Journal of the Text Encoding Initiative
Issue 12 | July 2019 - May 2020

Selected Papers from the 2017 TEI Conference

Toward a Model for Marking up Non-SI Units andMeasurements
Naoki Kokaze, Kiyonori Nagasaki, Makoto Gotō, Yuta Hashimoto, A.
Charles Muller and Masahiro Shimoda

Electronic version
URL: http://journals.openedition.org/jtei/1996
DOI: 10.4000/jtei.1996
ISSN: 2162-5603
Publisher
TEI Consortium
Electronic reference
Naoki Kokaze, Kiyonori Nagasaki, Makoto Gotō, Yuta Hashimoto, A. Charles Muller and Masahiro
Shimoda, « Toward a Model for Marking up Non-SI Units and Measurements », Journal of the Text
Encoding Initiative [Online], Issue 12 | July 2019 - May 2020, Online since 29 June 2019, connection on
26 June 2020. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/jtei/1996 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/jtei.1996

For this publication a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license has been granted by theauthor(s) who retain full copyright.

Toward a Model for Marking up Non-SI Units and Measurements

Toward a Model for Marking up Non-SI
Units and Measurements
Naoki Kokaze, Kiyonori Nagasaki, Makoto Gotō, Yuta Hashimoto, A. Charles Muller,
and Masahiro Shimoda

SVN keywords: $Id: jtei-kokaze-177-source.xml 826 2019-09-06 00:55:53Z ron $ABSTRACTThis paper presents a markup model for encoding non-SI units and measurements. Historical texts
contain many examples of compound measurements, composed of sets of units and numericalcomponents. Instead of using the <measure> element, which requires a single set of @unit and@quantity, we propose a newly dened set of tags for encoding idiosyncratic measurement

semantics, namely <unitDecl> (model.encodingDescPart), <unitDef> (model.global andcontained by <unitDecl>), <unit> (model.measureLike), and a relevant attribute @factor (whichshows factors of numerical values given in a referenced <unit> element). All of these elements andattributes will be included in the TEI P5 Guidelines, and they are especially useful when encoding

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Toward a Model for Marking up Non-SI Units and Measurements

units that are not based on the decimal system. Though this paper oers example encodings basedon a Japanese historical source, the Engi-Shiki, this model is also applicable to the markup of units
used for measurement within various cultural spheres other than Japan.

INDEX
Keywords: non-SI units and measurements, TEI ODD, TEI customization, Engi-Shiki, factor attribute

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank all the researchers who engaged in the discussion to develop the markup
model, both at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the TEI Consortium and on the TEI Consortium
GitHub site, especially Elisa Beshero-Bondar, Dario Kampkaspar, Duncan Paterson, Laurent
Romary, and James Cummings. Kathryn Tomasek deserves the greatest acknowledgment for her
encouragement and for inviting us to join the research project MEDEA (Modeling semantically
Enriched Digital Edition of Accounts).
The project reported in this paper is funded by the National Institute of Japanese Literature andthe National Museum of Japanese History, and supported by the Japan Society for the Promotionof Science Grant-in-Aid for Scientic Research (S), “Construction of a New Knowledge Base for
Buddhist Studies: Presentation of an Advanced Model for the Next Generation of Humanities
Research,” represented by Professor Masahiro Shimoda at the University of Tokyo.

1. Introduction
1.1 Research Aim
1This paper presents a markup model for encoding units and measurements which are not based on
the International System of Units (SI). The TEI P5 Guidelines recommend the use of the <measure>element, which requires a single @unit and @quantity (TEI Consortium 2018, “ <measure> ”)1 formarking up the units used for measurement. But the main issue we address in this paper isthat some historical units and measurements cannot be encoded in a single <measure> element
because they are compounds containing a set of variable units and numerical components. A
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Toward a Model for Marking up Non-SI Units and Measurements

typical example of the compound unit would be a British imperial length measurement, suchas 3 yds 2 ft 11 in (3 yards, 2 feet, and 11 inches). The same issue arises with the Japanese
historical measurements, as we can see from examples in the Engi-Shiki, which was compiled as anadministrative manual in ancient Japan around the tenth century CE (Bock 1970). Figure 1 provides
an example of the compound units used to measure the weight of copper. In this text, there arevariable units, namely ⽄ kin, 両 ryō, 分 bu, and 銖 shu. They were not based on the decimal system,

since 1 ⽄ kin was equal to 16 両 ryō, 1 両 ryō was 4 分 bu, and 1 分 was 6 銖 shu. In this example,“銅⼆千五百⼗六⽄⼗両⼆分四銖 (Copper 2516 kin 10 ryō 2 bu 4 shu)” shows a specic weight
expressed using these four dierent units.

