Convert Vara Castellana (vara castellana) to Ken (ken) instantly.
About these units
Vara Castellana (vara castellana)
The Vara Castellana is the traditional Castilian vara, approximately 0.8359 meters in length, and was widely used throughout Spain for centuries. Its application extended to construction, tailoring, agriculture, and property measurement, serving as a versatile unit bridging everyday tasks and formal documentation. The vara's influence reached Spain's colonies, where regional variations arose, adapting the unit to local measurement conventions. In architecture, artisans used the Vara Castellana to proportion buildings, plan streets, and ensure symmetry, making it central to civil and domestic design. Although no longer in practical use, the Vara Castellana remains crucial for historians, architects, and legal researchers examining pre-metric Spain and Latin America.
Ken (ken)
The ken is a traditional Japanese unit of length, typically about 1.8 meters, though historically it ranged from 1.6 to 1.9 meters depending on the era and region. The ken is deeply tied to traditional Japanese architecture, especially temple and shrine construction. In classic building design, the ken measured the spacing between pillars in wooden structures. Because Japanese architecture emphasizes modularity and harmonious proportions, the ken allowed builders to create spaces that were both structurally efficient and aesthetically consistent. Many tatami room layouts are also derived from ken-based proportions. Beyond architecture, the ken carried symbolic importance in religious and cultural contexts. Temples were often laid out using ken multiples, reinforcing a sense of order, symmetry, and sacred geometry. Even though modern Japan uses the metric system, the ken persists in the restoration and preservation of historical buildings.