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41-509: 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. A feudal lord was only considered daimyō class when his domain amounted to at least 10,000 koku . As a rule of thumb , one koku was considered a sufficient quantity of rice to feed one person for one year. The Chinese equivalent or cognate unit for capacity

82-465: A cone above the measure. There was historically a tendency for landowners to demand heaped bushels of commodities from their peasants, while at the same time peasants were obliged to purchase commodities from stricken containers. Rules outlawing this practice were circumvented through use of heavy round strickles, which would compress the contents of a bushel. (rounded to 4 digits) Za (guilds) The za ( 座 , 'seat' or 'pitch') were one of

123-470: A share in the total profits of all the guild's members. However, the shares were not transmissible, unlike in our modern stock market. Another type of trade group, called toiya (or ton'ya in Edo ), served as wholesale merchants, focusing primarily on shipping and warehousing. At this time, Osaka came into its own as a great port, and eclipsed Kyoto as the nation's primary center of trade, contributing further to

164-639: A sharing of the profits. For example, Kyoto's yeast-brewers were associated with the Kitano Tenman-gū shrine, and the oil brokers had the Tendai monastery of Enryakuji as their patron. The gold leaf makers of Kyoto placed themselves under the protection of the Konoe family , and the fishmongers under the Saionji , a particularly powerful and wealthy family, who earned two-thirds of the profits of Kyoto's fish markets from

205-611: Is important to note that the za , at least in their original forms, were never as official or organized as the medieval guilds of Europe. It was not until the Muromachi period (1336–1467) that the za came to be a significant presence in Japan's economic world. By this time, many more za had appeared, and were larger, more organized, and more well-connected with temples, shrines, and nobles. While many associated themselves with temples and shrines, many other guilds allied themselves with noble families, gaining protection in exchange for

246-512: Is mentioned in Yase near Kyoto as early as 1092, having a firewood concession in Kyoto along with corvée obligations. Even today, performers of kabuki and noh are in associations called za (see Kabuki-za ). The za trade guilds appeared as a major force in the 14th century, and lasted in their original forms through the end of the 16th, when other guilds and trade organizations arose and subsumed

287-402: 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). The Chinese dan is equal to 10 dou ( 斗 ; dǒu ; tou ) " pecks ", 100 sheng ( 升 ; shēng ; sheng ) " pints ". While

328-414: Is the quoted unit in commodity markets , is in fact a unit of mass in those contexts. Conversely, the ton used in specifying tonnage and in freight calculations is often a volume measurement rather than a mass measurement. In US cooking , dry and liquid measures are the same: the cup , the tablespoon , the teaspoon . US dry measures are 16% larger than liquid measures. The volume of bulk goods

369-411: Is usually measured by filling a standard container, so the containers' names and the units' names are often the same, and indeed both are called "measures". Normally, a level or struck measure is assumed, with the excess being swept off level ("struck") with the measure's brim—the stick used for this is called a "strickle". Sometimes heaped or heaping measures are used, with the commodity heaped in

410-619: 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 million or US$ 6.6 million in 2019)) and Kaga han ,

451-497: 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. 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. Koku

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492-426: The cord of wood, the sack , the bale of wool or cotton, the box of fruit, etc. Because it is difficult to measure actual volume and easy to measure mass, many of these units are now also defined as units of mass, specific to each commodity, so a bushel of apples is a different weight from a bushel of wheat (weighed at a specific moisture level). Indeed, the bushel, the best-known unit of dry measure because it

533-400: The peck are only used for dry goods. Imperial units of volume are the same for both dry and liquid goods. They have a different value from both the dry and liquid US versions. Many of the units are associated with particular goods, so for instance the dry hogshead has been used for sugar and for tobacco, and the peck for apples. There are also special measures for specific goods, such as

574-412: The za , it seems more likely that the change was a more gradual, organic one, and that the za could be said to have continued to exist, just in new forms and with new names. One of the new types of organization was called nakama (仲間), or kabunakama (株仲間) when they were authorized by the shōgun . These groups were essentially guilds based on the idea of shareholding; each member of the guild owned

