A different time measurement

For us today, it appears obvious to start our calculation of clocktime with a 0 at midnight. This is not and has not always been the case everywhere. Many other timekeeping models were and are still practised today. One of these is the Japanese model, which was used until the 19th century: Here, time reckoning began with sunset, followed by 6 night hours, with sunrise marking the start of the 6 day hours. The length of the day and night hours changed over the course of the year; if the nights were long in winter, the hours also became longer. For this reason, clocks had to be constantly adapted to the new hour lengths, resulting in sophisticated modifications to mechanical movements.