Shaku - Sun - Bu
Since 1891, the Japanese shaku (尺) has been defined to equal 10/33 meters (approximately 30.3 cm or 11.93 inches), or 3.3 shaku to the meter. A single shaku is divided into 10 sun (寸) or 100 bu (分).
A little while back I was surprised to learn that the AKIHO standard still uses the traditional Japanese length measurement (shaku - sun - bu) for the ideal height of a Japanese Akita. All other breed standards have converted from this unit of measurement, allowing for various rounding errors to occur. Some countries have chosen to round up and exaggerate the height of the breed. Others, including UKC/JACA, have chosen more realistic numbers that represent the living population of dogs more accurately by rounding down.
JA Males: 2 shaku 2 sun ideal, +/- 1 sun acceptable (2 shaku 1 sun - 2 shaku 3 sun)
Metric: 66.66484 cm ideal, +/- 3.03022 cm acceptable (63.63462 cm - 69.69506 cm)
Imperial: 26.246 in ideal, +/- 1.193 in acceptable (25.053 in - 27.439 in)
FCI standard: 67 cm ideal, +/- 3 cm acceptable (64 cm - 70 cm)
UKC standard: 25.5 in ideal, +/- 1.5 in acceptable (24 in - 27 in)
The FCI standard raises the minimum height by 0.36538 cm (0.14385 in) and the maximum height by 0.30494 cm (0.120055 in). The UKC standard lowers the minimum height by 1.053 in (2.67462 cm) and the maximum height by 0.439 in (1.11506 cm). There is a dramatic difference in the UKC standard, allowing males to be a full inch shorter than the imperial conversion.
JA Females: 2 shaku ideal, +/- 1 sun acceptable (1 shaku 9 sun - 2 shaku 1 sun)
Metric: 60.6044 cm ideal, +/- 3.03022 cm acceptable (57.57418 cm - 63.63462 cm)
Imperial: 23.86 in ideal, +/- 1.193 in acceptable (22.667 in - 25.053 cm)
FCI standard: 61 cm ideal, +/- 3 cm acceptable (58 cm - 64 cm)
UKC standard: 24 in ideal, +/- 1.5 in acceptable (22.5 in - 25.5 in)
The FCI standard raises the minimum height by 0.42582 cm (0.167646 in) and maximum height by 0.36538 cm (0.14385 in). The UKC standard lowers the minimum height by 0.167 in (0.42418 cm) and raises the maximum height by 0.447 in (1.13538 cm). The difference in UKC is less dramatic than males, but worth noting that UKC allows females to be taller than males which no other standard does.
I found this handy site to convert the measurements because Google does not seem to have them:
-- http://www.kampaibudokai.org/Script.htm
I am curious whether or not the other preservation societies in Japan still use the shaku and sun measurement system, and if so, what the heights of the other breeds are? How do those heights compare with the FCI, AKC, and UKC standards?
A little while back I was surprised to learn that the AKIHO standard still uses the traditional Japanese length measurement (shaku - sun - bu) for the ideal height of a Japanese Akita. All other breed standards have converted from this unit of measurement, allowing for various rounding errors to occur. Some countries have chosen to round up and exaggerate the height of the breed. Others, including UKC/JACA, have chosen more realistic numbers that represent the living population of dogs more accurately by rounding down.
JA Males: 2 shaku 2 sun ideal, +/- 1 sun acceptable (2 shaku 1 sun - 2 shaku 3 sun)
Metric: 66.66484 cm ideal, +/- 3.03022 cm acceptable (63.63462 cm - 69.69506 cm)
Imperial: 26.246 in ideal, +/- 1.193 in acceptable (25.053 in - 27.439 in)
FCI standard: 67 cm ideal, +/- 3 cm acceptable (64 cm - 70 cm)
UKC standard: 25.5 in ideal, +/- 1.5 in acceptable (24 in - 27 in)
The FCI standard raises the minimum height by 0.36538 cm (0.14385 in) and the maximum height by 0.30494 cm (0.120055 in). The UKC standard lowers the minimum height by 1.053 in (2.67462 cm) and the maximum height by 0.439 in (1.11506 cm). There is a dramatic difference in the UKC standard, allowing males to be a full inch shorter than the imperial conversion.
JA Females: 2 shaku ideal, +/- 1 sun acceptable (1 shaku 9 sun - 2 shaku 1 sun)
Metric: 60.6044 cm ideal, +/- 3.03022 cm acceptable (57.57418 cm - 63.63462 cm)
Imperial: 23.86 in ideal, +/- 1.193 in acceptable (22.667 in - 25.053 cm)
FCI standard: 61 cm ideal, +/- 3 cm acceptable (58 cm - 64 cm)
UKC standard: 24 in ideal, +/- 1.5 in acceptable (22.5 in - 25.5 in)
The FCI standard raises the minimum height by 0.42582 cm (0.167646 in) and maximum height by 0.36538 cm (0.14385 in). The UKC standard lowers the minimum height by 0.167 in (0.42418 cm) and raises the maximum height by 0.447 in (1.13538 cm). The difference in UKC is less dramatic than males, but worth noting that UKC allows females to be taller than males which no other standard does.
I found this handy site to convert the measurements because Google does not seem to have them:
-- http://www.kampaibudokai.org/Script.htm
I am curious whether or not the other preservation societies in Japan still use the shaku and sun measurement system, and if so, what the heights of the other breeds are? How do those heights compare with the FCI, AKC, and UKC standards?
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