Koku

Last updated

The koku (斛) is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 to ( 斗 ) or approximately 180 litres (40 imp gal; 48 US gal), [a] [1] or about 150 kilograms (330 lb) of rice. It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. [2] One gō is the traditional volume of a single serving of rice (before cooking), used to this day for the plastic measuring cup that is supplied with commercial Japanese rice cookers. [3]

Contents

The koku in Japan was typically used as a dry measure. The amount of rice production measured in koku was the metric by which the magnitude of a feudal domain ( han ) was evaluated. [4] A feudal lord was only considered daimyō class when his domain amounted to at least 10,000 koku. [4] As a rule of thumb, one koku was considered a sufficient quantity of rice to feed one person for one year. [5] [b] [c]

The Chinese equivalent or cognate unit for capacity is the shi or dan (Chinese :石; pinyin :shí, dàn; Wade–Giles :shih, tan) also known as hu (斛; hú; hu), now approximately 103 litres but historically about 59.44 litres (13.07 imp gal; 15.70 US gal).

Chinese equivalent

The Chinese dan is equal to 10 dou (斗; dǒu; tou) "pecks", 100 sheng (升; shēng; sheng) "pints". [9] While the current dan is 103 litres in volume, [10] the dan of the Tang dynasty (618–907) period equalled 59.44 litres. [9]

Modern unit

The exact modern koku is calculated to be 180.39 litres, 100 times the capacity of a modern shō . [11] [d] This modern koku is essentially defined to be the same as the koku from the Edo period (1600–1868), [e] namely 100 times the shō equal to 64827 cubic bu in the traditional shakkanhō measuring system. [16]

Origin of the modern unit

The kyō-masu ( 京枡 , "Kyoto masu "), the semi-official one shō measuring box since the late 16th century under Daimyo Nobunaga, [17] began to be made in a different (larger) size in the early Edo period, sometime during the 1620s. [18] Its dimensions, given in the traditional Japanese shaku length unit system, were 4 sun 9 bu square times 2 sun 7 bu depth. [f] [18] [13] Its volume, which could be calculated by multiplication was: [11]

1 koku = 100 shō = 100 × (49 bu × 49 bu × 27 bu) = 100 × 64,827 cubic bu [18] [g]

Although this was referred to as shin kyō-masu or the "new" measuring cup in its early days, [18] its use supplanted the old measure in most areas in Japan, until the only place still left using the old cup ("edo-masu") was the city of Edo, [19] and the Edo government passed an edict declaring the kyō-masu the official nationwide measure standard [17] in 1669 (Kanbun 9). [19]

Modern measurement enactment

When the 1891 Japanese Weights and Measures Act  [ ja ] was promulgated, it defined the shō unit as the capacity of the standard kyo-masu of 64827 cubic bu. [15] The same act also defined the shaku length as 10⁄33 metre. [15] The metric equivalent of the modern shō is 2401⁄1331 litres. [20] The modern koku is therefore 240,100⁄1331 litres, or 180.39 litres. [21]

The modern shaku defined here is set to equal the so-called setchū-shaku (setchū-jaku or "compromise shaku"), [22] measuring 302.97 mm, a middle-ground value between two different kane-jaku standards. [h] [23] [22] A researcher has pointed out that the (shin) kyō-masu  [ ja ] cups ought to have used take-jaku which were 0.2% longer. [12] [i] However, the actual measuring cups in use did not quite attain the take shaku metric, and when the Japanese Ministry of Finance had collected actual samples of masu from the masu-za  [ ja ] (measuring-cup guilds) of both eastern and western Japan, they found that the measurements were close to the average of take-jaku and kane-jaku. [28]

Lumber koku

The "lumber koku" or "maritime koku" is defined as equal to 10 cubic shaku in the lumber or shipping industry, [29] compared with the standard koku measures 6.48 cubic shaku. [6] A lumber koku is conventionally accepted as equivalent to 120 board feet, but in practice may convert to less. [30] In metric measures 1 lumber koku is about 278.3 litres (61.2 imp gal; 73.5 US gal).

Historic use

The exact measure now in use was devised around the 1620s, but not officially adopted for all of Japan until the Kanbun era (1660s).

