What is "masu"

Etymology 1 n. A plant, (taxlink Hedysarum alpinum species noshow=1), whose edible root is consumed by the Inuit of Alaska. Etymology 2

n. A square wooden box, originally used to measure rice in Japan during the feudal period.

A was originally a square wooden box used to measure rice in Japan during the feudal period. Masu existed in many sizes, typically covering the range from one to (一斗枡 ittomasu, c. 18 L) to one gō (一合枡 ichigōmasu, c. 0.18 L).

Today masu are largely used for drinking sake, as the advent of modern rice cookers and a higher calorie diet in Japan has made them impractical for measuring portions of rice, and the standard size is one gō, or 0.18039 L.

A small , lidded form of masu, made of hinoki, is sold for serving pepper, salt, sugar, and other dry condiments at the table.

Masu can refer to:

• Masu, Iran, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
• Masu, Nigeria, a town in Sokoto State, Nigeria
• Masu Bhurgri, union council in the Sindh province of Pakistan

• Leonardo Masu (born 1934), Italian Olympics weightlifter
• Nozomi Masu (born 1980), Japanese voice actress
• Takeshi Masu (born 1955), Japanese actor

• MASU, Medical Assessment Unit in a hospital
• MaSu, an occasional abbreviation of the musical group Machinae Supremacy

• Masu (Japanese), a traditional wooden or origami box
• Masu, a plant, Hedysarum alpinum, whose edible root is consumed by the Inuit of Alaska
• Masu salmon or cherry salmon, a species of salmon or trout of the North-West Pacific region