kan (old unit of weight, about 3.75 kg)
Historical unit of weight used in Japan until the early 20th century. One kan equals 1000 monme (匁), approximately 3.75 kg or 8.3 lb.
I ate two pieces of tuna sushi.
In the Edo period, one bale of rice weighed four kan.
Historical currency unit. In the Edo period, one kan was equivalent to 1000 mon (文). In the early Meiji period, it was briefly redefined as 10 mon.
I heard the goodwill of that shop cost 100 kan.
counter for pieces of sushi
Used in sushi restaurants to count individual pieces of nigiri or maki. One piece is 一貫 (いっかん).
Two pieces of tuna, please.
10 or 12 points (in hanafuda)
In hanafuda, a scoring unit. Depending on the specific game or regional rules, one kan may equal 10 points or 12 points. Often used in expressions like 貫を取る.
In hanafuda, getting the Five Brights gives you ten kan.
They say he weighs about fifteen kan.
I was able to score a kan with this hand.
匁 is a smaller traditional weight unit, with 1貫 equal to 1000匁.
consistency; coherence; integration · one kan (approx. 3.75 kg) · one piece of sushi
presence; dignity; gravitas · corpulence; obesity
charge with a shout; rush forward · rushing work; working at full speed · penetration; piercing
accomplishment; realization; carrying through · penetration; pervasion
mangan; win worth 8000 points (12000 if dealer)
running through; traversing lengthwise
penetration; permeation · intrusion (geology) · crazing; crackle (ceramics)
penetration; passing through; piercing through · being well versed in; having thorough knowledge of
truck scale; weighbridge
The kanji 貫 originally meant 'to pierce' or 'string together,' referring to a string of coins. The weight unit derives from the weight of a standard string of coins.
borrowing new scoring counters during a hanafuda game
registered domicile (ritsuryō period); hometown
traversing horizontally; passing through laterally; running east to west
weighing; platform scales
chief abbot (of a Buddhist temple)
crazing; crackle
registered domicile in the family register · being under the control of a local authority
score counter for multiples of kan