Japanese New Year card

How it works

1. Choose the greeting. 謹賀新年 and 迎春 are the short formal ones; the longer sentences suit a card to someone you do not write to often.
2. Leave the message blank for the usual three lines, or type your own — one line per row, and they are set in vertical columns from right to left.
3. Type your name and address at the left. The date line fills itself in with the coming year and 元旦.
4. Download and print on a blank hagaki. Print the address side separately with the address printing tool.

Frequently asked questions

Which year does it print?

The year being wished in. Cards are written in November and December for the January after them, so from September the card is dated to next year — and the animal stamped on it is next year’s animal, not this year’s.

Can I put a photograph on it?

This draws the written side only. Make the card here, then put your photograph on it with our add image to PDF tool, or print this over a photo card you already have.

What if the recipient is in mourning?

Then you do not send a 年賀状 at all — you send a 寒中見舞い in January instead, which is the mid-winter option in the “which card” setting, or our separate mid-winter page.

Which side of the card is this?

The message side. The address side is a separate sheet — our address printing tool sets the addresses vertically the way Japan Post expects, and you print one side, turn the card over, and print the other.

Is anything uploaded?

No. The card is drawn in your browser.

Is it free?

Yes, and this one carries nothing of ours at the foot — it is a card you post to somebody, so it prints exactly as you see it.