Choosing a Date to Register Your Marriage in Japan: Lucky Days and the 2027 Taian Weekends and Holidays
When choosing the day to register a marriage in Japan, many couples go by lucky days on the traditional calendar such as Taian or Tenshanichi. But while 2027 has 60 Taian days, only 15 of them fall on weekends or public holidays. This article covers which lucky days are chosen for registering a marriage and which are avoided, lists the days from October 2026 through 2027 where lucky days overlap and the Taian weekends and holidays, and explains what to watch when submitting the marriage registration form on a weekday or a day the office is closed.
Three ways to choose a registration date
There are three broad ways to choose the date you register your marriage. You don't have to pick just one. Combining them, as in "a lucky day close to an anniversary of ours", is common.
- Lucky days on the calendar: Taian, Tenshanichi, Ichiryumanbai-bi and so on. Easy to explain to relatives.
- Your own anniversaries: the day you started dating, the proposal, a birthday and so on. It saves adding yet another anniversary each year.
- Memorability and convenience: dates with repeating digits, the New Year holidays, days you can both take off, or days that make it easy to handle moving and name-change paperwork.
If you base it on an anniversary, it also helps to check when milestones such as the Nth year or Nth day will arrive, so you can plan wedding anniversary celebrations later. How to count those milestones is covered in Counting the days to an anniversary.
Days chosen and days avoided for registering a marriage
| Type | Day | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Chosen | Taian (大安) | Lucky all day in the rokuyō six-day cycle. Easy to explain to relatives |
| Chosen | Tenshanichi (天赦日) | The luckiest day on the calendar. 5 to 6 times a year |
| Chosen | Ichiryumanbai-bi (一粒万倍日) | Said to multiply happiness ten-thousandfold. 4 to 7 times a month |
| Chosen | Tomobiki (友引), Senshou (先勝) | Tomobiki is lucky for celebrations; Senshou is lucky in the morning |
| Avoided | Butsumetsu (仏滅) | The unluckiest day in the rokuyō cycle |
| Avoided | Shakkou (赤口) | Considered unlucky except around noon |
| Avoided | Fujojuu-bi (不成就日) | Said to be a day when nothing comes to fruition |
| Avoided | Tora no Hi | Some avoid it because it's linked with a bride "going back" home |
When you choose marriage registration in Find by purpose on the Lucky Day Calendar, it weights Taian and Tenshanichi most heavily and Ichiryumanbai-bi next, subtracts points for Butsumetsu, Fujojuu-bi, Shakkou and Tora no Hi, and gives a star rating. The meaning of the rokuyō themselves is summarized in The meaning and order of the rokuyō.
Days from October 2026 to 2027 where lucky days overlap
Days where Taian and Ichiryumanbai-bi overlap get four stars for marriage registration. Tenshanichi days that don't coincide with an unlucky rokuyō day are listed as well.
| Date | Overlapping lucky days | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tue Dec 15, 2026 | Taian, Ichiryumanbai-bi | — |
| Sun Dec 27, 2026 | Taian, Ichiryumanbai-bi | Offices closed for the year end (submit at the after-hours counter) |
| Sun Mar 7, 2027 | Taian, Ichiryumanbai-bi | — |
| Tue Apr 27, 2027 | Taian, Ichiryumanbai-bi | — |
| Thu May 13, 2027 | Taian, Ichiryumanbai-bi | — |
| Sat May 15, 2027 | Tenshanichi, Senshou | Senshou is considered lucky in the morning |
| Sat Jun 5, 2027 | Taian, Ichiryumanbai-bi | — |
| Sat Oct 30, 2027 | Taian, Ichiryumanbai-bi | Also Sanrinbo (unlucky for construction) |
| Wed Dec 22, 2027 | Taian, Ichiryumanbai-bi | — |
2027 has six Tenshanichi, but none coincides with Taian: February 28 and July 14 are Butsumetsu and December 11 is Shakkou. Whether to give priority to Tenshanichi or to the rokuyō is for the two of you and your families to decide. The list of Tenshanichi is in What is Tenshanichi?.
2027 has 15 Taian weekends and holidays
If you want to go to the office together, or have a meal or photos on the day, a Taian day off is a good candidate. Of the 60 Taian days in 2027, these 15 fall on weekends or public holidays.
| Date | Other selected days that coincide |
|---|---|
| Sat Jan 2 | Mi no Hi |
| Sun Jan 31 | — |
| Sat Feb 6 | Fujojuu-bi |
| Thu Feb 11 (National Foundation Day) | — |
| Tue Feb 23 (Emperor's Birthday) | — |
| Sun Mar 7 | Ichiryumanbai-bi |
| Sun Apr 4 | — |
| Mon May 3 (Constitution Memorial Day) | Sanrinbo |
| Sat Jun 5 | Ichiryumanbai-bi |
| Sat Sep 4 | — |
| Sat Oct 2 | Tora no Hi, Sanrinbo |
| Sat Oct 30 | Ichiryumanbai-bi, Sanrinbo |
| Tue Nov 23 (Labor Thanksgiving Day) | — |
| Sun Nov 28 | Sanrinbo |
| Sat Dec 4 | Mi no Hi |
For marriage registration, removing February 6 (Fujojuu-bi) and October 2 (Tora no Hi) leaves 13. Sanrinbo is an unlucky day for construction, so almost nobody minds it for registering a marriage. For the rest of 2026, October 25 (Sun), November 22 (Sun) and December 27 (Sun) are Taian Sundays, while October 31 (Sat) coincides with Tora no Hi and November 28 (Sat) with Fujojuu-bi.
Points to watch when submitting the marriage registration form
- 1
On holidays or at night, use the after-hours counter
Many municipal offices accept the marriage registration form at an after-hours counter (such as the security office) on weekends, public holidays and at night. If there are no errors in it, the day you submit becomes the date of marriage.
- 2
Have the form checked in advance
Forms submitted after hours are reviewed on the next working day, so if there's an error you'll be called in to correct it, and you may not get the date you wanted. Having it checked at the counter on a weekday beforehand is reassuring.
- 3
Prepare the witness section and ID
Signatures from two adult witnesses are required. Since March 2024, attaching a copy of the family register is generally no longer needed even when submitting outside your registered domicile, but bring ID.
- 4
Allow for name-change procedures
If your surname changes, updates to your resident record, My Number Card, driver's license, bank accounts and so on follow. Choosing a registration date around days you can get things done on weekdays makes it easier to handle them all together.
FAQ
- When are the Taian weekends and holidays in 2027?
- These 15 days: 1/2, 1/31, 2/6, 2/11, 2/23, 3/7, 4/4, 5/3, 6/5, 9/4, 10/2, 10/30, 11/23, 11/28 and 12/4. Of these, 3/7, 6/5 and 10/30 also coincide with Ichiryumanbai-bi.
- Are there days it's better to avoid for registering a marriage?
- The rokuyō days Butsumetsu and Shakkou, and Fujojuu-bi, said to be a day when nothing comes to fruition, are commonly avoided. Some also avoid Tora no Hi for marriage because of its association with a bride going back home. Whether to mind them is for the two of you and your families to decide.
- If I submit the marriage registration form on a weekend, what is the registration date?
- If there are no errors and it's accepted, the weekend date you submitted on becomes the date of marriage. The review takes place on a working day, so if there's an error you'll need to go to the office to correct it, and you may not get the date you wanted.
- When do Taian and Ichiryumanbai-bi overlap?
- In 2026, December 15 and 27; in 2027, March 7, April 27, May 13, June 5, October 30 and December 22. Those on weekends are December 27, 2026, and March 7, June 5 and October 30, 2027.
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