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Kako (加古, named after the Kako river in Hyogo Prefecture) was a heavy cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy of the Furutaka class. In fact, cruisers of this class were designed as “first-class cruisers”, since at the time of their construction, the term “heavy cruiser” (which was later defined in the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922) did not exist. The cruiser is characterized by a powerful main battery and good survivability, but suffers from a lack of anti-air armament and weak secondary armament. 

This article summarizes the history of the Japanese heavy cruiser Myōkō (妙高), named after Mount Myōkō in Niigata Prefecture, focusing on its development and service with the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Second World War. Designed just months after the Washington Naval Conference of February 1922, the Myōkō-class cruisers were the first built to comply with treaty-imposed limitations. Among the four ships in her class, Myōkō was the first to be laid down. Commissioned in 1929, she took part in nearly all major engagements of the Pacific Theatre during World War II until her scuttling in 1946.