Japanese Zodiac Calculator — Find Your Zodiac Sign (干支)

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the Japanese zodiac (干支)?
  The Japanese zodiac (干支, eto) is a 12-year cycle where each year is associated with an animal sign. The 12 animals are: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Unlike the Chinese zodiac which follows the lunar calendar, the Japanese eto uses the solar calendar — each new zodiac year begins on January 1.
• What is this year’s zodiac sign?
  2026 is the Year of the Horse (午年, uma-doshi). The Japanese zodiac runs in a fixed 12-year cycle: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Enter any birth year in the calculator above to find its sign.
• How do I find my Japanese zodiac sign?
  To find your Japanese zodiac sign, enter your birth year (or date of birth) in the calculator above. Your zodiac sign is determined by the year you were born — the 12-year cycle repeats, so if you were born in 1990 (Horse year), the same sign returns every 12 years: 2002, 2014, 2026, and so on.
• What is the difference between Japanese and Chinese zodiac?
  The Japanese zodiac (干支, eto) and Chinese zodiac share the same 12 animals, but differ in one important way: the Japanese eto uses the solar calendar, so a new zodiac year begins on January 1. The Chinese zodiac follows the lunar calendar, so the new year begins in late January or February. This means people born in January or early February may have different signs depending on which system is used.
• What zodiac sign is compatible with the Snake?
  In the Japanese zodiac tradition, the Snake (巳) is most compatible with the Ox (丑) and Rooster (酉). These three signs form a compatible trio in the eto tradition. Snake is said to have a more challenging relationship with signs such as the Tiger and Pig. Use the zodiac calculator above to find compatibility for any birth year.
• How does the Japanese zodiac calculator work?
  Enter a birth year or a full date of birth. The calculator takes the year, finds its place in the 12-year cycle, and returns the animal sign, its kanji, the element for that year, personality traits, lucky colors and compatible signs. Because the Japanese zodiac changes on January 1, no lunar-calendar adjustment is applied.
• What are the 12 Japanese zodiac signs in order?
  Rat (子, ne), Ox (丑, ushi), Tiger (寅, tora), Rabbit (卯, u), Dragon (辰, tatsu), Snake (巳, mi), Horse (午, uma), Sheep or Goat (未, hitsuji), Monkey (申, saru), Rooster (酉, tori), Dog (戌, inu), and Boar or Pig (亥, i). After the twelfth year the cycle starts again with the Rat.
• Is the Japanese zodiac the same as a birth chart?
  No. A Western birth chart is drawn from the positions of the sun, moon and planets at the moment of birth. The Japanese zodiac assigns one animal to a whole calendar year, so everyone born in the same year shares a sign. The fuller traditional reading pairs that animal with one of ten heavenly stems, giving a 60-year cycle; the element shown by this calculator comes from that stem.