‖ shaku
(ˈʃaku)
Also 8 sackf, sak, saku. Pl. same.
[Jap., ad. Chinese chǐ a foot.]
1. A Japanese measure of length, equal to 11·9 inches (30·3 cm.); (see also quot. 1974).
| 1727 J. G. Scheuchzer tr. Kæmpfer's Hist. Japan i. xi. 136 One Sackf and a half long. Ibid. ii. iv. 180 Snow..to the height of four Sak and five Suns, that is about four foot and a half. Ibid. iii. vi. 246 His Stature..of nine Saku, and nine Suns, proportionable to the greatness of his Genius. 1878 Trans. Asiatic Soc. Japan VI. ii. 249 The seismograph consisted of a copper vessel, whose diameter was 8 shaku or feet. 1884 tr. J. J. Rein's Japan ii. 415 The interval of three shaku (1 metre). 1893 E. Arnold Adzuma i. i. 2 He could..run so fleetly that a cord of thirty shaku, tied to his waist, would stream in a straight line behind him. 1974 Encycl. Brit. Micropædia IX. 106/3 Shaku, a unit of length, area, and volume in Japan, equivalent to 10/33 metre, 3·306 square decimetres, and 18·039 cubic centimetres. |
2. A flat baton made of wood or horn, a little over a foot in length, upon which a Japanese court noble formerly would note memoranda, but later carried as a mark of honour in the presence of the emperor, or by the emperor himself.
| 1875 F. V. Dickins tr. Chiushingura (1876) 208 'Twas the Emperor's whim That the tree should from him Have a shaku with Ta-iu writ on. 1880 Trans. Asiatic Soc. Japan VIII. 351 A short staff called the Shaku, which was generally held vertical in the right hand. 1894 C. M. Salwey Fans of Japan 6 The shaku..was a stick in the shape of the outside frame of a folding fan, about two feet in length, about an inch and a half to two inches at the top, decreasing at the base to about one inch. 1928 Daily Express 12 Nov. 3/7 The Emperor, after seating himself on the throne, was presented with the small wooden baton (shaku) which is a traditional symbol of authority found in many Shinto rites. |