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Shoumei

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Shoumei (匠明) is a 17th‑century Japanese manual on architectural design, explaining Kiwari—the system of standard measurements used in building. It was written by Yoshimasa Heinouchi and passed down to his son Masanobu Heinouchi, with a first edition published in 1608 in five scrolls. The five volumes are Monkishu (Kiwari for gates), Shakishu (Kiwari for shrines), Doukishu (Kiwari for temples), Toukishu (Kiwari for pagodas), and Den-okushu (Kiwari for residences). The oldest surviving copy belongs to the University of Tokyo and dates from between 1697 and 1727.


This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 20:12 (CET).