Shaku (unit)

The or Japanese foot is a Japanese unit of length derived (but varying) from the Chinese , originally based upon the distance measured by a human hand from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the forefinger説文解字 No.5398 「尺、所以指尺䂓榘事也。」 (compare span). Traditionally, the length varied by location or use, but it is now standardized as 10/33 m, or approximately .

Etymology in English entered English in the early 18th century,Oxford English Dictionary, Volume XV page 148Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, 1986 a romanization of the Japanese Go-on reading of the character for .

Use in Japan The has been standardized since 1891 as m, about .Japanese Metric Changeover by Joseph B. Reid, President Emeritus, Canadian Metric Association (U.S. Metric Association page) This means that there are 3.3 () to one metre.Details of the two shaku units at sizes.com

This definition was established by Meiji government law; until then, even though the unit was given the same name, its length varied depending on the era. At the same time, other units were established based on shaku.

English：1 shaku = 10 sun = 100 bu Japanese：1尺 = 10寸 = 100分

The use of the unit for official purposes in Japan was banned on March 31, 1966, although it is still used in traditional Japanese carpentry and some other fields, such as kimono construction. The traditional Japanese bamboo flute known as the ( and ) derives its name from its length of one and eight .A note on shakuhachi lengths Similarly, the remains in use in the Japanese lumber trade. In the Japanese construction industry, the standard sizes of drywall, plywood, and other sheet goods are based on , with the most common width being three (rounded up to ).

In Japanese media parlance, refers to screen time: the amount of time someone or something is shown on screen (similar to the English "footage").Glossary (Japanese) ESP Entertainment school

History Traditionally, the actual length of the varied over time, location, and use. By the early 19th century, the was largely within the range of , but a longer value of the (also known as the ) was also known, and was 1.17 times longer than the present value ().

Tailor's unit Another variant was used for measuring cloth, which measured metres (), and was known as the , as baleen (whale whiskers) were used as cloth rulers.

To distinguish the two variants of , the general unit was known as the . The Shōsōin treasure house in Nara preserves some antique ivory one- rulers, known as the .甲乙

Derived units

Length Just as with the Chinese unit, the is divided into ten smaller units, known as in Japanese, and ten together form a larger unit known in Japanese as a . The Japanese also had a third derived unit, the , equal to six ; this was used extensively in traditional Japanese architecture as the distance between supporting pillars in Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines.

Volume Ten cubic comprised a , reckoned as the amount of rice necessary to sustain a peasant for a year.

Outside Japan The Japanese also forms the basis of the modern Taiwanese foot.

In 1909, the Korean Empire adopted the Japanese definition of the as that of the ().

Shaku (unit)

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