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Toward a Model for Marking up Non-SI Units and Measurements

Figure 1. Sample description of a compound measurement for copper in the Engi-Shiki.

National Museum of Japanese History.

2

In order to encode such compound units, we propose three new elements and one new
attribute: <unitDecl> (model.encodingDescPart), <unitDef> (model.global and contained by<unitDecl>), <unity> (model.measureLike), and a relevant attribute @factor (which shows

factors of numerical values given in a referenced <unit> element), so that we can clarify the
relations among the units in the <teiHeader>. All of these will be included in the TEI P5 Guidelines
in due course, and the ODD File for them will be described in detail later in this paper.
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Toward a Model for Marking up Non-SI Units and Measurements

1.2 Further Implications
3

Although this paper provides a markup model based on a Japanese historical source, this model alsoenables us to encode idiosyncratic systems of measurement within various cultural spheres otherthan Japan. This set of tags is useful for encoding units that are not based on the decimal systemor whose unit conversion system changed over time. For instance, conversion relations among theEnglish coal measures keel, chalder, and bushel had changed between the fteenth century andthe implementation of the Imperial Weights and Measures Act of 1824 (gure 2).
Figure 2. Pre-Imperial English coal measures (Zupko 1977, 144, 151).

The sample encoding of these units will be provided in section 4.2. below.

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Toward a Model for Marking up Non-SI Units and Measurements

4

Since texts related to measurement indicate such regional and chronological dierences, it isnecessary to mark up the original historical gures as precisely as possible. The new markup model
enables us to express the complex and changing semantics of the units and measurements.

2. Project-based Discussion
2.1 Our Project5

In this section, we describe the outline of our project—marking up the texts of the Engi-Shiki—andcompare it with other related projects and previous studies.

6

Delmer Brown, an American scholar of the Engi-Shiki, describes it as “a 50-volume work compiled

between … 907 and 927 [CE]. The rst 10 volumes are Imperial Shinto regulations (jingi 神祇) andthe last 40 are codications of criminal (ritsu 律) and administrative (ryō 令) law” (UC Berkeley2010). According to one of the most inuential researchers on ancient Japanese history, Toshiya

Torao, the Engi-Shiki contains a wide range of detailed regulations on society and administration
during the period from the Nara to the Heian era (eighth to thirteenth centuries). For instance,
the text lists rituals and festivals held in various parts of Japan, the designation of oerings madeat rituals, tributes and taxes paid to the Ritsuryō government, and allocation of Shōzei and Kugai(rice plants used as a kind of fund which were distributed to each administrative county). To put
it simply, by consulting the Engi-Shiki, we can grasp various aspects of both state administrationand daily life in ancient Japan (Torao 1995).
7

But there is a historiographical problem. Because so many elements of interest are describedin such rich detail, previous research based on the Engi-Shiki has tended to be subdivided intovery specialized and partial studies. For example, Sakamoto (1979–1980) comprehensively lists the
products of each administrative county; Fukushima (1971) and Ōsumi (1996) focus on the aquatic
products; Satō (2012) examines the dairy products; papers and paper manufacturing are the focal
point of Ōkawa and Masuda (1981); and Miyahara (2014) traces the records related to abalone,which was the most circulated food at that time. This subdivision and specialization makes it
dicult to verify quantitative analyses, because there is no text database in which researchers
could search for numerical values attached to specic products and items.