Feudal Japan

Under the Tokugawa shogunate (1603–1868) of the Edo period of Japanese history, each feudal domain had an assessment of its potential income known as kokudaka (production yield) which in part determined its order of precedence at the Shogunal court. The smallest kokudaka to qualify the fief-holder for the title of daimyō was 10,000 koku (worth ¥ 705.53 million (2016) (equivalent to ¥719.91 millionor US$ 6.6 million in 2019) [31] ) [32] and Kaga han, the largest fief (other than that of the shōgun ), was called the "million-koku domain". Its holdings totaled around 1,025,000 koku (worth ¥ 72.3 billion  (2016) (equivalent to ¥73.77 billion or US$ 676.77 million in 2019) [31] ). Many samurai, including hatamoto (a high-ranking samurai), received stipends in koku, while a few received salaries instead.

The kokudaka was reported in terms of brown rice (genmai) in most places, with the exception of the land ruled by the Satsuma clan which reported in terms of unhusked or non-winnowed rice (momi ( 籾 ). [33] Since this practice had persisted, past Japanese rice production statistics need to be adjusted for comparison with other countries that report production by milled or polished rice. [6]

Even in certain parts of the Tōhoku region or Ezo (Hokkaidō), where rice could not be grown, the economy was still measured in terms of koku, with other crops and produce converted to their equivalent value in terms of rice. [34] The kokudaka was not adjusted from year to year, and thus some fiefs had larger economies than their nominal koku indicated, due to land reclamation and new rice field development, which allowed them to fund development projects.

As measure of cargo ship class

Koku was also used to measure how much a ship could carry when all its loads were rice. Smaller ships carried 50 koku (7.5 tonnes, 7.4 long tons, 8.3 short tons) while the biggest ships carried over 1,000 koku (150 tonnes, 150 long tons, 170 short tons). The biggest ships were larger than military vessels owned by the shogunate.

The Hyakumangoku Matsuri (Million-Koku Festival) in Kanazawa, Japan celebrates the arrival of daimyō Maeda Toshiie into the city in 1583, although Maeda's income was not raised to over a million koku until after the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600.

In fiction

The James Clavell novel Shōgun uses the Koku measure extensively as a plot device by many of the main characters as a method of reward, punishment and enticement. While fiction, it shows the importance of the fief, the rice measure and payments.

Explanatory notes

  1. ↑ 180 litres (4.9 imp bsh; 5.1 US bsh)
  2. ↑ A koku of brown rice (unpolished rice) weighs about 150 kilograms (330 lb). [5] [6] White rice (milled rice, polished rice) weighs about the same (150g per gō). [7] But 1 koku of brown rice would only yield 0.91 koku of milled rice (white rice) [6] after processing (seimai ( 精米 )), i.e., removing the rice bran).
  3. ↑ Apparently 1.8 koku (1 koku and 8 to) was actually required for nourishment by a man each year, according to the conventional wisdom documented in a "home code" (kakun  [ ja ]) of a certain merchant family in the Edo period. [8]
  4. ↑ Each shō was determined to measure 1803.9 cubic centimetres (millilitres) [12] or 1.803906 litres. [13]
  5. ↑ The Edo Period koku was roughly 180 litres or 5 bushels. [14]
  6. ↑ sun = 1⁄10shaku and bu = 1⁄100shaku respectively.
  7. ↑ Also =100 × 64.827 cubic sun. [13]
  8. ↑ Between the common people's Matashiro-jaku, 302.37 mm and the bakufu 's official Kyōho-jaku 303.36 mm. [23] The matashirō-jaku又四郎尺 devised by a carpenter [22] is a type of the carpentry scale was the commoner's type of kane-jaku/kyoku-jaku/magari-jaku (曲尺). [24] [25]
  9. ↑ One type of take-jaku is the aforementioned Kyōho-jaku [26] which came into use in the Kyoho era (1716-1736). [27]

Related Research Articles

Shaku or Japanese foot is a Japanese unit of length derived from the Chinese chi, originally based upon the distance measured by a human hand from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the forefinger. Traditionally, the length varied by location or use, but it is now standardized as 10/33 m, or approximately 30.3 centimeters (11.9 in).

