SHO

Sho (升) is a traditional Japanese unit of volume used for dry and liquid goods, especially rice and sake. It originated in China and was adopted in Japan as part of the older system of measures.

Value: One shō equals ten gō; since a gō is about 180 milliliters, a shō is about 1.8 liters (roughly 1.8039 L in some tables).

Usage in history: In the Edo period and earlier, the shō was a standard unit in markets, taxation, and production. It was used to quantify rice allocations and sake batches; packaging and barrels might be described in shō, with many regions using slightly differing contents.

Modern status: With the adoption of the metric system in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the shō fell out of everyday use. Today it survives mainly in historical texts, traditional crafts, and ceremonial contexts, or when discussing traditional sake or rice production.

Etymology: The character 升, pronounced shō in Japanese, is used to denote this volume. It is related to the Chinese sheng (升). The unit is connected to East Asian measurement history.