, 2027
45	戊申	Tsuchinoe-saru Yang Earth Monkey	Earth of the Great Highway	1968, 2028
46	己酉	Tsuchinoto-tori Yin Earth Rooster	Earth of the Great Highway	1969, 2029
47	庚戌	Kanoe-inu Yang Metal Dog	Gold of Hairpins and Bracelets	1970, 2030
48	辛亥	Kanoto-i Yin Metal Pig	Gold of Hairpins and Bracelets	1971, 2031
49	壬子	Mizunoe-ne Yang Water Rat	Mulberry Wood	1972, 2032
50	癸丑	Mizunoto-ushi Yin Water Ox	Mulberry Wood	1973, 2033
51	甲寅	Kinoe-tora Yang Wood Tiger	Water of the Great Stream	1974, 2034
52	乙卯	Kinoto-u Yin Wood Rabbit	Water of the Great Stream	1975, 2035
53	丙辰	Hinoe-tatsu Yang Fire Dragon	Earth in the Sand	1976, 2036
54	丁巳	Hinoto-mi Yin Fire Snake	Earth in the Sand	1977, 2037
55	戊午	Tsuchinoe-uma Yang Earth Horse	Fire in the Heavens	1978, 2038
56	己未	Tsuchinoto-hitsuji Yin Earth Goat	Fire in the Heavens	1979, 2039
57	庚申	Kanoe-saru Yang Metal Monkey	Pomegranate Wood	1980, 2040
58	辛酉	Kanoto-tori Yin Metal Rooster	Pomegranate Wood	1981, 2041
59	壬戌	Mizunoe-inu Yang Water Dog	Water of the Great Sea	1982, 2042
60	癸亥	Mizunoto-i Yin Water Pig	Water of the Great Sea	1983, 2043

What is nacchin?

Nacchin (納音) groups the sixty combinations into thirty pairs and gives each pair one of thirty elemental images drawn from nature, such as “gold in the sea” or “fire in the furnace”.

It is said to come from ancient Chinese music theory, the twelve pitches and five notes, and reading a person’s nature from the nacchin of their birth year is a popular kind of fortune-telling in its own right.

How to count the cycle

Start with 甲子 (Kinoe-ne) as number 1 and count on: 乙丑, 丙寅, 丁卯 and so on. After number 60, 癸亥 (Mizunoto-i), the cycle starts again at 甲子. For a Western calendar year, take the year, subtract 3 and divide by 60: the remainder is its place in the cycle (a remainder of 0 means number 60, 癸亥).

Now try a reading for yourself

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