Year in Japan

1642 in Japanese History

1 recorded entry for this year. It falls in the Edo period (江戸時代, 1603 – 1868).

Era name: Kan'ei 寛永 (year 19 of the era)

What happened 出来事

Ihara Saikaku 井原西鶴 · Writer — Japanese writer

Reading the year 1642 in Japanese

Japanese sources from this period date events by era name, not by the Western calendar. 1642 corresponds to Kan'ei 寛永 (year 19 of the era). Years are written with 年 (ねん, nen) — so 1600 appears as 慶長5年, "the fifth year of Keichō".

The year itself is read 1642年 (1642ねん) in modern Japanese. Browse the full timeline to see where this year sits in the wider arc, or the 17th century for its neighbours.