Traditional unit for measuring cloth, especially kimono fabric. One tan is a bolt about 28.8 cm wide; the length varies by garment type (at least 10 m for kimono, 7.27 m for haori, 6.06 m for other clothes).
Traditional land-area unit equal to about 991.74 m² (approx. 0.245 acres). Still used in some rural and real-estate contexts.
This rice paddy is one tan in area.
Length unit equal to 6 ken (about 10.91 m). Rarely used independently; mostly encountered in historical or specialized contexts.
To make a kimono, you need one tan of cloth.
One tan equals six ken, or about 10.9 meters.
I bought three tan of cloth to have a kimono made.
My parents' house has five tan of rice paddy.
間 is a traditional unit of length (about 1.82 m), and six 間 make up one 反 when 反 is used as a length unit.
匹 can count rolls of cloth in old or specialized textile usage, while 反 is the everyday unit for measuring kimono fabric.
fabric; cloth; textiles · measure of kimono material; bolt of kimono cloth
one-tenth hectare; approx. 991.74 m²
reduction of crop acreage; acreage reduction
original fabric; whole cloth
acreage; land area · marking off fields in tan units
Standard kanji for the unit of cloth length.
Kana spelling is sometimes used in modern contexts to avoid kanji confusion.
Alternate kanji for the land-area unit; 反 is more common.
The kanji 反 originally meant 'to oppose' or 'to return', but its use as a unit of measurement is a borrowing from Chinese, where it was used for land area. The cloth-length meaning developed in Japan. The alternate kanji 段 is sometimes used for the land unit.