Historical Units

Shaku (尺)

Definición

El shaku (尺) es una unidad japonesa tradicional de longitud igual a 10/33 metros, aproximadamente 30,303 cm, derivada históricamente del chi chino.

Explicación

Japan adopted the Chinese measurement system and the character 尺, but the shaku diverged slightly from its Chinese counterpart. It was divided into 10 sun, with 6 shaku making one ken (the standard room width in traditional architecture). Japan officially abolished the shaku for trade in 1891, replacing it with metric, but it persists in carpentry, textiles, and traditional arts such as shakuhachi flute making (the instrument is named after its standard 1-shaku-8-sun length).

02

RELATED ARTICLES

03

RELATED TERMS