In Japan, since the old times, for volume measurements was used a square wooden box called masu (枡升). Originally, the size of masu varied from a region to another, but the famous warlord Oda Nobunaga standardized them, and the base unit for volume became the 180 ml masu.

Today, masu is used almost exclusively for drinking sake, and traditionally is made of hinoki wood (Japanese Cypress). It is said that the hinoki wood gives sake a special, fresh fragrance…

Masu

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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: About Japan from… manhole covers, the Himeji white heron