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Toward a Model for Marking up Non-SI Units and Measurements

8

Our research project has been working to provide a possible solution to this problem. Oneof our aims is to formulate a text database enabling historians, according to their individualinterests, to extract numerical values by making use of various machine-processable data onsociety and administration in ancient Japan. One similar research project, the Japanese Historical
Text Initiative (JHTI), based at the Center for Japanese Studies at the University of California,
Berkeley, oers digitized text of the rst ten volumes of the Engi-Shiki text in Japanese and in
English translation along with page images of the manuscript volumes (UC Berkeley 2010). Our
project will provide TEI-based text and numerical values attached to the various kinds of products
and items, comprehensively covering all fty volumes of the Engi-Shiki. For this purpose, we haveproposed expanding the functionality of the <measure> element (Kokaze and Nagasaki 2016).2

2.2 Basic Structure of the Engi-Shiki
9

We have based our project on the ⼟御⾨ Tsuchimikado version of the Engi-Shiki (Kokuritsu Rekishi
Minzoku Hakubutsukan Kanzō Shiryō Henshūkai 2000–).

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Toward a Model for Marking up Non-SI Units and Measurements

Figure 3. Sample passages from the Engi-Shiki, from volume 1 四時祭式 Shijisai-Shiki.

National Museum of Japanese History.

10

The basic structure of the Engi-Shiki has a simple hierarchy which goes down from 式 shiki to 条
jou. So, we mark up the sample passage of the Engi-Shiki, shown in gure 3, using nested <div>
elements, as follows:

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Example 1. Basic structure of the Engi-Shiki encoding.
<body><div ana="四時祭上" n="1" type="式" subtype="条"><head type="式名">四時祭上</head><div type="条" n="1.1"><head type="条名">祭祀⼤中⼩</head><p>凡践祚⼤嘗祭為⼤祀、祈年・⽉次・神嘗・新嘗・賀茂等祭為中祀、⼤忌・⾵神・鎮花・三枝・相嘗・鎮魂・鎮⽕・道饗・薗・韓神・松尾・平野・春⽇・⼤原野等祭為⼩祀、〈⾵神祭已上、並諸司斎之、鎮花
祭已下、祭官斎之、但⼩祀祭官斎者、内裏不斎、其遣勅使之祭者斎之、〉</p></div><div type="条" n="1.2"><head type="条名">祭⽇</head><p>凡祈年祭⼆⽉四⽇、⼤忌・⾵神祭並四⽉・七⽉四⽇、⽉次祭六⽉・⼗⼆⽉⼗⼀⽇、神嘗祭九⽉⼗⼀⽇、 其⼦・午・卯・⾣等⽇祭、各載本条、⾃余祭不定⽇者、臨時択⽇祭之、⼆⽉祭</p></div><!-- the rest of the contents --></div></body>Table 1. Descriptions of the basic structural markup.

Element
div

Description

@type

式

Nests a <head> element and several <div>
elements; @ana and @n provide the name andthe index number of the 式; @subtype="条"

makes the hierarchical relation between 式 &条 clearhead

式名Includes the 式 Shiki’s Namediv

条

Nests a <head> element and a <p> element; @ngives the index number of the 条 within the 式,
using “.” as the delimiter (e.g., n="1.2")

head

条名

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Includes the 条 Jou’s Name

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Toward a Model for Marking up Non-SI Units and Measurements

Contains the main text of each 条 Joup

11Marking up the basic structure of the Engi-Shiki in this way allows an overview of the tree structureof the source, using the Oxygen XML Editor’s “Grid” mode, for example.

3. Markup Examples Based on TEI P5
3.1 Deﬁning Measurement in the <teiHeader>
12

Having outlined the basic document structure of the Engi-Shiki, we can return to the encoding of
the denitions of non-SI units. Needless to say, TEI provides tags for taxonomies and classication(TEI Consortium 2018, “ <classDecl> ”).3 If you want to categorize and dene non-SI units, you can
express them by the descendent elements of <encodingDesc>, as follows:
Example 2. A taxonomy of non-SI units.
<encodingDesc><classDecl><taxonomy><bibl>units of measuring weight</bibl><category xml:id="⽄"><catDesc>⽄is a unit measuring weight and equal to 16両.</catDesc></category><category xml:id="両"><catDesc>両is a unit measuring weight and equal to 4分.</catDesc></category><category xml:id="分"><catDesc>分is a unit measuring weight and equal to 6銖.</catDesc></category><category xml:id="銖"><catDesc>銖is a unit measuring weight.</catDesc></category></taxonomy></classDecl></encodingDesc>

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Toward a Model for Marking up Non-SI Units and Measurements

13

In this way, relations among non-SI units of measurement might be described in a human-readableway, within the <catDesc> element. However, it is dicult to express the unit conversion systemamong the measurements in a machine-readable way, especially when those units are not basedon the decimal system.

