Japanese Seasonal Greeting and Letter Maker
Choose a date, recipient, and purpose to draft a Japanese letter. Browse seasonal phrases and the traditional calendar, or check a draft for common mistakes.
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ABOUT
About Japanese Seasonal Greeting and Letter Maker
The Japanese Seasonal Greeting and Letter Maker is a free tool that assembles the parts of a formal Japanese letter for the date you send it: the seasonal greeting (jikō no aisatsu), the matching opening and closing words (tōgo and ketsugo), the wellbeing greeting and the closing greeting. Pick a date to see that day's 24 solar terms and 72 micro-seasons, then choose from formal phrases such as 秋冷の候 and 錦秋の候 or conversational openings, each shown with the period it can be used. Phrases tied to solar terms such as Risshū and Rittō are judged using that year's solar-term dates calculated from the sun's position, so switches like “残暑の候 from Risshū” are correct every year. Choose the recipient (company or business partner, senior, close friend) and purpose (thanks, reply, request, invitation, cover letter, apology, urgent, get-well, condolence) to see a complete letter with front matter, body, closing and date, sender and addressee, in vertical letter-paper or horizontal business layout, ready to copy or print. “Check your letter” examines pasted text for mismatched openings and closings and out-of-season greetings.
How to use Japanese Seasonal Greeting and Letter Maker
- 1Choose the letter date at the top (today by default; that day's solar term and micro-season are shown)
- 2Under “Who is it for, and what kind of letter?”, choose the recipient and purpose, and enter the addressee and sender
- 3Choose an opening word (拝啓, 謹啓, 前略, 拝復 …) and one of the matching closing words
- 4Choose the formal (〇〇の候) or conversational style and tap one of the usable seasonal greetings
- 5Rewrite the placeholder in the main text and choose a seasonal closing greeting and final lines
- 6In “Your letter”, switch between vertical and horizontal layout, then copy the text or print it
Great for
- Write the opening of a thank-you or invitation letter to a business partner (〇〇の候、貴社ますますご清栄のことと…) that fits the sending date
- Check which seasonal greetings can be used in the early, middle or late part of a month, such as late October or early November
- Find out from when until when 残暑の候, 新春の候 or 初夏の候 can be used
- Check opening and closing pairs such as 拝啓 and 敬具, 謹啓 and 謹白, or 前略 and 草々
- Check a letter you wrote for out-of-season greetings or mistakes such as 拝啓 … 草々
- Make sure a condolence letter avoids repeated or inauspicious words
- Find this year's periods for sending midwinter, midsummer and late-summer greeting cards
Good to know
- The usable periods follow the ranges commonly given in Japanese letter-writing guides and business-writing references. If the local weather that year (cherry blossoms, end of the rainy season, autumn leaves) does not match, choose words closer to the actual season.
- Dates of the 24 solar terms and 72 micro-seasons are Japan-time dates calculated from the sun's apparent ecliptic longitude. In years when a solar term falls close to midnight, they may differ by one day from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan's almanac.
- The 候 in 〇〇の候 is read “kō”. 〇〇のみぎり is a softer phrase with the same meaning, and 〇〇の折 is mostly used in closing greetings.
- 前略, 冠省 and 急啓 are openings that omit the front matter (seasonal and wellbeing greetings), so no seasonal greeting follows them. Their closings are 草々 or 不一.
- Condolence letters use no opening word, seasonal greeting or closing word, and avoid repeated words such as 重ね重ね, たびたび, ますます and 再び. Get-well letters also skip the seasonal greeting and go straight to the point.
- In vertical letters the date is written in kanji numerals (令和八年十月十八日). Invitations sometimes write the date vaguely as 〇月吉日.
- Names, text and settings you enter are saved only in this browser and never sent to a server.
Questions this tool answers
Use Japanese Seasonal Greeting and Letter Maker for searches like these:
- Which Japanese seasonal greeting fits today's date?
- Find seasonal greetings for late October or early November
- Automatically create the opening and closing of a Japanese business letter
- Check whether my opening and closing words match
- Check a Japanese letter I wrote for mistakes
- Find out until when 残暑の候 or 新春の候 can be used
- Find this year's dates for midwinter, midsummer and late-summer greeting cards
- Find the dates of the 24 solar terms and 72 micro-seasons
FAQ
- Which seasonal greetings can I use today?
- The tool lists usable seasonal greetings for the date when you open the page (today in Japan time). For example, on 18 October it shows 秋冷の候, 錦秋の候, 紅葉の候 and 寒露の候, and on 25 October, after Sōkō begins, it also shows 霜降の候 and 晩秋の候. To match the date the letter arrives, use “1 week later” or change the date field.
- From when until when can 残暑の候 be used?
- From Risshū (around 7 August) until early September (around 10 September as a guide). Before Risshū, use 盛夏の候 or 猛暑の候. Risshū falls on 7 or 8 August depending on the year, so the tool judges it using that year's date.
- What are the correct opening and closing pairs?
- Ordinary letters use 拝啓 … 敬具, formal letters 謹啓 … 謹白 (謹言), letters that omit the front matter 前略 … 草々, urgent letters 急啓 … 草々 and replies 拝復 … 敬具. 拝啓 … 草々 is a mismatch because 草々 closes letters that omit the front matter. かしこ is a closing used by women and can follow any opening.
- If I start with 前略, do I skip the seasonal greeting?
- Yes. 前略 means “omitting the front matter (seasonal and wellbeing greetings)”, so you go straight to the point. If you want a seasonal greeting, start with 拝啓 and close with 敬具. It is usual to avoid 前略 in letters to seniors or in formal letters.
- What is the difference between 〇〇の候 and 〇〇のみぎり?
- Both mean “the season of 〇〇 has come” and can be used in the same period. 候 (kō) is a formal expression also used in business documents, while みぎり (砌) is a little softer and common in personal letters and letters written by women.
- Is お体をご自愛ください wrong?
- 自愛 already means “to take care of oneself”, so adding お体を repeats the meaning. くれぐれもご自愛ください or 時節柄ご自愛ください are the usual forms. The checker in this tool also points out wording like this.
- When can I send midwinter and late-summer greeting cards?
- Midwinter cards (寒中見舞い) are sent from around 8 January, after the New Year period, until Setsubun (the day before Risshun); after Risshun they become 余寒見舞い. Midsummer cards (暑中見舞い) run from Shōsho (around 7 July) until the day before Risshū, and after Risshū they become late-summer cards (残暑見舞い), sent by the end of August (at the latest by the end of Shosho). The “24 solar terms and 72 micro-seasons” tab shows this year's dates.
Special Thanks