615-508: The za . While no longer powerful in their original forms, it could be argued that the basic concept of the za , and most likely the same merchants running them, continued to exist as powerful agents in the market through to the 18th, going through many organizational and structural changes over the centuries, and eventually being eclipsed by other organizations like the ie trading houses. Though very powerful at times, and enjoying certain tax exemptions and other formal governmental benefits, it

656-401: The 1720s. This centralization made monopolization of the industry far easier, and brought a significant wealth to the Kyoto government and to the merchant members of the various trade organizations. Over the course of the 18th and 19th centuries, the trade guilds and associations, in all their various forms, changed over into more modern, and eventually Western, modes of business, giving rise to

697-476: 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 . The "lumber koku " or "maritime koku " is defined as equal to 10 cubic shaku in the lumber or shipping industry, compared with

738-550: The Muromachi period came to an end, in the late 15th century, other forms of economic associations arose which were less monopolistic, and which challenged the supremacy of the za . The Ōnin War of 1467 plunged the country into a period of chaos and war, called the Sengoku period , which would last over 130 years. However, the za continued to operate, and perhaps became even more powerful as

779-623: The ability to safely travel and transport goods across the nation became increasingly scarce. Towards the end of the 16th century, one hundred years into the Sengoku period, Oda Nobunaga briefly took command of the country, and established "free" markets and guilds, known respectively as rakuichi (楽市) and rakuza (楽座). These dealt a severe blow to the power and influence of the older, monopolistic za , but did not replace them. Several other types of trade associations came into being around this time as well; though it could be argued that they replaced

820-482: The arrangement. During this period, agricultural and economic advancement and growth was rapid in the countryside, or " Home Provinces ", and za began to conglomerate into groups organized by their locality, not by their trade. These rural za were generally associations of wealthier peasant farmers who combined to sell oil, bamboo, rice, or other agricultural products in bulk; they occasionally allowed urban brokers to join their guilds, to act as their proxy or guide in

861-759: 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. 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. Dry measure Dry measures are units of volume to measure bulk commodities that are not fluids and that were typically shipped and sold in standardized containers such as barrels . They have largely been replaced by

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902-504: The city markets. However, in the large cities, where economic progress was occurring in a different way, za formed up and began to concentrate themselves in small sections of the city. Ginza , meaning "silver za " (silver trade guild), in Tokyo , is one of the most famous place-names to reflect this activity, though the Guildhall area of London , on the other side of the world, is an example of

943-445: The current dan is 103 litres in volume, the dan of the Tang dynasty (618–907) period equalled 59.44 litres. The exact modern koku is calculated to be 180.39 litres, 100 times the capacity of a modern shō . This modern koku is essentially defined to be the same as the koku from the Edo period (1600–1868), namely 100 times the shō equal to 64827 cubic bu in

984-409: The downfall of the original za . By the end of the Tokugawa period , the guilds, in these various forms, had gained a significant degree of legitimacy and power. In exchange for monopoly licenses and government support in other forms, the guilds shared a portion of the profits with the government. Employing a strongly centralized system, the za brought 90% of the nation's silk processing to Kyoto by

1025-591: The equivalent English activity. Towards the end of the Muromachi period, the za began to grow independent of the noble families, temples, and shrines they had placed themselves under, having grown large enough and powerful enough to protect themselves. This independence also allowed the za to further its own interests, namely profit; the za began to realize at this time that they had the power to alter market prices, and began to show signs of monopolistic activity. While most used their monopoly power in retail sales of their particular trade good to consumers, some, such as

1066-524: The larger cities, more familiar to their European counterparts. The monopoly of the za was challenged during the reign of Oda Nobunaga . Later in the early 18th century, the za gained in influence by working more closely with the Tokugawa government ; this brought more centralization and a return to their monopoly power. After the Meiji restoration , the za was either replaced, eclipsed or would gradually adopt more modern forms of business, eventually giving rise to

1107-398: 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)). Many samurai , including hatamoto (a high-ranking samurai), received stipends in koku , while a few received salaries instead. The kokudaka

1148-399: The modern zaibatsu and keiretsu monopolies of the 20th century. The word za , meaning seat, pitch, or platform, was thus applied to the guilds. The name may have also come, more simply, from the idea of merchants within a guild or association sharing a seat or platform in the marketplace. Merchants would travel and transport goods in groups, for protection from bandits but also from