3.2 Inline Markup
14

Instead of dening the unit conversion system in the <teiHeader>, we could encode the compound
measurements in the form of inline markup, as Cummings and Wilcox (2013, sec. 7) show in thisexample of encoding a value in old English money:4
Example 3. Old English money, as encoded by Cummings and Wilcox (2013).
<seg type="fee" rend="roman-numerals aligned-right"><num type="totalPence" value="1240"><!--orig: vli iijs iiijd --><num type="poundsAsPence" value="1200">v<hi rend="superscript">li</hi></num><num type="shillingsAsPence" value="36">iij<hi rend="superscript">s</hi></num><num type="pence" value="4">iiij<hi rend="superscript">d</hi></num></num></seg>

15

One of the important points of their markup is the use of nested <num> elements with @type
attributes, indicating “vli iijs iiijd” as a compound unit, not as separated units. Although thisexample is inspiring for our project, we would prefer not to store converted numerical values in@value attributes; we would rather keep the original data when it comes to inline markup. The

reason for this is that the unit conversion system has altered over time, as in the case of the British
coal measures shown in gure 2.

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Toward a Model for Marking up Non-SI Units and Measurements

4. Markup Model
4.1 Elements and Attributes for Expressing the Metrological Semantics
16

In order to structure, in the <teiHeader>, a wide variety of measurement semantics within eachof the historical documents, we propose a new set of elements and attributes. To take an example
from the Engi-Shiki, the following is a denition of ⽄, 両, 分, and 銖, all of which are units

for measuring weight. For the sake of readability, we omit the compulsory <fileDesc> element.
Customized elements and attributes are <unitDecl>, <unitDef>, <unit>, and @factor.
Example 4. Proposed usage of <unitDecl>.
<encodingDesc><unitDecl><unitDef xml:id="⽄" type="weight"><label xml:lang="ja">⽄</label><label xml:lang="ja-Latn">kin</label><unit ref="#両" factor="16"/><desc xml:lang="en">⽄is a unit measuring weight and equivalent to 16両.</

desc></unitDef><unitDef xml:id="両" type="weight"><label xml:lang="ja">両</label><label xml:lang="ja-Latn">ryō</label><unit ref="#分" factor="4"/><desc xml:lang="en">両is a unit measuring weight and equivalent to 4分.</desc></unitDef><unitDef xml:id="分" type="weight"><label xml:lang="ja">分</label><label xml:lang="ja-Latn">bu</label><unit ref="#銖" factor="6"/><desc xml:lang="en">分is a unit measuring weight and equivalent to 6銖.</desc></unitDef><unitDef xml:id="銖" type="weight"><label xml:lang="ja">銖</label><label xml:lang="ja-Latn">shu</label><desc xml:lang="en">銖is a unit measuring weight.</desc></unitDef>

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17

Here, the <encodingDesc> contains a <unitDecl> element that declares information about themeasurement semantics in that source, and nests <unitDef> as the compulsory child. In this<unitDef> element, we can dene the identier and the purpose of a unit by using @xml:id and@type attributes respectively. The <label> and <desc> elements contained by the <unitDef> canbe used to describe how a unit of measurement is used in the source and give some information
about that unit. Inside the <unitDef> we nd the <unit> element, which was originally suggested
by Laurent Romary on the TEI Consortium GitHub repository.5 Though we have beneted fromhis contribution in developing our markup model, his approach deals mainly with examples of inline markup within the <body> element. However, the proposed <unit> element can reasonably
be used in the <teiHeader> to indicate the relationship of the conversion between units, alongwith @factor, which shows the numerical formula. Together, these elements enable us to markup units that, in their original forms surviving in the historical nancial records, are not basedon decimal notation.

