里
Meanings
ri; Japanese league
Traditional unit of distance, about 3.927 km or 2.44 miles. Still used in historical contexts, place names, and some set phrases.
It was a journey of about three ri from Edo to Nihonbashi.
neighbourhood (ritsuryō system)
Historical administrative unit under the ritsuryō system, originally consisting of about 50 homes. Rare outside historical texts.
Under the ritsuryō system, fifty households formed one ri (neighbourhood).
unit of area (approx. 654 m × 654 m)
Historical unit of area used in the jōri system, roughly 654 meters on each side. Encountered mainly in historical geography.
See also: 条里制
In the jōri system, one ri was a square plot about 654 meters on each side.
Usage patterns
- 〈場所〉まで〈数〉里... ri (leagues) to a place
It is still ten ri to the mountain's summit.
- 千里の〈物〉a thousand-ri (very long) ...
He traveled a thousand ri to reach the capital.
Expressions
- 鳥なき里の蝙蝠in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
- 虎は千里往って千里還るa parent will do anything for their child
- 百里を行く者は九十を半ばとすdon't count your chickens before they're hatched; there's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip