Japanese units of measurement - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

is the traditional Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese system of measurement

Systems of measurement

A system of measurement is a set of units which can be used to specify anything which can be measured and were historically important, regulated and defined because of trade and internal commerce...

. The name shakkanhō originates from the name of two of the units

Units of measurement

A unit of measurement is a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention and/or by law, that is used as a standard for measurement of the same physical quantity. Any other value of the physical quantity can be expressed as a simple multiple of the unit of...

, the shaku, a unit of length

Length

In geometric measurements, length most commonly refers to the longest dimension of an object.In certain contexts, the term "length" is reserved for a certain dimension of an object along which the length is measured. For example it is possible to cut a length of a wire which is shorter than wire...

, and the kan, a mass

Mass

Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...

measurement.

The system is Chinese

Chinese units of measurement

Chinese units of measurement are the customary and traditional units of measure used in China. In the People's Republic of China, the units were re-standardised during the late 20th century to make them approximate SI units. Many of the units were formerly based on the number 16 instead of 10...

in origin. The units originated in the Shang Dynasty

Shang Dynasty

The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley...

in the 13th century BC, and eventually stabilized in the Zhou Dynasty

Zhou Dynasty

The Zhou Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that followed the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty. Although the Zhou Dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history, the actual political and military control of China by the Ji family lasted only until 771 BC, a period known as...

in the 10th century BC and spread from there to Japan, South East Asia, and Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

. The units of the Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

were officially adopted in Japan in 701, and the current shaku measurement has hardly altered since then. Many Taiwanese units of measurement

Taiwanese units of measurement

Taiwanese units of measurement are the customary and traditional units of measure used in Taiwan. Many of the units derive from Japanese units of measurement and have similar names as Chinese units of measurement but different conversions than in China or Hong Kong...

are derived form the shakkanhō system.

From 1924, the shakkanhō system was replaced by the metric system

Metric system

The metric system is an international decimalised system of measurement. France was first to adopt a metric system, in 1799, and a metric system is now the official system of measurement, used in almost every country in the world...

, and use of the old units for official purposes was forbidden after 31 March 1966. However, in several instances the old system is still used. In carpentry

Japanese carpentry

Japanese carpentry is distinguished by its advanced joinery and its finely-planed wood surfaces.-Schools of Carpentry:Though there is a core practice shared by all Japanese carpenters, defined by a vocabulary of tools and joints and a methodology of working, a carpenter will typically identify with...

and agriculture use of the old-fashioned terms is common. Tools such as Japanese chisel

Japanese chisel

The Japanese chisel or ' is made on similar principles to the Japanese plane. There is a hard blade, called hagane attached to a softer piece of metal called the jigane.- Types:* The ' is the most usual type of Japanese chisel...

s, spatels, saws, hammers are manufactured in sizes of sun and bu. Land is sold on the basis of price in tsubo. The 2005 Japanese census freed people to give the area of their houses in either square metres or tsubo.

There are several different versions of the shakkanhō. The tables below show the one in common use in the Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

. In 1891 the most common units were given definitions in terms of the metric system

Metric system

1891 definitions
Unit		Definition	Conversions
Romanized Hepburn romanization The is named after James Curtis Hepburn, who used it to transcribe the sounds of the Japanese language into the Latin alphabet in the third edition of his Japanese–English dictionary, published in 1887. The system was originally proposed by the in 1885...	Kanji Kanji Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...	Definition	Conversions
Length		metre Metre The metre , symbol m, is the base unit of length in the International System of Units . Originally intended to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the Earth's equator to the North Pole , its definition has been periodically refined to reflect growing knowledge of metrology... s	metres	inch Inch An inch is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, and United States customary units. There are 36 inches in a yard and 12 inches in a foot... es	feet	yard Yard A yard is a unit of length in several different systems including English units, Imperial units and United States customary units. It is equal to 3 feet or 36 inches... s
1 jō	丈		3.03	119.3	9.942	3.314
1 kanejaku	曲尺		0.303	11.93	0.9942	0.3314
Volume		litre Litre pic\|200px\|right\|thumb\|One litre is equivalent to this cubeEach side is 10 cm1 litre water = 1 kilogram water The litre is a metric system unit of volume equal to 1 cubic decimetre , to 1,000 cubic centimetres , and to 1/1,000 cubic metre... s	litres	millilitres	US United States customary units United States customary units are a system of measurements commonly used in the United States. Many U.S. units are virtually identical to their imperial counterparts, but the U.S. customary system developed from English units used in the British Empire before the system of imperial units was... fluid ounce Fluid ounce A fluid ounce is a unit of volume equal to about 28.4 mL in the imperial system or about 29.6 mL in the US system. The fluid ounce is distinct from the ounce, which measures mass... s	Imperial Imperial unit The system of imperial units or the imperial system is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824, which was later refined and reduced. The system came into official use across the British Empire... fluid ounces
shō	升		1.804	1804	61	63.49
Mass		gram Gram The gram is a metric system unit of mass.... s	grams	dram Dram (unit) The dram was historically both a coin and a weight. Currently it is both a small mass in the Apothecaries' system of weights and a small unit of volume... s	ounce Ounce The ounce is a unit of mass with several definitions, the most commonly used of which are equal to approximately 28 grams. The ounce is used in a number of different systems, including various systems of mass that form part of the imperial and United States customary systems... s	pound Pound (mass) The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement... s
1 momme	匁		3.75	2.116	0.1323	0.008267
Note: Definitions are exact and conversions are rounded to four significant figures.

Length

The basis of the shakkanhō length measurements is the shaku, which originated in ancient China. The other units are all fixed fractions or multiples of this basic unit. The shaku was originally the length from the thumb to the middle finger (about 18 cm or 7 in), but its length, and hence the length of the other units, gradually increased, since the length of the unit was related to the level of taxation.

Various shaku developed for various purposes. The unit of all measurement, such as area, is shaku. To distinguish from other shaku, this unit is called the . Kanejaku means "carpenter's square", and this shaku was used by Japanese carpenters

Japanese carpentry

. The carpenter's shaku, used for construction, preserved the original Chinese shaku measurement, because it was never altered, whereas the other shaku systems, which were used for taxation or trade, were altered to increase taxation, and, hence, gradually deviated from the original value.

The , literally "whale shaku", was a standard used in the clothing industry. The name, "whale shaku", comes from the rulers, which were made from baleen

Baleen

Baleen or whalebone is a filter-feeder system inside the mouths of baleen whales. The baleen system works when a whale opens its mouth underwater and then water pours into the whale's mouth. The whale then pushes the water out, and animals such as krill are filtered by the baleen and remain as food...

. A kujirajaku is 25% longer than kanejaku.

As well as the kanejaku and kujirajaku systems, other shaku systems also existed. One example is the gofukujaku (呉服尺), which refers to traditional Japanese clothing, such as kimonos. In the gofukujaku system, one shaku equals 1.2 times the kanejaku.

Shaku units are still used for construction materials in Japan. For example, plywood is usually manufactured in (about ) sheets known in the trade as , or 3 × 6 shaku. Each sheet is about the size of one tatami

Tatami

A is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. Traditionally made of rice straw to form the core , with a covering of woven soft rush straw, tatami are made in standard sizes, with the length exactly twice the width...

mat. The thicknesses of the sheets, however, are usually measured in millimetres.

The names of these units also live in the name of the bamboo flute , literally "shaku eight", which measures one shaku and eight sun, and the Japanese version of the Tom Thumb story, , literally "one sun boy", as well as in many Japanese proverbs

Japanese proverbs

- Kotowaza :A may take the form of:*a short saying ,*an idiomatic phrase , or*a four-character idiom ....

.

The Shōsōin

Shosoin

The is the treasure house that belongs to Tōdai-ji, Nara The building is in the azekura log-cabin style, with a raised floor. It lies to the northwest of the Daibutsuden...

in Nara

Nara, Nara

is the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. The city occupies the northern part of Nara Prefecture, directly bordering Kyoto Prefecture...

has ivory one-shaku rulers, the .