4.2 ODD File18

We propose the following TEI ODD specications6 for marking up units:
Example 5. Proposed ODD speciﬁcation for marking up units.
<elementSpec ident="unit" ns="http://www.example.org/ns/nonTEI" mode="add"><desc>contains a symbol, a word or a phrase referring to a unit of measurement
in any kind of formal or informal system.</desc><classes><memberOf key="model.measureLike"/><memberOf key="att.canonical"/><memberOf key="att.global"/><memberOf key="att.typed"/></classes><content><macroRef key="macro.paraContent"/></content><attList>
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Toward a Model for Marking up Non-SI Units and Measurements<attDef ident="factor" mode="add"><desc>shows factors of numerical values given in a referenced <gi>unit</gi>
element</desc><datatype><dataRef key="teidata.numeric"/></datatype></attDef></attList></elementSpec><elementSpec ident="unitDef" ns="http://www.example.org/ns/nonTEI" mode="add"><desc>contains descriptive information related to certain unit.</desc><classes><memberOf key="model.global"/><memberOf key="att.global"/><memberOf key="att.datable"/><memberOf key="att.canonical"/><memberOf key="att.typed"/></classes><content><alternate maxOccurs="unbounded"><elementRef key="unit" minOccurs="1"/><classRef key="model.labelLike"/></alternate></content></elementSpec><elementSpec ident="unitDecl" ns="http://www.example.org/ns/nonTEI" mode="add"><desc> (unit declarations) provides information about non-SI (the International
System of Units) units and measurement.</desc><classes><memberOf key="model.encodingDescPart"/><memberOf key="att.global"/></classes><content><elementRef key="unitDef" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="unbounded"/></content></elementSpec>

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Toward a Model for Marking up Non-SI Units and Measurements

19

Among these denitions in this ODD File, we need to explain why we choose att.datable in the<unitDef> element. In order to illustrate the reason for this choice, we provide a sample encodingof the conversional transition within the English coal measures mentioned in section 1.2 above:
Example 6. Encoding of the conversions relating to English coal measures.
<encodingDesc><unitDecl><unitDef xml:id="keel_prev" type="coal_measure" from="1421" to="1676"><label xml:lang="en">keel</label><unit ref="#chalder_prev" factor="20"/><desc>In England, keel was a unit for measuring coal and equal to 20 chalders
from 1421– 1676.</desc></unitDef><unitDef xml:id="chalder_prev" type="currency"><label xml:lang="en">chalder</label><unit ref="#bushel_prev" factor="32" from="1421" to="1676"/><unit ref="#bushel_new" factor="36" from="1676" to="1824"/><desc>In England, chalder was a unit for measuring coal and equal to 32
bushels from 1421–1676 and equivalent to 36 bushels from 1676–1824.</desc></unitDef><unitDef xml:id="bushel_prev" type="currency"><label xml:lang="en">bushel</label><desc>In England, bushel was a unit for measuring coal.</desc></unitDef><unitDef xml:id="keel_new" type="coal_measure" from="1676" to="1824"><label xml:lang="en">keel</label><unit ref="#chalder_new" factor="12"/><desc>In England, keel was a unit for measuring coal and equivalent to 12
chalders from 1676–1824.</desc></unitDef><unitDef xml:id="chalder_new" type="currency"><label xml:lang="en">chalder</label><unit ref="#bushel_new" factor="36" from="1676" to="1824"/><desc>In England, chalder was a unit for measuring coal and equivalent to 36
bushels from 1676–1824.</desc></unitDef><unitDef xml:id="bushel_new" type="currency"><label xml:lang="en">bushel</label>
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Toward a Model for Marking up Non-SI Units and Measurements<desc>In England, bushel was a unit for measuring coal, whose conversion
formula was changed chronologically.</desc></unitDef></unitDecl></encodingDesc>

4.3 Markup Solutions
20

Finally, we present two markup examples of a passage in the Engi-Shiki. First we encode the passage
based on the current TEI P5 Guidelines, using the <measure> element and the @unit attribute,and then we demonstrate an example using <unit> elements within the <body> texts. These two
examples do not necessarily dier from each other except in encoding, but both refer to the@xml:id attribute dened in the <unitDef>.

