When the Dragon-Blooded overthrew the Solars and established the Shogunate, they created a new calendar. In parts of Creation where the Realm has little influence, such as Lookshy and the rest of the Scavenger Lands, this calendar remains in common use.
- Epochs: The longest unit of time measured by the Shogunate calendar is the epoch (125 years), which is referred to simply by a number. According to Exalted: The Outcaste, Realm Year 768 is in the 11th epoch, but this presents certain problems.
- Eras: Each epoch is divided into five 25-year eras, named after metals -- in order, bronze, gold, copper, iron and quicksilver. Whatever epoch RY 768 is in, it's in the Bronze Era of that epoch.
- Cycles: Each era is divided into five five-year cycles, named for the five elements of Creation -- air, earth, fire, water and wood. RY 768 is in a fire cycle, but this doesn't usually figure into the year name, for reasons discussed below.
- Year Names: Within each cycle, the individual years are named after animals associated with the cycle's element, in a sequence that runs risen-ascending-primary-descending-fallen. Those born in a risen year are considered favored by fortune; those born in a fallen year are seen as having fortune against them, but the Seventh Legion treats this as a challenge to be overcome, not a condemnation to inevitable failure.
- Air Cycle: Mospid, Hawk, Hybroc, Eagle, Raiton
- Earth Cycle: Boar, Bull, Bear, Spider, Snake
- Fire Cycle: Mouse, Dragon, Phoenix, Salamander, Basilisk
- Water Cycle: Carp, Serpent, Dolphin, Siaka, Squid
- Wood Cycle: Mantis, Cat, Wolf, Wolverine, Rat
RY 768 is the Year of the Mouse, and this is the form usually used in conversation. If referring to something too long ago to be considered recent, but still in this Year of the Mouse, one would specify "the Year of the Bronze Mouse". The full form ("Year of the Mouse, Bronze Era of the 11th Epoch of the Dragon-Blooded Shogunate") would presumably only be used in formal documents.
E:TO does not specify, but presumably, the year uses the same month and weekday names as in the Realm, and starts/ends at Calibration.