In the world of kimono sewing, there are still many people who use kujira-shaku, and I am one of them.
In this article, I would like to explain how to writ Kujira-shaku without using the kanji characters for “尺(shaku),” “寸(sun),” and “分(bu).”
Basics of Kujira-shaku Scale
Kujira-shaku Units and Readings
厘：ri
分：bu
寸：sun [sún]
尺：shaku
丈：jou
*The Hepburn system is used for Japanese romanization.
Relationship of Each Unit
In the Kujira-saku scale, “分 (bu)” is the standard.
1/2 bu ＝ 5 ri
1 bu : Standard
10 bu ＝ 1 sun
100 bu ＝ 10 sun ＝ 1 shaku
1000 bu ＝ 100 sun ＝ 10 shaku ＝ 1 jou
It is easy to understand if you have a kujira-syaku monosashi (ruler).
Please take a look at our actual size kujira-shaku monosashi document #9.
You can download it from the kimono documents list.
How to Express the Kujira-shaku Scale Using Only Numbers
When expressing the kujira-shaku scale using only numbers, “分(bu)” is used as the standard.
5ri= 0.5
1bu = 1
1sun = 10
1shaku = 100
For example, it is written “4 shaku 3 sun 5 bu = 435”.
And, “435” is read as “4 shaku 3 zun 5 bu.”
Other examples
3 shaku = 300
6 sun = 60
5 bu = 5
2 bu 5 ri = 2.5
and so on.
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