21

The text shown below is a part of the section describing regulation of taxes imposed upon the two
administrative counties, 備中 Bicchū and ⻑⾨ Nagato. In this case, the taxes were paid annuallyto the contemporary Ritsuryō government in copper 銅 and lead 鉛 mineral resources.
Example 7. Current scheme, <measure> with @unit attribute.
<div ana="主税上" n="26.95" type="条"><head type="条名">鋳銭年料</head><p>

凡鋳銭年料銅鉛者、<placeName xml:id="備中国">備中国</placeName><measure commodity="銅" xml:id="備中_主税_銅" quantity="800" unit="#⽄">
銅⼋百⽄</measure>、<placeName xml:id="⻑⾨国">⻑⾨国</placeName><measure commodity="銅" xml:id="⻑⾨_主税_銅" type="whole">銅<measure quantity="2516" unit="#⽄" type="each">⼆千五百⼗六⽄</measure><measure quantity="10" unit="#両" type="each">⼗両</measure><measure quantity="2" unit="#分" type="each">⼆分</measure><measure quantity="4" unit="#銖" type="each">四銖</measure></measure>、<measure commodity="鉛" xml:id="⻑⾨_主税_鉛" type="whole">鉛<measure quantity="1516" unit="#⽄" type="each">千五百⼗六⽄</measure><measure quantity="10" unit="#両" type="each">⼗両</measure><measure quantity="2" unit="#分" type="each">⼆分</measure><measure quantity="4" unit="#銖" type="each">四銖</measure></measure>、

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Toward a Model for Marking up Non-SI Units and Measurements</p></div>

22

There are some points worth mentioning in this markup example. In the <div> element, we provide
metadata about the passage, using the relevant default TEI attributes. These attributes explain thatthe text contained by the <div> element is the 95th passage of the 26th volume of the Engi-Shiki, 主
税上 Shuzei-no-Jō. 鋳銭年料 Chūsen Nenryō, the passage title, means the annual tax in the formof minted currency. Three <measure> elements that have the @commodity attribute contain one ormore variable units and numerical components. In the second and third examples, we describe
the relationship of the compound measurement, using @type="whole" and @type="each", inspiredby Cummings and Wilcox (2013). Note that in this markup example we avoid using <measureGrp>
elements as parent elements of <measure type="each"/> elements, because the TEI P5 Guidelines
recommend using <measureGrp> when marking up a group of dimensional specications (TEI
Consortium 2018, “ <measureGrp> ”).7
23

Or, to mark up each of the units separately, <unit> elements can be used in the inline markup, as
follows:
Example 8. Using <unit> element.
<div ana="主税上" n="26.95" type="条"><head ana="鋳銭年料"/><p>

凡鋳銭年料銅鉛者、<placeName xml:id="備中国">備中国</placeName><measure commodity="銅" xml:id="備中_主税_銅">銅<num value="800">⼋百</num><unit ref="#⽄">⽄</unit></measure>、<placeName xml:id="⻑⾨国">⻑⾨国</placeName><measure commodity="銅" xml:id="⻑⾨_主税_銅" type="whole">銅<measure type="each"><num value="2516">⼆千五百⼗六</num><unit ref="#⽄">⽄</unit></measure><measure type="each"><num value="10">⼗</num><unit ref="#両">両</unit></measure><measure type="each"><num value="2">⼆</num><unit ref="#分">分</unit></measure><measure type="each"><num value="4">四</num><unit ref="#銖">銖</unit></measure></measure>、<measure commodity="鉛" xml:id="⻑⾨_主税_鉛" type="whole">鉛Journal of the Text Encoding Initiative, Issue 12, 29/06/2019
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Toward a Model for Marking up Non-SI Units and Measurements<measure type="each"><num value="1516">千五百⼗六</num><unit ref="#⽄">⽄</unit></measure><measure type="each"><num value="10">⼗</num><unit ref="#両">両</unit></measure><measure type="each"><num value="2">⼆</num><unit ref="#分">分</unit></measure><measure type="each"><num value="4">四</num><unit ref="#銖">銖</unit></measure></measure></p></div>

24

In this example, three <measure> elements that have the @commodity attribute contain one or more<num> and <unit> elements as sibling elements. Each <measure> element shows a specic weightof the mineral resource as a whole, using @type="whole". We store actual values in the @value
attribute in the <num> elements in the form of Arabic gures so that we can easily extract themusing XSLT or other programming languages.

5. Conclusion
25

This paper proposes a markup model and gives examples for encoding non-SI units andmeasurements, based on our work with the Engi-Shiki. Historically, there have been many examples
of compound measurement which require sets of various units and numerical components, so wehave to consider how to encode them. Of course, the TEI P5 Guidelines oer us possible solutions,such as dening the taxonomies of measurement in the <classDecl> and providing nested <num>or <measure> elements in the form of inline markup. But the major limitation of those solutions isthat they are not amenable to machine processing based on the unit conversion system.

