📮 New Year Card Address Formatter (年賀状 Nengajo)

A nengajo (年賀状) is the Japanese New Year postcard. Japan Post delivers cards posted by around 25 December on 1 January if they carry the special lottery stamp (お年玉付郵便). The recipient address follows a strict block format on the front (bottom-right for portrait, or the address side for the official postcard): postal code, address, and name + honorific. The wrong honorific is the most common mistake, so a quick lookup table helps:

Two important rules: never combine 様 and 御中 on one address (it is one or the other), and never write 先生 様 (先生 alone is enough). The furigana (reading aid) goes above or beside the name so the post office and recipient can read rare kanji. Pair the address with a postal-code lookup and the official address formatter. See the life-event guide for the full New Year checklist, and add your hanko on related documents.

Enter the postal code (〒), the address (prefecture, city, then block / building), the recipient name, an optional furigana, and the recipient type. The tool builds the address block in the standard Japan-Post order and adds the correct honorific automatically. The layout logic:

On the official nengajo postcard, the postal code goes in the red 〒 boxes at the top-left, and the address block sits in the lower-right of the front. The stamp (63 yen for a regular card, or the lottery version) goes top-left. For handmade cards, keep the address in a vertical (縦書き) block for Japanese names. The tool outputs both a vertical-ready block and a horizontal copy-paste version.

1. Enter the postal code (〒), address and recipient name.
2. Add furigana (reading) for the name if the kanji is rare.
3. Choose the recipient type (individual, company, teacher, child...).
4. Read the formatted address block with the correct honorific.
5. Copy it onto the nengajo front (vertical for Japanese) and post by ~25 December.

様 or 御中 - which do I use?

様 (sama) for individuals, 御中 (onchu) for companies and organisations. Never combine them - if a person''s name is inside a company address, end with 様, not 御中.

What honorific for a teacher or doctor?

先生 (sensei) alone - do not write 先生 様, which is redundant. 先生 covers teachers, doctors, lawyers, politicians and other respected professionals.

When is the deadline to post nengajo for 1 January delivery?

Usually around 25 December (Japan Post announces the exact date each year). Cards posted by then with the lottery stamp are delivered on New Year''s Day.

What is the くん / ちゃん honorific for?

くん (kun) for boys and ちゃん (chan) for girls and young children. They are friendly honorifics used for kids'' cards, not for adults in formal contexts.

Where do I write the sender''s address on a nengajo?

On the back (裏面), usually top. The front (表面) carries only the recipient''s postal code, address and name, plus the stamp.

Do I need furigana on the address?

Furigana is optional but helpful for rare kanji in the name, so the recipient and post office can read it. Many printed nengajo include a furigana field.

What if I receive a nengajo from someone I did not send one to?

Reply with a 寒中見舞い (cold-mid-season greeting) by about 4 February (the end of the "cold season"), not a late nengajo. This avoids the awkwardness of a New Year greeting after New Year.

Post nengajo by around 25 December for 1 January delivery (Japan Post sets the exact deadline each year). Use the official lottery postcards (年賀はがき) sold from November - the lottery numbers are drawn mid-January for prizes like TVs and stamps. Write the address in dark ink, vertically for Japanese; keep the 〒 postal code in the red boxes. Never write the sender''s address on the front (it goes on the back, top). For business contacts, 御中 for companies and 様 for individuals; when a name is inside a company address, end with 様 (not 御中). If you receive a nengajo from someone you did not send one to, reply with a 寒中見舞い (cold-mid-season greeting) by around 4 February rather than a late nengajo. Use the prefecture picker and postal-code lookup to avoid address errors, and the character counter to check you fit the card space.