| Author | Message | ||
     Mike Gershon |
I am looking for a translation of the Japanese word Koku, as used in the Feudal Ages of Japan. I believe it was used as a measurement of rice, and would like to know what it meant. | ||
| info |
Koku is an old unit to measure the volume of cereals or liquid. 1 koku is about 180 L and it is a merit of Toyotomi Hideyoshi to give a precise definition of this unit. An adult consumes about 1 koku of rice in a year. The rice being the principal food of Japanese, this unit was especially used to quantify the wealth of seigniors (daimyo). For example, Tokugawa shogun owned 8 million koku corresponding to 1 quarter of Japanese rice production at the beginning of Edo period. |