The ge is a traditional Chinese unit of volume equal to ⁠1/10⁠ sheng. Its Korean equivalent is the hob or hop and its Japanese equivalent is the gō.

Traditional Japanese units of measurement or the shakkanhō (尺貫法) is the traditional system of measurement used by the people of the Japanese archipelago. It is largely based on the Chinese system, which spread to Japan and the rest of the Sinosphere in antiquity. It has remained mostly unaltered since the adoption of the measures of the Tang dynasty in 701. Following the 1868 Meiji Restoration, Imperial Japan adopted the metric system and defined the traditional units in metric terms on the basis of a prototype metre and kilogram. The present values of most Korean and Taiwanese units of measurement derive from these values as well.

<i>Masu</i> (measurement) Square wooden box used to measure rice

A masu was originally a square wooden box used to measure rice in Japan during the feudal period. In 1885 Japan signed the Convention du Mètre and in 1886 converted all of its traditional measures to the metric system.

Moriyama Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in southern Mutsu Province in what is now part of the modern-day city of Kōriyama, Fukushima. It was established by a cadet branch of the Tokugawa clan of Mito. A relatively small domain, it had a kokudaka of 20,000 koku.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tsu Domain</span>

Tsu Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Ise Province and in Iga Province in what is part of now modern-day Tsu, Mie. It was centered around Tsu Castle. Tsu Domain was controlled by the tozama Tōdō clan throughout most of its history.

Kokudaka (石高) refers to a system for determining land value for taxation purposes under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo-period Japan, and expressing this value in terms of koku of rice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tosa Domain</span> Administrative division in southwestern Japan during the Edo period (1601-1871)

The Tosa Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Tosa Province in what is now Kōchi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It was centered around Kōchi Castle, and was ruled throughout its history by the tozama daimyō Yamauchi clan. Many people from the domain played important roles in events of the late Edo period including Nakahama Manjirō, Sakamoto Ryōma, Yui Mitsue, Gotō Shōjirō, Itagaki Taisuke, Nakae Chōmin, and Takechi Hanpeita. Tosa Domain was renamed Kōchi Domain during the early Meiji period until it was dissolved in the abolition of the han system in 1871 and became Kōchi Prefecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musa-juku</span> Pre-modern Japan post-station along highway

Musa-juku (武佐宿) was the sixty-sixth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto in Edo period Japan. It was located in the present-day city of Ōmihachiman, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Other kanji used to write "Musa" included 牟佐 and 身狭, but 武佐 became the official kanji in the Edo period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kitsuki Domain</span> Administrative division in western Japan during the Edo period (1632-1871)

Kitsuki Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now northern Ōita Prefecture. It was centered around Kitsuki Castle in what is now the city of Kitsuki and was ruled by the fudai daimyō Nomi-Matsudaira clan for most of its history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurume Domain</span>

Kurume Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Chikugo Province in modern-day Fukuoka Prefecture on the island of Kyushu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uto Domain</span>

Uto Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was regarded as a sub-domain of Kumamoto Domain. It was based at the Uto jin'ya in what is now the city of Uto, Kumamoto. It was ruled by a cadet branch of the tozama daimyō Hosokawa clan for all of its history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kishiwada Domain</span>

Kishiwada Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Izumi Province in what is now the southern portion of modern-day Osaka Prefecture. It was centered around Kishiwada Castle and was controlled by the fudai daimyō Okabe clan throughout much of its history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zeze Domain</span>

Zeze Domain was a fudai feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It was located in southern Ōmi Province, in the Kansai region of central Honshu. The domain was centered at Zeze Castle, located on the shore of Lake Biwa in what is now the city of Ōtsu in Shiga Prefecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toyama Domain</span>

Toyama Domain was a feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Etchū Province, Japan. It was centered on Toyama Castle in what is now the city of Toyama. Throughout its history, it was ruled by a cadet branch of the Maeda clan. The daimyō of Toyama Domain was subject to sankin-kōtai, and was received in the Ōhiroma of Edo Castle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ōmura Domain</span> Japanese feudal domain located in Hizen Province

Ōmura Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was centered around Kushima Castle in what is now the city of Ōmura, Nagasaki and was ruled by the tozama daimyō Ōmura clan for all of its history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fires in Edo</span> Frequent fires in the Japanese city

Fires in Edo (江戸), the former name of Tokyo, during the Edo period (1600−1868) of Japan were so frequent that the city of Edo was characterized as the saying "Fires and quarrels are the flowers of Edo" goes. Even in the modern days, the old Edo was still remembered as the "City of Fires" (火災都市).

