As a weight unit, ryo had a heavier scale than monme (former Japanese weight unit) and a lighter scale than kan and kin (kan and kin were both former Japanese weight units), and in Japan, 1 ryo, 10 monme, 0.01 kan, and a 16th kin were equalized.
質量の単位としての両は、匁の倍量（貫、斤の分量）単位で、日本では1両＝10匁＝1/100貫＝1/16斤とされた。