Table of length units
Unit		shaku	Metric		Imperial Imperial unit The system of imperial units or the imperial system is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824, which was later refined and reduced. The system came into official use across the British Empire... /US United States customary units United States customary units are a system of measurements commonly used in the United States. Many U.S. units are virtually identical to their imperial counterparts, but the U.S. customary system developed from English units used in the British Empire before the system of imperial units was...
Romanized	Kanji	shaku	millimetre Millimetre The millimetre is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one thousandth of a metre, which is the SI base unit of length.... s	metres	inches	feet	yards
mō	毛, 毫		0.03030		1.193
rin	厘		0.3030	3.030	0.01193	9.942	3.314
bu	分		3.030	3.030	0.1193	9.942	3.314
sun	寸		30.30	0.03030	1.193	0.09942	0.03314
shaku	尺	1	303.0	0.3030	11.93	0.9942	0.3314
ken Ken (architecture) A is a measurement in Japanese architecture. It has two principal uses:* As a proportion for intervals between the pillars of traditional-style buildings. The word is translated in this case in English as "bay". Traditional buildings usually measure an odd number of bays, for example 3×3 or 5×5...	間	6	1818	1.818	71.58	5.965	1.988
hiro Hiro Hiro may refer to:* Hiroo, Hokkaido, a town in Japan* Hiro Naval Arsenal at Kure, Hiroshima* Hiroshima, a city in Japan* Hiro , a Canadian short film-People:* Hiro Yamagata , Japanese painter/artist...	尋	6	1818	1.818	71.58	5.965	1.988
jō	丈	10	3030	3.030	119.3	9.942	3.314
chō	町	360	1.091	109.1	4295	357.9	119.3
ri Li (unit) The li is a traditional Chinese unit of distance, which has varied considerably over time but now has a standardized length of 500 meters or half a kilometer...	里	12,960	3.927	3927	1.546	1.288	4295
Notes: Conversions to metric, imperial and US customary units are rounded to four significant figures. The smallest units, mō, rin and bu, are actually the names of fractions, , and , respectively, which are also used as fractional units. The shaku is in some cases Japanese equivalent to the foot. The hiro is a unit of depth-the Japanese equivalent to the fathom. 1 chō = 60 ken ˜ 0.1091 kilometre Kilometre The kilometre is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one thousand metres and is therefore exactly equal to the distance travelled by light in free space in of a second... s ˜ 0.06779 mile Mile A mile is a unit of length, most commonly 5,280 feet . The mile of 5,280 feet is sometimes called the statute mile or land mile to distinguish it from the nautical mile... s 1 ri = 36 chō ˜ 3.927 kilometres ˜2.440 miles

Note: There is an older type of 'ri', about 600 m. This can be seen in use, for example, in beach names. Kujukuri Beach is 99 ri (kyu ju ku), about 60 km. Shichiri Beach is 7 ri (shichi) 4.2 km. While this usage is evidence of the existence of the 'old' ri, information about it in English is hard to come by.

Area

The tsubo, which is essentially the area of two standard sized tatami

Tatami

mats, is still commonly used in discussing land pricing in Japan. The larger units are also commonly used by Japanese farmers for discussing the sizes of fields. These units are practically equivalent to metric units of area which are for registrations of land, and no conversions are needed or colloquially used.

Table of area units
Unit		tsubo	Metric	Imperial/US
Romanized	Kanji	tsubo	square metres Square metre The square metre or square meter is the SI derived unit of area, with symbol m2 . It is defined as the area of a square whose sides measure exactly one metre...	square inches Square inch A square inch is a unit of area, equal to the area of a square with sides of one inch. The following symbols are used to denote square inches:square insq inches, sq inch, sq in*inches/-2, inch/-2, in/-2...	square feet Square foot The square foot is an imperial unit and U.S. customary unit of area, used mainly in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is defined as the area of a square with sides of 1 foot in length...	square yards Square yard The square yard is an imperial/US customary unit of area, formerly used in most of the English-speaking world but now generally replaced by the square metre outside of the U.S., Canada and the U.K. It is defined as the area of a square with sides of one yard in length...
1 shaku	勺		0.03306	51.24	0.3558	0.03954
gō	合		0.3306	512.4	3.558	0.3954
jō	畳		1.653	2562	17.79	1.979
tsubo	坪	1	3.306	5124	35.58	3.954
bu	歩	1	3.306	5124	35.58	3.954
se	畝	30	99.17	1.537	1067	118.6
tan	段, 反	300	991.7	1.537	1.067	1186
chō	町町歩	3000	9917	1.537	1.067	1.186
Notes: Conversions to metric, imperial and US customary units are rounded to four significant figures. A jō is the size of one tatami mat-used in quoting room sizes. 1 tsubo = 1 square ken-used in construction. 1 bu = 1 square ken-used in agriculture. 1 tan ˜ 0.09917 hectare Hectare The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2... s ˜ 0.2451 acre Acre The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related... s 1 chō ˜ 0.9917 hectares ˜ 2.451 acres

Volume

These units are still used, for example, in sake production.

