Okinawan Age

This morning, one of my teachers told me that her mom is 86 years old. Then she amended that to say she is 88 in Okinawan years.

For you Japanese dorks, this is called 数え年 (kazoedoshi). I'm not sure if this is limited to just Okinawa, but the teacher did say "In Okinawa, she is 88."

Where do these two extra years come from?

First, the clock starts at conception, so by the time a baby is born, he or she is already one year old.

Second, people in Japan tend to give their age by how old they will be in a given year, regardless of whether or not their birthday has occurred. For example, if I am 27 now, but I have a birthday in November, I will tell people I am 28.

For this teacher's mother, she is currently 86. A year is added to that because her birthday is later in the year. Then another year is added for the time she was in the womb, and now she is 88.

As an extreme example, imagine a baby who was born on December 31. On that day, they are already 1 year old. The next day will be the new year, so another year is added because the baby has a birthday in December.  So this baby, who is only 1 day old, is now 2 years old.