Keywords
Architecture
Measurement
Lit. "large shaku 尺." An ancient unit of length. Introduced in the Taihōryō 大宝令 codes of 701, it measured 35.6 cm, equivalent to the older Korean measure *komajaku 高麗尺. In 713 this was scaled down to approximately 30.3 cm. It was known as large shaku in comparison with the small shaku *shōshaku 小尺 of 25.25 cm. The 30.3 cm taishaku formed the basis for the *kanejaku 曲尺, which later became the standard measure of length.