26

Among the components of our proposal, @factor and attributes from the att.datable class (e.g.,@from, @to) within the <unitDef> element are the most eective for the purpose of describing themeasurement semantics. As the example of the English coal measures keel, chalder, and bushel
shows, the unit conversion formula is subject to change over time even within the same country.
Therefore, it would be a reasonable practice when encoding non-SI units and measurements todescribe the unit conversion formula with @factor between variable units, capturing the dating
context with @from and @to in the <unitDef>.
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27

We note in closing that our interest in encoding units of measurement is shared by other membersof the TEI consortium and we look forward to further discussion.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bock, Felicia G. 1970. Engi-Shiki: Procedures of the Engi Era. Tokyo: Sophia University.
Cummings, James, and Pip Willcox. 2013. “Stationers’ Register Online: A Case Study of a ByteReduced TEI Schema for Digitization (tei_corset).” Journal of the Text Encoding Initiative 6. http://
journals.openedition.org/jtei/926; DOI: 10.4000/jtei.926.
Fukushima, Yoshikazu. 1971. “Kodai Shokoku Kōnō Suisanbutsu no Bumpu ni tsuite: Sono Rekishi
Chirigakuteki Kōsatsu [The Geographical Distribution of the Sea Products in the Ancient Empire ofJapan].” Jinbun Chiri [Human Geography], 23 (5): 495–525. DOI: 10.4200/jjhg1948.23.495.
Kokaze, Naoki, and Kiyonori Nagasaki. 2016. “Extensibility of ‘Transactionography’ for Multilingual Historical
Financial Records.” Presented at the MEDEA Spring Meeting at Wheaton College, Norton, MA, April 7–8,
2016. Abstract available at https://medea.hypotheses.org/478.
Kokuritsu Rekishi Minzoku Hakubutsukan Kanzō Shiryō Henshūkai. 2000–. Engi-Shiki. Kyoto: Rinsen Shoten.
Miyahara, Takeo. 2014. Kodai Tōgoku no Chōyō to Nōmin [Tax and peasantry in the ancient eastern counties of Japan].
Tokyo: Iwata Shoin.
Ōkawa, Akinori, and Katsuhiko Masuda. 1981. “Seishi ni kannsuru Kodai Gijutsu no Kenkyū [Technical study
on paper making in the Nara Period (7–8th century)].” Hozon Kagaku [Science for Conservation] 20: 43–56.
Includes an abstract in English. http://www.tobunken.go.jp/~ccr/pdf/20/pdf/02007.pdf.
Ōsumi, Akiko. 1996. “Ritsuryōsei-ka ni okeru Kenkō Fukyū no Jittai: Kaisanbutsu no Kōnō Tanni wo Chūshin
toshite [On the Popularization of Weights under the Ritsuryo Regime: Focusing on the Units of theAquatic Products as Tributes].” Shiron [Historica] 49: 22–44.
Sakamoto, Shintarō. 1979–1980. “Engi-Shiki kara mita Shokoku no Sambutsu Hyō [Lists of the Products of EachCounty in the Engi-Shiki].” Waseda Shogaku [Waseda Commercial Review] 281: 79–130; 284: 1–32.
Satō, Kentarō. 2012. “Kodai Nihon no Gyūnyū/Nyūseihin no Riyō to Kōshin Taisei ni tsuite [Milk and its byproducts as oerings under Japan’s ancient contribution system].” Kansai Daigaku Tōzai Gakujutsu Kenkyū
Kiyō [Bulletin of the Institute of Oriental and Occidental Studies, Kansai University] 45: 47–65.
Tomasek, Kathryn, and Syd Bauman. 2013. “Encoding Financial Records for Historical Research.” Journal of the
Text Encoding Initiative 6. http://journals.openedition.org/jtei/895; DOI: 10.4000/jtei.895.
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Torao, Toshiya. 1995. Engi-Shiki. Vol. 8 of Nihon Rekishi Sōsho [Series on Japanese History], edited by Nihon Rekishi
Gakkai [The Japanese Historical Association]. Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kōbunkan.
TEI Consortium. 2018. TEI P5: Guidelines for Electronic Text Encoding and Interchange. Version 3.4.0. Last updated
July 23. N. p.: TEI Consortium. https://tei-c.org/Vault/P5/3.4.0/doc/tei-p5-doc/en/html/.
UC Berkeley (University of California, Berkeley). Engi Shiki. Japanese Historical Text Initiative. https://jhti.berkeley.edu/Engi%20shiki.html.
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Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.

