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Koku

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the unit of time writtenkokuKhắc,seeTraditional Chinese timekeeping.For the shakuhachi song, seeKokū.For the fictional giant, seeTom Swift.

Thekoku(Hộc)is a Chinese-basedJapanese unitof volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10to(Đấu)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 100shōand 1000gō.[2]Onegōis 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 Japaneserice cookers.[3]

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

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

Chinese equivalent

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The Chinesedanis equal to 10dou(Đấu;dǒu;tou) "pecks",100sheng(Thăng;shēng;sheng) "pints".[9]While the currentdanis 103 litres in volume,[10]thedanof theTang dynasty(618–907) period equalled 59.44 litres.[9]

Modern unit

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The exact modernkokuis calculated to be 180.39 litres, 100 times the capacity of a modernshō.[11][d]This modernkokuis essentially defined to be the same as thekokufrom theEdo period(1600–1868),[e]namely 100 times theshōequal to 64827 cubicbuin the traditionalshakkanhōmeasuring system.[16]

Origin of the modern unit

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Thekyō-masu(Kinh 枡,"Kyotomasu"),the semi-official oneshōmeasuring box since the late 16th century under DaimyoNobunaga,[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 Japaneseshakulength unit system, were 4sun9busquare times 2sun7budepth.[f][18][13]Its volume, which could be calculated by multiplication was:[11]

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

Although this was referred to asshin kyō-masuor 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 ofEdo,[19]and the Edo government passed anedictdeclaring thekyō-masuthe official nationwide measure standard[17]in 1669 (Kanbun9).[19]

Modern measurement enactment

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When the 1891 JapaneseWeights and Measures Act[ja]was promulgated, it defined theshōunit as the capacity of the standardkyo-masuof 64827 cubicbu.[15]The same act also defined theshakulength as10⁄33metre.[15]The metric equivalent of the modernshōis2401⁄1331litres.[20]The modernkokuis therefore240,100⁄1331litres, or 180.39 litres.[21]

The modernshakudefined here is set to equal the so-calledsetchū-shaku(setchū-jakuor "compromiseshaku"),[22]measuring 302.97 mm, a middle-ground value between two differentkane-jakustandards.[h][23][22]A researcher has pointed out that the (shin)kyō-masu[ja]cups ought to have usedtake-jakuwhich were 0.2% longer.[12][i]However, the actual measuring cups in use did not quite attain thetake shakumetric, and when the Japanese Ministry of Finance had collected actual samples ofmasufrom themasu-za[ja](measuring-cupguilds) of both eastern and western Japan, they found that the measurements were close to the average oftake-jakuandkane-jaku.[28]

Lumber koku

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

Historic use

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

Feudal Japan

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Under theTokugawa shogunate(1603–1868) of the Edo period ofJapanese history,eachfeudal domainhad an assessment of its potential income known askokudaka(production yield) which in part determined its order of precedence at the Shogunal court. The smallestkokudakato qualify the fief-holder for the title ofdaimyōwas 10,000koku(worth¥705.53 million (2016) (equivalent to¥719.91 million orUS$6.6 million in 2019)[31])[32]andKaga han,the largest fief (other than that of theshōgun), was called the "million-kokudomain ". Its holdings totaled around 1,025,000koku(worth¥72.3billion(2016) (equivalent to¥73.77billionorUS$676.77 million in 2019)[31]). Manysamurai,includinghatamoto(a high-ranking samurai), received stipends inkoku,while a few received salaries instead.

Thekokudakawas reported in terms ofbrown rice(genmai) in most places, with the exception of the land ruled by theSatsuma clanwhich reported in terms of unhusked or non-winnowedrice (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 bymilledorpolished rice.[6]

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

As measure of cargo ship class

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

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TheHyakumangoku Matsuri(Million-KokuFestival) inKanazawa,Japan celebrates the arrival ofdaimyōMaeda Toshiieinto the city in 1583, although Maeda's income was not raised to over a millionkokuuntil after theBattle of Sekigaharain 1600.

In fiction

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TheJames ClavellnovelShōgunuses 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

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  1. ^180 litres (4.9 imp bsh; 5.1 US bsh)
  2. ^Akokuof 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(Tinh mễ)), i.e., removing therice bran).
  3. ^Apparently 1.8koku(1kokuand 8to) was actually required for nourishment by a man each year, according to theconventional wisdomdocumented in a "home code" (kakun[ja]) of a certain merchant family in the Edo period.[8]
  4. ^Eachshōwas determined to measure 1803.9 cubic centimetres (millilitres)[12]or 1.803906 litres.[13]
  5. ^The Edo Periodkokuwas roughly 180 litres or 5 bushels.[14]
  6. ^sun=1⁄10shakuandbu=1⁄100shakurespectively.
  7. ^Also =100 × 64.827 cubicsun.[13]
  8. ^Between the common people'sMatashiro-jaku,302.37 mm and thebakufu's officialKyōho-jaku303.36 mm.[23]Thematashirō-jakuHựu tứ lang xíchdevised by a carpenter[22]is a type of the carpentry scale was the commoner's type ofKhúc xích(kane-jaku/kyoku-jaku/magari-jaku).[24][25]
  9. ^One type oftake-jakuis the aforementionedKyōho-jaku[26]which came into use in theKyoho era(1716-1736).[27]

