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While reading Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's "In a Grove," I came across the sentence;
「山科の駅路からは、四五町ほど隔たって居りましょう。」山科 I understand to be a place and everything else
is understandable for me other than 四五町. While doing further research, I
learned that 町 when read as ちょう was a unit of measurement comparable to a
mile. This leaves the question of the 四五 preceding it. What number is this
referring to? There is no 十 in the text to make it 45, nor is there a comma
separating them which would lead me to think it's meaning to be "four or five
(measurements)." While this tiny bit is not crucial to understanding the text
as a whole, I would like to have a better understanding of the author's
intended meaning. I appreciate any response. Thank you in advance.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-03T04:12:46.107
73697
2020-01-03T08:04:18.633
34152
question
words counters
The meaning of 四五町ほど(隔たる)
四五町{しごちょう} ＝ 4 to 5 町{ちょう}

According to [デジタル大辞泉](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E7%94%BA-568014),

1町 ＝ approx. 109 meters

Thus, 四五町 would be around 400-500 meters. That is how far the place in
question is located from the main street （駅路）.

町 is a unit of distance used often to describe "walking distances".

> I learned that 町 when read as ちょう was a unit of measurement comparable to a
> mile.

Not sure where you found that. 4-5 miles seems way too long. That is like
15-16 times as long as 四五町.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-03T08:04:18.633
73699
2020-01-03T08:04:18.633
73697
answer