Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries

Visitors' Forum

Asian Art Forums - Reply Message
Asian Art Forums

Message Listing by Date:
Message Index | Back | Post a New Message | Search | Private Mail | FAQ
Subject:text on japanese print
Posted By: francis minvielle Wed, Jun 17, 2026 IP: 82.226.118.25
Can you tell me what the text on top is about?



Post a Reply
Name:
Email:
Group: China & Japan
Subject:
Message:
Link URL:
Enter here the complete URL of any site, page or image you would like to show other visitors.
URL Title:
Enter here the title of the link you've given above. This will appear to the visitor. Eg., if you are linking another picture, enter "Another picture". The link will not appear without a title.
Image URL:
Enter here the URL of an image if it is already uploaded on the web. The image will appear with your posting. Do not post pictures which are not yours without permission from the copyright holder. It is the responsibility of each poster to make sure they have permission to use any photos they post.
Image: You may upload up to three images. If you would like to upload more images to this message please do so by replying to this same message.

Please make sure the file type is JPEG or GIF and the filename does not contain spaces.




Use the Browse button to find an image (jpg or gif) on a local drive on your computer to upload for including with your message. Do not upload images with file names containing spaces. Please do not upload files larger than 500 KB in size. Do not post pictures which are not yours without permission from the copyright holder. It is the responsibility of each poster to make sure they have permission to use any photos they post. Check the "email notification" box below if you would like to be notified of any responses to your message.
Check here for email notification.
Security Code: Security Image: please enter the text appears in this image.

Please type in the code you see in the image directly above this input box.

Subject:Re: text on japanese print
Posted By: I.Nagy Sat, Jun 20, 2026
On the one hand, this print provides valuable insight into the economic aspects of rice consumption—which sustained people’s daily lives—at the end of the Edo period; on the other hand, it reveals the extent to which people were fascinated by large numbers.

The text on the right, citing the tax guidelines in effect at the time, states that as a general rule each person's daily ration is set at 2 go rice, cooked in the morning and evening....

In the center, the annual rice requirements are calculated on a progressive scale per population ranging from one person to 100 million. ( Note, that time Japan's population was about 30 million)
1 person 1 day morning and evening
1 month 1 sho 5 go
1 year 1 to 8 sho
10 person / year 1 koku 8 to
100 " 18 koku
1000 " 180 koku
10000 " 1800 koku
100000 " 18,000 koku
1 million " 180,000 koku
10 million " 1,800,000 koku
100 million " 18 million koku

The text on the left side is a logical explanation of "One grain ten thousandfold"... the idea that even a single grain of rice if harvested and then sown in its entity the following year, and this process repeated -will multiply into an explosive quantity.

(1 koku = 10 to = 100 sho = 10,000 go
1 Koku = 150 kg, 1 to = 15 kg, 1 sho =　1,5 kg
1 go = 150ｇ)

Reards,
I.Nagy

Subject:Re: text on japanese print
Posted By: francis minvielle Fri, Jun 26, 2026
Thanks!!

Asianart.com | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries |