厄年 (yakudoshi): the critical years, by gender
厄年 are ages at which Japanese custom holds that particular care is called for. They are counted in 数え年, not in completed years, and they are marked rather than merely noted: the usual observance is a visit to a shrine or temple for 厄除け or 厄払い, a rite asking for protection through the year.
| Who | 前厄 (mae-yaku) | 本厄 (hon-yaku) | 後厄 (ato-yaku) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men — 本厄 at 数え年 25 | 数え年 24 | 数え年 25 | 数え年 26 | 本厄 |
| Men — 本厄 at 数え年 42 | 数え年 41 | 数え年 42 | 数え年 43 | 大厄 — the most significant in this list |
| Men — 本厄 at 数え年 61 | 数え年 60 | 数え年 61 | 数え年 62 | 本厄 |
| Women — 本厄 at 数え年 19 | 数え年 18 | 数え年 19 | 数え年 20 | 本厄 |
| Women — 本厄 at 数え年 33 | 数え年 32 | 数え年 33 | 数え年 34 | 大厄 — the most significant in this list |
| Women — 本厄 at 数え年 37 | 数え年 36 | 数え年 37 | 数え年 38 | 本厄 |
| Women — 本厄 at 数え年 61 | 数え年 60 | 数え年 61 | 数え年 62 | 本厄 |
Men observe 25, 42, 61 and women 19, 33, 37, 61, all in 数え年. One year in each list is the 大厄, the great 厄: 42 for men and 33 for women. The age of 61 is shared by both, and it is also 還暦 — the year the sexagenary cycle returns to the stem and branch of birth, which is celebrated rather than guarded against.
Which birth years these are
Because 数え年 advances for everybody at New Year rather than on a birthday, a 厄年 covers a whole birth year at once: everyone born in a given year enters and leaves it together. The arithmetic is 数え年 = Gregorian year − birth year + 1, so the birth years below follow from the table above without needing anyone's birthday.
| Who | 数え年 in 2026 | Which 厄年 |
|---|---|---|
| Men born in 2002 | 数え年 25 in 2026 | 本厄 at 数え年 25 |
| Men born in 1985 | 数え年 42 in 2026 | 大厄 — 本厄 at 数え年 42 |
| Men born in 1966 | 数え年 61 in 2026 | 本厄 at 数え年 61 |
| Women born in 2008 | 数え年 19 in 2026 | 本厄 at 数え年 19 |
| Women born in 1994 | 数え年 33 in 2026 | 大厄 — 本厄 at 数え年 33 |
| Women born in 1990 | 数え年 37 in 2026 | 本厄 at 数え年 37 |
| Women born in 1966 | 数え年 61 in 2026 | 本厄 at 数え年 61 |
What this list is
These are the ages observed at most Shinto shrines, and they are a convention rather than a standard: individual shrines and temples publish their own lists, some include additional ages, and regional practice differs. A shrine's own notice board is the authority for that shrine. This site holds the ages above as a typed list that both this page and the calculator read, so the page cannot describe a custom the calculator does not apply.
The origin of the specific numbers is not settled. The most commonly repeated explanation is a play on how they are read — 42 as し-に (shi-ni) and 33 as さんざん (san-zan) — alongside the observation that the ages fall near real transitions in working and family life. Both explanations are widely cited and neither is documented from the period the custom comes from, so this page reports them as explanations rather than as the reason.
Nothing here is a prediction. 厄年 is a custom about attention and care, and the entry in a calculator is there to tell you when a shrine visit would be conventional, not what will happen to you. Prose last reviewed 2026-08-20.
Counting in 数え年
Getting the count right is the whole difficulty. In 数え年 a person is one at birth and gains a year at New Year with everyone else, so a 数え年 is one or two more than the completed-years age depending on whether the birthday has passed. A man in his 大厄 at 数え年 42 is 41 by the modern count for most of that year, and 40 if his birthday is still to come.
The Japanese age page works this out for a specific birthdate and shows both counts side by side.