Hisai Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Ise Province in former Hisai town. It was centered around Hisai jin'ya. Hisai Domain was a sub-domain of Tsu Domain ruled by a cadet branch of the Tōdō clan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonobe Domain</span> Japanese feudal domain located in Tanba Province

Sonobe Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Tanba Province in what is now the central portion of modern-day Kyoto Prefecture. It was centered around Sonobe jin'ya, which was located in the Sonobe neighborhood of what is now the city of Nantan, Kyoto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Komatsu Domain</span> Administrative division in southwestern Japan during the Edo period (1636-1871)

Komatsu Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now eastern Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It was centered around Komatsu jin'ya in what snow part of the city of Saijō, Ehime, and was ruled throughout all of its history by a cadet branch of the Hitotsuyanagi clan. Komatsu Domain was dissolved in the abolition of the han system in 1871 and is now part of Ehime Prefecture.

References

Citations
  1. ↑ Hayek, Matthias; Horiuchi, Annick, eds. (2014). Listen, Copy, Read: Popular Learning in Early Modern Japan. BRILL. p. 195, note 39. ISBN   978-9-00427-972-8.
  2. 1 2 Cardarelli, François (2003). "3.5.2.4.13.3 Old Japanese Units of Capacity". Encyclopaedia of Scientific Units, Weights and Measure. Translated by M.J. Shields. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 151. ISBN   1-85233-682-X.
  3. ↑ Andoh, Elizabeth (2012). Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen: A Cookbook. Ten Speed Press. p. 136. ISBN   978-0-307-81355-8.
  4. 1 2 Curtin, Philip D. (2002) [2000]. The World and the West: The European Challenge and the Overseas Response in the Age of Empire (revised ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 159. ISBN   0-52189-054-3.
  5. 1 2 Francks, Penelope (2006). Rural Economic Development in Japan: From the Nineteenth Century to the Pacific War. Routledge. p. xvii. ISBN   1-134-20786-7.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Rose, Beth (2016) [1985]. Appendix to the Rice Economy of Asia. Routledge. p. 84. ISBN   978-1-31733-947-2.
  7. ↑ Yamaguchi, Tomoko 山口智子 (2017). "Mushi kamado de taita beihan no bussei to oishisa no hyōka" 蒸しかまどで炊いた米飯の物性とおいしさの評価 [Evaluation of physical properties and taste of rice cooked by steamed rice cooker, Mushikamado](PDF). Bulletin of the Faculty of Education. Natural Sciences. 34 (2). Niigata University: 224.
  8. ↑ Ramseyer, Mark J. (1979). "Thrift and Diligence; Home Codes of Tokugawa Merchat Families". Monumenta Nipponica. 34 (2). Sophia University: 224. doi:10.2307/2384323. JSTOR   2384323.
  9. 1 2 Wittfogel, Karl A.; Fêng, Chia-Shêng (1946). "History of Chinese Society Liao (907-1125)". Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. 36. Sophia University: 609. doi:10.2307/1005570. JSTOR   1005570. JSTOR   1005570
  10. ↑ Perdue, Peter C. (2005). China Marches West . Harvard University Press. p.  598. ISBN   0-674-01684-X.
  11. 1 2 By definition. 1 koku = 10 to = 100 shō. [2]
  12. 1 2 Midorikawa (2012), p. 99.
  13. 1 2 3 Japanese government (1878). Le Japon à l'exposition universelle de 1878: 2ème partie (in French). Commission Impériale Japonaise. p. 18.
