Shōhō

Shōhō (正保) was a Japanese era name (年号,, nengō,, lit. "year name") after Kan'ei and before Keian. This period spanned the years from December 1644 through February 1648. The reigning emperor was Go-Komyo-tennō (後光明天皇).

Change of era

Events of the Shōhō era

Shah

Shah (Šâh or Şah) (/ˈʃɑː/; Persian: شاه‎‎, [ʃɒːh], "king") is a title given to the emperors/kings and lords of Iran (historically also known as Persia). It was also adopted by the kings of Shirvan (a historical Iranian region in Transcaucasia) namely the Shirvanshahs, the rulers and offspring of the Ottoman Empire (termed there as Şeh), the Bengal Sultanate, as well as in Georgia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. In Iran (Persia and Greater Persia) the title was continuously used; rather than King in the European sense, each Persian ruler regarded himself as the Šâhanšâh (King of Kings) or Emperor of the Persian Empire. The word descends from Old Persian Xšâyathiya "king", which (for reasons of historical phonology) must be a borrowing from Median, and is derived from the same root as Avestan xšaΘra-, "power" and "command", corresponding to Sanskrit (Old Indic) kṣatra- (same meaning), from which kṣatriya-, "warrior", is derived. The full, Old Persian title of the Achaemenid rulers of the First Persian Empire was Xšâyathiya Xšâyathiyânâm or Šâhe Šâhân, "King of Kings" or "Emperor". This word is commonly confused with the unrelated and distinct Indian surname Shah, which is derived from the Sanskrit Sadhu/Sahu (meaning gentleman ).

Japanese aircraft carrier Shōhō

Shōhō (Japanese: 祥鳳, "Auspicious Phoenix" or "Happy Phoenix") was a light aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Originally built as the submarine support ship Tsurugizaki in the late 1930s, she was converted before the Pacific War into an aircraft carrier and renamed. Completed in early 1942, the ship supported the invasion forces in Operation MO, the invasion of Port Moresby, New Guinea, and was sunk by American carrier aircraft on her first combat operation during the Battle of the Coral Sea on 7 May. Shōhō was the first Japanese aircraft carrier to be sunk during World War II.

Design, construction and conversion

Shōhō and her sister Zuihō were designed to be easily modified as an oil tanker, submarine tender, or aircraft carrier as needed. Shōhō was laid down by the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on 3 December 1934 as the submarine tender Tsurugizaki. She was launched on 1 June 1935 and completed on 15 January 1939. Not long after the ship was initially completed, she began reconstruction as an aircraft carrier in 1941. Her superstructure was removed and replaced by a flight deck with a hangar for her aircraft below. Renamed Shōhō, the conversion was finished on 26 January 1942.