Volume Unit Converter (L, gallon, gou, sho)

Converts a volume into millilitres, litres, cubic metres, US gallons, gou and sho. Japanese law defines one sho as 2401/1331 litres, and one gou is a tenth of that.

Explanation

Enter a volume and choose its unit, and every other unit follows, including the Japanese gou and sho still used for rice and sake.

The definitions

1 US liquid gallon = 3.785411784 L
1 sho = $\dfrac{2401}{1331}$ ≒ 1.8039 L, the value fixed in Japanese law
1 gou = a tenth of a sho, about 180.4 mL
1 m³ = 1000 L, and 1 mL = 1 cm³

Example

Convert one US gallon.

1 \times 3.785411784 = 3.7854\ \text{L}

That is 20.98 gou, or 2.098 sho.

Watch out

The US gallon and the imperial gallon are different units. This converter uses the US liquid gallon of 3.7854 L. The imperial gallon is 4.54609 L, about 20% larger. American recipes and mpg figures use the US gallon.

Where it is used

One gou of rice is 180 mL, the cup marking on every Japanese rice cooker, and about 150 g by weight
A standard bottle of sake holds one sho, 1.8 L
A US gallon of milk is about 3.79 L
Turning a price per gallon into a price per litre