References

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Citations
  1. ^Hayek, Matthias;Horiuchi, Annick,eds. (2014).Listen, Copy, Read: Popular Learning in Early Modern Japan.BRILL.p. 195, note 39.ISBN978-9-00427-972-8.
  2. ^abCardarelli, 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.ISBN1-85233-682-X.
  3. ^Andoh, Elizabeth (2012).Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen: A Cookbook.Ten Speed Press.p. 136.ISBN978-0-307-81355-8.
  4. ^abCurtin, 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.ISBN0-52189-054-3.
  5. ^abFrancks, Penelope (2006).Rural Economic Development in Japan: From the Nineteenth Century to the Pacific War.Routledge.p. xvii.ISBN1-134-20786-7.
  6. ^abcdRose, Beth (2016) [1985].Appendix to the Rice Economy of Asia.Routledge.p. 84.ISBN978-1-31733-947-2.
  7. ^Yamaguchi, Tomoko sơn khẩu trí tử (2017)."Mushi kamado de taita beihan no bussei to oishisa no hyōka"Chưng しかまどで xuy いた mễ phạn の vật tính とおいしさの bình 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.JSTOR2384323.
  9. ^abWittfogel, 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.JSTOR1005570.JSTOR1005570
  10. ^Perdue, Peter C.(2005).China Marches West.Harvard University Press.p.598.ISBN0-674-01684-X.
  11. ^abBy definition. 1koku= 10to= 100shō.[2]
  12. ^abMidorikawa (2012),p. 99.
  13. ^abcJapanese 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.JSTOR2717787
  15. ^abcNihon shakai jiiNhật bổn xã hội sự hối(in Japanese). Vol. 2. Keizai Zasshi Sha. 1907. p. 1252.Thăng lục vạn tứ thiên bát bách nhị thập thất lập phương phân
  16. ^Weights and Measures Act (Japan)[ja](1891).[15]
  17. ^abYamamura, 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,ISBN9780521223546
  18. ^abcdAmano (1979),p. 10–13.
  19. ^abUmemura, Mataji mai thôn hựu thứ; Hayami, Akira tốc thủy dung; Miyamoto Matarō cung bổn hựu lang, eds. (1979),Nihon keizaishi 1 keizaishakai no seiritsu: 17~18 seikiNhật bổn kinh tế sử 1 kinh tế xã hội の thành lập: 17~18 thế kỷ(in Japanese), Iwanami
  20. ^Koizumi, Kesakatsu tiểu tuyền ca sa thắng, ed. (1981).Tan'i no jiten単 vị の từ điển(in Japanese) (revised 4th ed.). Rateisu. p. 394.
  21. ^Midorikawa (2012),p. 99: "1,803.9 cm3".
  22. ^abcWeights and Measures in Japan: Past and Present(1914), pp. 18–19: "Thesetchū-shaku.. [which] Inō Chūkei.. invented.. a mean between thematashirō-shakuand thekyōho-shaku,and was therefore called the measure ofsetchū(compromise). The length is the same as that of the presentshaku".
  23. ^ab"Setchū-jaku せっちゅう‐じゃく【 chiết trung xích 】",Seisen-ban Nihon kokugo daijiten,Shogakukan, viakotobank.accessed 2020-02-07.
  24. ^JWMA 1978,p. 25.
  25. ^"kanejaku; kyokushaku"かねじゃく【 khúc xích 】;きょくしゃく【 khúc xích 】.Digital Daijisen デジタル đại từ tuyền.Shogakukan.Retrieved2019-08-03.
  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 WestMasu-zayielded (a value) near the average oftake-jakuandmagari-jaku(=kane-jaku)Đông tây lạng 桝 tọa の nguyên khí の trắc định kết quả では, trúc xích と khúc り xích の bình quân した trường さに cận".
  29. ^Totman, Conrad D. (1989).The Green Archipelago: Forestry in Preindustrial Japan.University of California Press.p.228,note 37.ISBN0-52006-313-9.
  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. ^ab1868 to 1938:Williamson J.,Nominal Wage, Cost of Living, Real Wage and Land Rent Data for Japan 1831-1938,1939 to 1945:Bank of JapanHistorical StatisticsAfterwards, Japanese Historical Consumer Price Index numbers based on data available from the Japanese Statistics Bureau.Japan Historical Consumer Price Index (CPI) – 1970 to 2014Retrieved 30 July 2014. For between 1946 and 1970, from"Chiêu hòa chiến hậu sử".Retrieved2015-01-24.
  32. ^"Shōhisha bukka shisū (CPI) kekka"Tiêu phí giả vật 価 chỉ sổ (CPI) kết quả[Consumer Price Index (CPI) results](CSV).Statistics Bureau of Japan(in Japanese).Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.Retrieved14 April2018.
  33. ^Kurihara, Ryūichi (1972).Bakumatsu Nihon no gunseiMạc mạt nhật bổn の quân chế(in Japanese). Shin Jinbutsu Ōraisha. p. 195, note 39.ISBN9789004279728.
  34. ^Beasley, William G.(1972).The Meiji Restoration.Stanford University Press. pp.14–15.ISBN0804708150.
Bibliography
  • Amano, Kiyoshi thiên dã thanh (1979),"Kyōmasu to Edomasu"Kinh 枡と giang hộ 枡,Keiryōshi Kenkyū: Journal of the Society of Historical Metrology, Japan(in Japanese),1(1): 10–19
  • Central Bureau of Weights and Measures The Department of Agriculture and Commerce in Japan (1914),Weights and Measures in Japan: Past and Present,hdl:2027/uc1.$c174918
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