NOTES
1

https://www.tei-c.org/Vault/P5/3.4.0/doc/tei-p5-doc/en/html/ref-measure.html.

2

We have been greatly inspired by the projects of the MEDEA Workshop, which deal with themarkup modeling of historical nancial records (Tomasek and Bauman 2013). We hope the futureachievements of our project will be useful for their projects, as well.
3

https://www.tei-c.org/Vault/P5/3.4.0/doc/tei-p5-doc/en/html/ref-classDecl.html.

4

https://journals.openedition.org/jtei/926#tocto1n7.

5“Add new element <unit>,” opened by @laurentromary May 20, 2016, https://github.com/TEIC/TEI/issues/1461.
6

The ODD le and encoding examples are current at the time of writing, and are underconsideration by the TEI Council.
7

https://www.tei-c.org/Vault/P5/3.4.0/doc/tei-p5-doc/en/html/ref-measureGrp.html.

AUTHORSNAOKI KOKAZE
Naoki Kokaze is a PhD candidate at the University of Tokyo, specializing in British naval history in thenineteenth and twentieth centuries. In September 2018, he joined the MA program in Digital Humanities atKing’s College London, focusing on text encoding of historical sources. He has directed a cross-disciplinary
workshop, Tokyo Digital History, where historians, archivists, librarians, and programmers discuss how toapply information technology to historical studies and explore digital history.

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KIYONORI NAGASAKI
Kiyonori Nagasaki, PhD, is a senior fellow at the International Institute for Digital Humanities in Tokyo. His
main research interest is in the development of digital frameworks for collaboration in Buddhist studies.
He also investigates the signicance of digital methodology in the humanities and in the promotion of DH
activities in Japan. He has participated in various DH projects at several institutions in Japan and abroad. His
activities also include postgraduate education in DH at the University of Tokyo, as well as administrative tasks
at several scholarly societies including the Japanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies.
MAKOTO GOTŌMakoto Gotō, PhD, is an associate professor at the National Museum of Japanese History. His research interests
are primarily Japanese ancient history and digital humanities research. He is currently engaged in a research
project called “Integrated Studies of Cultural and Research Resources” and is conducting research on various
techniques for digitizing historical data. He served as the chair of the Special Interest Group of Computers
and Humanities under the auspices of the Information Processing Society of Japan from 2009 to 2010.
YUTA HASHIMOTO
Yuta Hashimoto, PhD, is an assistant professor at the National Museum of Japanese History, National Institutes
for the Humanities. He is one of the co-directors of the largest crowdsourcing DH projects in Japan, Minna-deHonkoku. He majored in the history of mathematics and mathematics education before entering the doctoral
course and focusing his research on digital humanities. He has a bachelor’s degree from the Faculty of
Literature but has also worked as an IT engineer, hence his interest in computer programming.
A. CHARLES MULLER
A. Charles Muller, PhD, is a professor at the University of Tokyo, in the Graduate School of Humanities andSociology and its Center for Evolving Humanities. He specializes in Korean Buddhism and East Asian Yogâcāra,and has published numerous books and articles on these topics. He is one of the earliest and most prolicdevelopers of online research resources for the eld of Buddhist Studies, being the founder and managing
editor of the online Digital Dictionary of Buddhism, the CJKV-English Dictionary (http://www.acmuller.net),
the H-Buddhism Scholars Information Network, along with having digitized and published numerous reference
works.
MASAHIRO SHIMODA
Masahiro Shimoda, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Indian Philosophy and Buddhist Studies, within
the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, and also the director of the Digital Humanities Initiative,
within the Center for Evolving Humanities, at the University of Tokyo. He specializes in the history of theformation of the Buddhist scriptures, which elucidates the production and the process of passing down the
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Toward a Model for Marking up Non-SI Units and Measurements

scriptures of traditional Indian Buddhism. As the head of the Center for Evolving Humanities, establishedin 2013, he teaches the “General Introduction for Digital Humanities” (http://dh.iii.u-tokyo.ac.jp/) as a coremodule of the center.

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