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The system is Chinese in origin. The units originated in the Shang Dynasty in the 13th century BC, and eventually stabilized in the Zhou Dynasty in the 10th century BC and spread from there to Japan, South East Asia , and Korea . The units of the Tang Dynasty were officially adopted in Japan in 701, and the current ''shaku'' measurement has hardly altered since then. Many Taiwanese Units Of Measurement are derived form the ''shakkanhō'' system. From 1924 , the ''shakkanhō'' system was replaced by the Metric System , and use of the old units for official purposes was forbidden after the 31 March 1966 . However, in several instances the old system is still used. In Carpentry and Agriculture use of the old fashioned terms is common. Japanese Chisel s are manufactured in sizes of ''sun'' and ''bu''. Modern Japanese bathrooms are built in sizes which are fractions of a ''tsubo'', usually either ¾, 1, or 1¼ of a ''tsubo'' and land is sold on the basis of price in ''tsubo''. The 2005 Japanese census allowed people to give the area of their houses in either square metres or ''tsubo''. There are several different versions of the ''shakkanhō''. The tables below show the one in common use in the Edo Period . LENGTH The basis of the ''shakkanhō'' length measurements is the ''shaku'', which originated in ancient China. The other units are all fixed fractions or multiples of this basic unit. The ''shaku'' was originally the length from the thumb to the middle finger (about 18 cm, or 7 inches), but its length, and hence the length of the other units, gradually increased, since the length of the unit was related to the level of taxation. Various different ''shaku'' developed for various purposes. The unit now most widely recognized as a ''shaku'' in Japan is the , ''shaku'', the system shown in the table below. ''Kanejaku'' means "carpenter's square", and this ''shaku'' was the one used by Japanese Carpenters . The carpenter's ''shaku'', used for construction, preserved the original Chinese ''shaku'' measure, because it was never interfered with, whereas the other ''shaku'' systems, which were used for taxation or trade, were interfered with in order to increase taxation, and hence gradually varied from the original value. The , literally "whale shaku", was a standard used in the clothing industry. The name "whale shaku" comes from the measuring rulers used, which were made from Baleen . A ''kujirajaku'' is 1 1/4 the length of a ''kanejaku''. As well as the ''kanejaku'' and ''kujirajaku'' system, various other ''shaku'' systems also exist, for example the ''gofukujaku'' (呉服尺), where ''gofuku'' means traditional Japanese clothes, such as kimonos. In the ''gofukujaku'' system, one ''shaku'' is equal to 1.2 times the ''kanejaku'''s ''shaku''. In 1891, the lengths of the two most common ''shaku'' were defined in terms of the metric system: ''Shaku'' units are still used for construction materials in Japan. For example, plywood is usually manufactured in 182 cm × 91 cm (about 72 in × 36 in) sheets known in the trade as , or 3 × 6 ''shaku''. Each sheet is about the size of one Tatami mat. The thicknesses of the sheets, however, are usually measured in millimetres. The names of these units also live on in the name of the bamboo flute , literally "shaku eight", which is one ''shaku'' and eight ''sun'' in length, and the Japanese version of the Tom Thumb story, , literally "one ''sun'' boy", as well as in many Japanese Proverbs . The Shōsōin in Nara has an ivory one-shaku ruler, the . The smallest units, ''mō'', ''rin'', and ''bu'', are actually the Names Of Fractions , 1/1000, 1/100, and 1/10, respectively, which are also used as fractional units. AREA The ''tsubo'', which is essentially the area of two Tatami mats, is still commonly used in discussing land pricing in Japan. The larger units are also commonly used by Japanese farmers for discussing the sizes of fields, perhaps because most farmers in Japan are members of the older generation. VOLUME 1891 definition shō = exactly 2401/1331 Litre (l) = about 64.827 sun³ These old-fashioned units are still used, for example, in Sake production. MASS 1891 definition 1 momme = 15/4 Gram (g) The Japanese unit of mass, momme, is a recognized unit in the international pearl industry. MONEY The names of old money live on in Japanese Proverbs such as ''haya oki wa san mon no toku'', literally "Waking early gets you three ''mon''", in other words "Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." OTHER UNITS Apart from ''shakkanhō'' and the metric system, other Units are also commonly used in Japan. The most common unit found is the inch. Inches are used in the following:
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