  14. ↑ Wittfogel, Karl A. (1936). "Financial Difficulties of The Edo Bakufu". Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. 1 (3/4). Sophia University: 314, note 26. JSTOR   2717787
  15. 1 2 3 Nihon shakai jii日本社會事彙 (in Japanese). Vol. 2. Keizai Zasshi Sha. 1907. p. 1252. 升 六萬四千八百二十七立方分
  16. ↑ Weights and Measures Act (Japan)  [ ja ] (1891). [15]
  17. 1 2 Yamamura, Kozo (1990), "8 The growth of commerce in medieval Japan", in Yamamura, Kozo (ed.), The Cambridge History of Japan, vol. 3, Cambridge University Press, p. 393, ISBN   9780521223546
  18. 1 2 3 4 Amano (1979), p. 10–13.
  19. 1 2 Umemura, Mataji 梅村又次; Hayami, Akira 速水融; Miyamoto Matarō 宮本又郎, eds. (1979), Nihon keizaishi 1 keizaishakai no seiritsu: 17~18 seiki日本経済史 1 経済社会の成立: 17~18世紀 (in Japanese), Iwanami
  20. ↑ Koizumi, Kesakatsu 小泉袈裟勝, ed. (1981). Tan'i no jiten単位の辞典 (in Japanese) (revised 4th ed.). Rateisu. p. 394.
  21. ↑ Midorikawa (2012) , p. 99: "1,803.9 cm3".
  22. 1 2 3 Weights and Measures in Japan: Past and Present (1914), pp. 18–19: "The setchū-shaku.. [which] Inō Chūkei.. invented.. a mean between the matashirō-shaku and the kyōho-shaku, and was therefore called the measure of setchū (compromise). The length is the same as that of the present shaku".
  23. 1 2 "Setchū-jaku せっちゅう‐じゃく【折衷尺】", Seisen-ban Nihon kokugo daijiten, Shogakukan, via kotobank. accessed 2020-02-07.
  24. ↑ JWMA 1978, p. 25.
  25. ↑ "kanejaku; kyokushaku" かねじゃく【曲尺】;きょくしゃく【曲尺】. Digital Daijisen デジタル大辞泉. Shogakukan. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
  26. ↑ JWMA 1978, p. 1.
  27. ↑ Ōtsuki, Nyoden; Krieger, Carel Coenruad (1940). The Infiltration of European Civilization in Japan During the 18th Century. Brill. p. 598.
  28. ↑ JWMA (1978) , p. 2: "The results of measuring original vessels at both the East and West Masu-za yielded (a value) near the average of take-jaku and magari-jaku (=kane-jaku) 東西両桝座の原器の測定結果では、竹尺と曲り尺の平均した長さに近".
  29. ↑ Totman, Conrad D. (1989). The Green Archipelago: Forestry in Preindustrial Japan . University of California Press. p.  228, note 37. ISBN   0-52006-313-9.
  30. ↑ United States Forest Service (1945), Japan: forest resources, forest products, forest policy, Division of forest economics, Forest service, U.S. Dept. of agriculture, p. 11
  31. 1 2 1868 to 1938: Williamson J., Nominal Wage, Cost of Living, Real Wage and Land Rent Data for Japan 1831-1938 , 1939 to 1945: Bank of Japan Historical Statistics Afterwards, Japanese Historical Consumer Price Index numbers based on data available from the Japanese Statistics Bureau. Japan Historical Consumer Price Index (CPI) – 1970 to 2014 Retrieved 30 July 2014. For between 1946 and 1970, from "昭和戦後史" . Retrieved 2015-01-24.
  32. ↑ "Shōhisha bukka shisū (CPI) kekka" 消費者物価指数 (CPI) 結果 [Consumer Price Index (CPI) results](CSV). Statistics Bureau of Japan (in Japanese). Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications . Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  33. ↑ Kurihara, Ryūichi (1972). Bakumatsu Nihon no gunsei幕末日本の軍制 (in Japanese). Shin Jinbutsu Ōraisha. p. 195, note 39. ISBN   9789004279728.
  34. ↑ Beasley, William G. (1972). The Meiji Restoration . Stanford University Press. pp.  14–15. ISBN   0804708150.
Bibliography
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.