1189-484: The original metric system , the unit of dry volume was the stere , equal to a one-meter cube, but this is not part of the modern metric system ; the liter and the cubic meter are now used. However, the stere is still widely used for firewood . In US customary units , most units of volume exist both in a dry and a liquid version, with the same name, but different values: the dry hogshead , dry barrel , dry gallon , dry quart , dry pint , etc. The bushel and

1230-410: The primary types of trade guilds in feudal Japan . The za grew out of protective cooperation between merchants and religious authorities. They became more prominent during the Muromachi period where they would ally themselves with noble patrons, before they became more independent later in the period. The za commonly organized by locality, and not by trade in the rural areas; but grouped by trade in

1271-473: The salt dealers of Yamato Province , would purchase raw materials wholesale, entering arrangements by which they could deny other guilds and other merchants of these materials. Though mostly independent from their former patrons, many guilds still engaged in agreements for protection with noble families on a one-time, rather than permanent, basis. However, their independence and increasing power earned many za political enemies; some from their former patrons. As

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1312-411: The same as for the units used to measure liquids, despite representing different volumes. The larger volumes of the dry measures apparently arose because they were based on heaped rather than "struck" (leveled) containers. Today, many units nominally of dry measure have become standardized as units of mass (see bushel ); and many other units are commonly conflated or confused with units of mass. In

1353-420: The so-called setchū-shaku ( setchū-jaku or "compromise shaku "), measuring 302.97 mm, a middle-ground value between two different kane-jaku standards. A researcher has pointed out that the ( shin ) kyō-masu  [ ja ] cups ought to have used take-jaku which were 0.2% longer. However, the actual measuring cups in use did not quite attain the take shaku metric, and when

1394-475: The standard koku measures 6.48 cubic shaku . A lumber koku is conventionally accepted as equivalent to 120 board feet , but in practice may convert to less. In metric measures 1 lumber koku is about 278.3 litres (61.2 imp gal; 73.5 US gal). The exact measure now in use was devised around the 1620s, but not officially adopted for all of Japan until the Kanbun era (1660s). Under

1435-632: The traditional shakkanhō measuring system. The kyō-masu ( 京枡 , "Kyoto masu ") , the semi-official one shō measuring box since the late 16th century under Daimyo Nobunaga , began to be made in a different (larger) size in the early Edo period, sometime during the 1620s. Its dimensions, given in the traditional Japanese shaku length unit system, were 4 sun 9 bu square times 2 sun 7 bu depth. Its volume, which could be calculated by multiplication was: 1 koku = 100 shō = 100 × (49 bu × 49 bu × 27 bu ) = 100 × 64,827 cubic bu Although this

1476-560: The units used for measuring volumes in the metric system and liquid volumes in the imperial system but are still used for some commodities in the US customary system . They were or are typically used in agriculture , agronomy , and commodity markets to measure grain , dried beans , dried and fresh produce, and some seafood . They were formerly used for many other foods, such as salt pork and salted fish , and for industrial commodities such as coal , cement , and lime . The names are often

1517-461: The vacillating whims of samurai and the daimyō (feudal military lords). They would also enter into arrangements with temples and shrines to sell their goods on a pitch or platform in the temple's (or shrine's) grounds, placing themselves under the auspices and protection of the temple or shrine. The earliest za came into being in the 11th century, consisting not only of trade guilds, but also guilds of performers and entertainers. A woodcutters' za

1558-468: 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

1599-409: Was promulgated, it defined the shō unit as the capacity of the standard kyo-masu of 64827 cubic bu . The same act also defined the shaku length as 10 ⁄ 33 metre. The metric equivalent of the modern shō is 2401 ⁄ 1331 litres. The modern koku is therefore 240,100 ⁄ 1331 litres, or 180.39 litres. The modern shaku defined here is set to equal

1640-438: Was referred to as shin kyō-masu or the "new" measuring cup in its early days, 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 , and the Edo government passed an edict declaring the kyō-masu the official nationwide measure standard in 1669 ( Kanbun 9). When the 1891 Japanese Weights and Measures Act  [ ja ]

1681-464: 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 ) . 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 . Even in certain parts of

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