The is a

traditional Japanese unit Traditional Japanese units of measurement or the shakkanhō (, "''shaku–kan'' system") 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 ...

of length, equal to six

Japanese feet 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 (compare span). Traditionally, the length ...

(''shaku''). The exact value has varied over time and location but has generally been a little shorter than .JAANUS It is now standardized as 1.82 m. Although mostly supplanted by the

metric system The metric system is a system of measurement that succeeded the decimalised system based on the metre that had been introduced in France in the 1790s. The historical development of these systems culminated in the definition of the Intern ...

, this unit is a common measurement in

Japanese architecture has been typified by wooden structures, elevated slightly off the ground, with tiled or thatched roofs. Sliding doors (''fusuma'') and other traditional partitions were used in place of walls, allowing the internal configuration of a space to ...

, where it is used as a proportion for the intervals between the

pillar A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

s of traditional-style buildings. In this context, it is commonly translated as "bay". The length also appears in other contexts, such as the standard length of the ''

bō A ''bō'' (棒: ぼう), ''bong'' (Korean), ''pang'' (Cantonese), ''bang'' (Mandarin), or ''kun'' (Okinawan) is a staff weapon used in Okinawa. ''Bō'' are typically around and used in Okinawan martial arts, while being adopted into Japanese a ...

'' staff in

Japanese martial arts Japanese martial arts refers to the variety of martial arts native to the country of Japan. At least three Japanese terms (''budō'', ''bujutsu'', and ''bugei'') are used interchangeably with the English phrase Japanese martial arts. The usage ...

and the standard dimensions of the

tatami A is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. Tatamis are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about 0.9 m by 1.8 m depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are the floor used for traini ...

mats. As these are used to cover the floors of most Japanese houses, floor surfaces are still commonly measured not in square meters but in "tatami" which are equivalent to half of a square ken.

Word

Among English loanwords of Japanese origin, both ''ken'' and '' ma'' are derived from readings of the same character . This

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequ ...

graphically combines "door" and "sun". The earlier variant character was written with "moon" rather than "sun", depicting "A door through the crevice of which the moonshine peeps in". The diverse Japanese pronunciations of include ''

on'yomi are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequ ...

'' Sino-Chinese readings (from ''jian'' or "room; between; gap; interval") of ''kan'' "interval; space; between; among; discord; favorable opportunity" or ''ken'' "six feet"; and ''

kun'yomi are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequen ...

'' native Japanese readings of ''ai'' "interval; between; medium; crossbred", ''aida'' or ''awai'' "space; interval; gap; between; among; midway; on the way; distance; time; period; relationship", or ''ma'' "space; room; interval; pause; rest (in music); time; a while; leisure; luck; timing; harmony".

History

The ''ken'' is based on the Chinese ''jian''. It uses the same Chinese character as the Korean '' kan''. A building's proportions were (and, to a certain extent, still are) measured in ''ken'', as for example in the case of

Enryaku-ji is a Tendai monastery located on Mount Hiei in Ōtsu, overlooking Kyoto. It was first founded in 788 during the early Heian period (794–1185) by Saichō (767–822), also known as Dengyō Daishi, who introduced the Tendai sect of Mahayan ...

's ''Konponchū-dō'' ( Main Hall), which measures 11×6 bays (37.60 m × 23.92 m), of which 11×4 are dedicated to the worshipers. Inside buildings, available space was often divided in squares measuring one ''ken'' across, and each square was then called a , the term written with the same Chinese character as ''ken''. Traditional buildings usually measure an odd number of bays, for example 3×3 or 5×5. A type of temple's gate called ''

rōmon The is one of two types of two-storied gate used in Japan (the other one being the '' nijūmon'', see photo in the gallery below). Even though it was originally developed by Buddhist architecture, it is now used at both Buddhist temples and S ...

'' can have dimensions going from 5×2 bays to the more common 3×2 bays down to even 1×1 bay. The

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

''butsuden'' in the illustration measures 5×5 ''ken'' across externally because its 3×3 ''ken'' core ('' moya'') is surrounded by a 1-''ken'' aisle called '' hisashi''. The value of a ''ken'' could change from building to building, but was usually kept constant within the same structure. There can however be exceptions.

Kasuga Taisha is a Shinto shrine in Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It is the shrine of the Fujiwara family, established in 768 CE and rebuilt several times over the centuries. The interior is famous for its many bronze lanterns, as well as the many stone lan ...

's tiny ''

honden In Shinto shrine architecture, the , also called , or sometimes as in Ise Shrine's case, is the most sacred building at a Shinto shrine, intended purely for the use of the enshrined ''kami'', usually symbolized by a mirror or sometimes by a s ...

s dimensions, for example, are 1×1 in ''ken'', but 1.9×2.6 in meters. In the case of

Izumo Taisha , officially Izumo Ōyashiro, is one of the most ancient and important Shinto shrines in Japan. No record gives the date of establishment. Located in Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, it is home to two major festivals. It is dedicated to the god , ...

's ''honden'', a ''ken'' is , well above its standard value.JAANUS
Taisha-zukuri
accessed on December 1, 2009 The distance between pillars was standardized very early and started being used as a unit of measurement. Land area in particular was measured using the ''ken'' as a basis. The unit was born out of the necessity to measure land surface to calculate taxes. At the time of

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

(16th century), the ''ken'' was about , but around 1650 the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

reduced it to specifically to increase taxes. After the Edo period, the ''ken'' started to be called .Iwanami Kōjien

References

Citations

Bibliography

Japanese Art Net User System (JAANUS)
Dictionary of Japanese Architectural and Art Historical Terminology, articles ''Kasuga-zukuri'', ''Ken'' and ''Kondō''. Accessed on May 6, 2009 * Iwanami Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version {{Japanese architectural elements Japanese architectural features Units of length