jōroku 丈六

A standard height for a Buddhist statue. Abbreviation of one *jō 丈 and six shaku 尺 (approximately 480 cm or 16 feet). 1 jō = 10 shaku: 1 shaku = 30 cm or 1 foot.
A Buddhist image of this size is called jōrokuzō 丈六像 or jōrokubutsu 丈六仏. The height of a seated jōroku image is half of the standing figure, about 240 cm (8 feet).
According to Buddhist writings, an ordinary (Indian) man was four hasta (Jp: chū 肘) tall, and Buddha is twice as tall as a man. In China one hasta was translated into two shaku, and thus Buddha became 16 shaku tall. A statue of a Buddha is in principle made in conformity with this standard. The great Buddha *daibutsu 大仏 is ten times as big as jōroku, and a hanjōroku 半丈六 image is half the height of jōroku.
The principle image, honzon 本尊 of the earliest temple establishment in Japan, called Asuka Daibutsu 飛鳥大仏 of Hōkōji 法興寺 (datable to 609) Nara, was made to the jōroku measure. Following this tradition, the principal statue in major Japanese temples is often of the jōroku size. One of the best example is the Amida Nyoraizō 阿弥陀如来像 in Byōdōin *Hōōdō 平等院鳳凰堂 (1053), Kyoto.