Koku in the context of "Dry measure"

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⭐ Core Definition: Koku

The koku () is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. One koku is equivalent to 10 to () or approximately 180 litres (40 imp gal; 48 US gal), or 150 kilograms (330 lb) of rice. It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1,000 . One is the traditional volume of a single serving of rice (before cooking), used to this day for the plastic measuring cup that is supplied with commercial Japanese rice cookers.

The koku in Japan was typically used as a dry measure. The amount of rice production measured in koku was the metric by which the magnitude of a feudal domain (han) was evaluated. A feudal lord was only considered daimyō class when his domain amounted to at least 10,000 koku. As a rule of thumb, one koku was considered a sufficient quantity of rice to feed one person for one year.

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Koku in the context of Aizu domain

Aizu Domain (会津藩, Aizu-han) was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871.

The Aizu Domain was based at Tsuruga Castle in Mutsu Province, the core of the modern city of Aizuwakamatsu, located in the Tōhoku region of the island of Honshu. The Aizu Domain was ruled for most of its existence by the shinpan daimyō of the Aizu-Matsudaira clan, a local cadet branch of the ruling Tokugawa clan, but was briefly ruled by the tozama daimyō of the Gamō and Katō clans. The Aizu Domain was assessed under the Kokudaka system with a peak value of 919,000 koku, but this was reduced to 230,000 koku. The Aizu Domain was dissolved in the abolition of the han system in 1871 by the Meiji government and its territory was absorbed into Fukushima Prefecture, covering much of the traditional region of Aizu.

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Koku in the context of Chōshū Domain

The Chōshū Domain (長州藩, Chōshū-han), also known as the Hagi Domain (萩藩, Hagi-han), was a domain (han) of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871.

The Chōshū Domain was based at Hagi Castle in Nagato Province, in the modern city of Hagi, located in the Chūgoku region of the island of Honshu. The Chōshū Domain was ruled for its existence by the tozama daimyō of the Mōri, whose branches also ruled the neighboring Chōfu and Kiyosue domains and was assessed under the Kokudaka system with peak value of 369,000 koku. The Chōshū Domain was the most prominent anti-Tokugawa domain and formed the Satchō Alliance with the rival Satsuma Domain during the Meiji Restoration, becoming instrumental in the establishment of the Empire of Japan and the Meiji oligarchy. The Chōshū Domain was dissolved in the abolition of the han system in 1871 by the Meiji government and its territory was absorbed into Yamaguchi Prefecture.

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Koku in the context of Satsuma Domain

The Satsuma Domain (薩摩藩, Satsuma-han Ryukyuan: Sachima-han), briefly known as the Kagoshima Domain (鹿児島藩, Kagoshima-han), was a domain (han) of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871.

The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of Kagoshima, located in the south of the island of Kyushu. The Satsuma Domain was ruled for its existence by the Tozama daimyō of the Shimazu clan, who had ruled the Kagoshima area since the 1200s, and covered territory in the provinces of Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga. The Satsuma Domain was assessed under the Kokudaka system and its value peaked at 770,000 koku, the second-highest domain in Japan after the Kaga Domain.

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Koku in the context of Kokudaka

Kokudaka (石高) refers to a system for determining land value for taxation purposes under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo-period Japan, and expressing this value in terms of koku of rice.

One koku (roughly equivalent to five bushels) was generally viewed as the equivalent of enough rice to feed one person for a year. The actual revenue or income derived from a holding varied from region to region, and depended on the amount of actual control the fief holder held over the territory in question, but averaged around 40 percent of the theoretical kokudaka.

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Koku in the context of Rōjū

The Rōjū (老中), usually translated as Elder, was one of the highest-ranking government posts under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. The term refers either to individual Elders, or to the Council of Elders as a whole; under the first two shōguns, there were only two Rōjū. The number was then increased to five, and later reduced to four. The Rōjū were usually appointed from the ranks of the fudai daimyōs with domains of between 25,000 and 50,000 koku.

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Koku in the context of Kaga Domain

The Kaga Domain (加賀藩, Kaga-han), also known as the Kanazawa Domain (金沢藩, Kanazawa-han), was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1583 to 1871.

The Kaga Domain was based at Kanazawa Castle in Kaga Province, in the modern city of Kanazawa, located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshu. The Kaga Domain was ruled for its existence by the tozama daimyō of the Maeda, and covered most of Kaga Province and Etchū Province and all of Noto Province in the Hokuriku region. The Kaga Domain had an assessed kokudaka of over one million koku, making it by far the largest domain of the Tokugawa shogunate. The Kaga Domain was dissolved in the abolition of the han system in 1871 by the Meiji government and its territory was absorbed into Ishikawa Prefecture and Toyama Prefecture.

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Koku in the context of Hansatsu

During the Edo period, feudal domains of Japan issued scrip called hansatsu (藩札) for use within the domain. This paper currency supplemented the coinage of the Tokugawa shogunate. Most scrip carried a face value in silver coinage, but gold and copper scrip also circulated. In addition, some scrip was marked for exchange in kind for a commodity such as rice. In addition to those issued by the domains, forms of paper money were also issued by rice brokers in Osaka and Edo. Originally used only as a representation of amounts of rice (subdivisions of koku) owned by the scrip-holder and held in the Osaka or Edo merchants' storehouse, these scrips quickly came to be used as currency.

Japan's first banknotes, called Yamada Hagaki (山田羽書), were issued around 1600 by Shinto priests also working as merchants in the Ise-Yamada (modern Mie Prefecture), in exchange for silver. This was earlier than the first goldsmith banker notes issued in England around 1640.

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Koku in the context of Fukui Domain

The Fukui Domain (福井藩, Fukui-han), also known as the Echizen Domain (越前藩, Echizen-han), was a domain (han) of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871.

The Fukui Domain was based at Fukui Castle in Echizen Province, the core of the modern city of Fukui, located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshu. The Fukui Domain was founded by Yūki Hideyasu, the son of shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu, and was ruled for all of its existence by the shinpan daimyō of the Matsudaira clan. The Fukui Domain was assessed under the Kokudaka system and its value peaked at 680,000 koku. The Fukui Domain was dissolved in the abolition of the han system in 1871 after the Meiji Restoration and its territory was absorbed into Fukui Prefecture.

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Koku in the context of Koriki clan

The Kōriki clan (高力氏, Kōriki-shi) was a fudai samurai clan which briefly came to prominence during the Sengoku and early Edo period Japan. Kōriki Kiyonaga (1530-1608) was a hereditary retainer of the Tokugawa clan, who served Tokugawa Ieyasu as bugyō of Sunpu and was made daimyō of Iwatsuki Domain (20,000 koku) in Musashi Province in 1590 after the Tokugawa were transferred to the Kantō region by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

His son, Kōriki Tadafusa (1583–1655) distinguished himself in combat during the Battle of Sekigahara and the Siege of Osaka and was transferred to Hamamatsu Domain (35,000 koku) in Tōtōmi Province in 1619.

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