Table of volume units
Unit		shō	Metric		US liquid measure			Imperial
Romanized	Kanji	shō	millilitres	litres	fluid ounces	pint Pint The pint is a unit of volume or capacity that was once used across much of Europe with values varying from state to state from less than half a litre to over one litre. Within continental Europe, the pint was replaced with the metric system during the nineteenth century... s	gallon Gallon The gallon is a measure of volume. Historically it has had many different definitions, but there are three definitions in current use: the imperial gallon which is used in the United Kingdom and semi-officially within Canada, the United States liquid gallon and the lesser used United States dry... s	fluid ounces	pint	gallons
sai	才		1.804		0.06100			0.06349
shaku	勺		18.04	0.01804	0.6100	0.03812	4.765	0.6349	0.03174	3.968
gō	合		180.4	0.1804	6.100	0.3812	0.04765	6.349	0.3174	0.03968
shō	升	1	1804	1.804	61.00	3.812	0.4765	63.49	3.174	0.3968
to	斗	10	1.804	18.04	610.0	38.12	4.765	634.9	31.74	3.968
koku Koku The is a Japanese unit of volume, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres. The koku was originally defined as a quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year...	石	100	1.804	180.4	6100	381.2	47.65	6349	317.4	39.68
Notes: Conversions to metric, imperial and US customary units are rounded to four significant figures. The gō is a common size for serving sake. The shō (about 64.827 cubic sun) is a common sake-bottle size (generally labelled as 1800 ml). The koku (about 40.95 US dry gal) originally was the volume of rice a person would eat in one year.

Mass

The Japanese unit of mass, momme, is a recognized unit in the international pearl

Pearl

A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...

industry.

Table of units of mass
Unit		momme	Metric			Avoirdupois Avoirdupois The avoirdupois system is a system of weights based on a pound of 16 ounces. It is the everyday system of weight used in the United States and is still widely used to varying degrees by many people in Canada, the United Kingdom, and some other former British colonies despite the official adoption...
Romanized	Kanji	momme	milligrams	gram Gram The gram is a metric system unit of mass.... s	kilogram Kilogram The kilogram or kilogramme , also known as the kilo, is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units and is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram , which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water... s	dram Dram Dram or DRAM may refer to:As a unit of measure:* Dram , an imperial unit of mass and volume* Armenian dram, a monetary unit* Dirham, a unit of currency in several Arab nationsOther uses:... s	ounce Ounce The ounce is a unit of mass with several definitions, the most commonly used of which are equal to approximately 28 grams. The ounce is used in a number of different systems, including various systems of mass that form part of the imperial and United States customary systems... s	pound Pound (mass) The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement... s
fun	分		375	0.375	3.75	0.2116	0.01323	8.267
momme	匁	1	3750	3.75	3.75	2.116	0.1323	8.267
hyakume	百目	100	3.75	375	0.375	211.6	13.23	0.8267
kin	斤	160	6	600	0.6	338.6	21.16	1.323
kan or kanme	貫, 貫目	1000	3.75	3750	3.75	2116	132.3	8.267
Note: Metric values are exact and conversions to avoirdupois units are rounded to four significant figures.

Money

The names of old money live on in Japanese proverbs

Japanese proverbs

- Kotowaza :A may take the form of:*a short saying ,*an idiomatic phrase , or*a four-character idiom ....

such as haya oki wa san mon no toku, literally "Waking early gets you three mon", comparable to the American proverb, "Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."

Table of money units
Unit		Equivalent to
Romanized	Kanji	Equivalent to
1 mon	文
1 hiki	疋	10 mon
1 kanmon	貫文	100 hiki

Other units

Apart from shakkanhō and the metric system, other units

Units of measurement

are also commonly used in Japan. The most common unit found is the inch. Inches are used in the following:

The tyre
Tire
A tire or tyre is a ring-shaped covering that fits around a wheel rim to protect it and enable better vehicle performance by providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock while keeping the wheel in close contact with the ground...

sizes of bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....

s, which are based on a British system
In the computer industry, for the sizes of parts, connectors, and semiconductor
Semiconductor device
Semiconductor devices are electronic components that exploit the electronic properties of semiconductor materials, principally silicon, germanium, and gallium arsenide, as well as organic semiconductors. Semiconductor devices have replaced thermionic devices in most applications...

wafers
Wafer (electronics)
A wafer is a thin slice of semiconductor material, such as a silicon crystal, used in the fabrication of integrated circuits and other microdevices...

.
Together with feet, for the width and length of magnetic tape
Magnetic tape
Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic recording, made of a thin magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic. It was developed in Germany, based on magnetic wire recording. Devices that record and play back audio and video using magnetic tape are tape recorders and video tape recorders...

.
The sizes of television screens. However, the word 型 ("-gata") is substituted for インチ ("inch"). Thus, a television with a 17 in diagonal measure is described as 17型.
The sizes of photographic prints, though rounded to the nearest millimetre.

External links

Japanese Carpentry Museum
Japanese units
Convert traditional Japanese units to metric and imperial units (lengths, areas, volumes, weights) (sci.lang.japan FAQ pages)

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Length

Area

Volume

Mass

Money

Other units

See also

External links