Learning as a Playful Exercise Pleasure in advanced mathematics among the people of the Edo Period

What image comes to mind when you hear the word mathematics? There is concern today that children are becoming less and less interested in mathematics and that it has become the subject most disliked by students. However, when we consider the Edo Period, mathematics was considered fun, and was something to be learned naturally through play. Western mathematics, introduced after the Meiji Period, is known as yosan , whereas Japanese mathematics is called wasan . During the Edo Period, wasan was popularized through the teaching of the soroban (Japanese abacus) at temple schools and arithmetic schools. With many mathematicians traveling around Japan teaching wasan to village clerks and peasants, it became familiar to people throughout the country. It was useful when calculating the amount of rice used to make rice bales, and for computing interest on debts. Accurate calculation was necessary for making maps and calendars, and Pythagorean Theorem was used for determining the inclinations of roofs when building castles and temples. For every one, wasan was an integral part of their lives. People began to favor wasan when a book on mathematics, Jinkoki, was published by the mathematician Mitsuyoshi Yoshida, in 1627 (the fourth year of Kanei). Though it was written to teach people soroban and the basics of arithmetic essential for everyday life, it also included some amusing riddlelike problems. Easy for everyone to understand, it immediately became the best-selling book of the time, and was revised and appended a number of times. One day, Yoshida was inspired to insert a question without answer, idai , at the end of the book. It was like a challenge to the readers from the author. When the readers saw this question, they competed to find the correct answer. This led to the creation of new idai . Its boom gradually paved the way to newer and more difficult questions, and contributed to improvements in wasan . Problem solving was more of a pleasure or hobby at that time. People chose questions that appealed to them like they were choosing a game. They would find solutions and enjoy a sense of achievement when they puzzle them out. This set the stage for the appearance of the superstar of wasan , Takakazu Seki. Calculation at that time was not done on paper but by soroban , or by using counting rods (sangi ) and a board (sanban ). Calculation on paper never occurred to them as it was faster to use tools, such as a soroban , for counting. Seki, however, realized that it was impossible to solve difficult problems using such tools and invented a new method of calculation on paper, algebraic notation system (boshoho ). It was the birth of algebra. Wasan made a giant leap with Sekis invention. He later discovered the determinants, a calculation theory that is still used today in manufacturing. The discovery of this theory has been attributed to Leibniz, a European mathematician but, surprisingly, Seki discovered it first. What differences were there in the mathematical situation i n the Edo Period compared to those today? Japan had developed its own mathematical system, without Western influence, to a high enough level to enable a smooth transition to Western mathematics in the Meiji Period. Our predecessors found pleasure in wasan and refined their intellectual curiosity through it. Their attitude is a timeless role-model which we can all learn from.

Are you up to trying wasan ?

Wasan

Multiplying like Rats

A pair of rats gave bir th to 12 baby rats at the beginning of the year. The family was 14, including the parents. In February, each of the 14 rats became 7 pairs and each gave birth to 12 babies. It is now a family of 98 altogether. If this goes on, how many rats would there be in the family at the end of December?

Multiplying like Rats appeared after the sixth year of Kanei edition of Jinkoki. The interesting words like rat attracted the attention of many people.

Fill and Pour

Wasan

One to (1 to equals about 18 liters, 10 sho = 1 to ) of oil is stored in a one-to tub. How can we divide the oil in the tub so that a one-to tub will contain 5 sho and the seven-sho measure contain 5 sho? You can only use a seven-sho measure and a three-sho measure.
[Hints in finding the solution]
First, remember that the oil is in the one-to tub. Use the three-sho measure to take the oil out from the one-to tub. Then, pour the 3 sho of oil in
One-to tub Seven-sho measure Three-sho measure

10 sho 0 sho 0 sho

the three-sho measure into the seven-sho measure and so on. Moving the oil in this way will help you find the answer.

7 sho 0 sho 3 sho

7 sho 3 sho 0 sho

TECHNOLOGY
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For the answer, click http://www.mhi.co.jp/en/company/publication/graph/contents/159/index.html

Counting rods and boards for solving equations

Practical guide to determinants invented by Seki

Jinkoki by Mitsuyoshi Yoshida The best-selling mathematics book in the Edo Period. It was repeatedly published in revised and enlarged editions after it first appeared in the fourth year of Kanei. The first edition was like a dictionary of numbers; it explained how to count and measure, and taught soroban and arithmetic.

Until algebraic notation system was established, equations were solved by placing about 6 cm long wooden sticks, called counting rods, on a counting board made of paper. This was called center point method. The introduction of this new method made it possible to solve quadratic, cubic, or high-degree equations when there is just one unknown. The picture shows the solution process for a quadric equation: x 2+ 24x 139732 = 0.

Solutions using center point method were limited to cases where there was one unknown, but Sekis calculation on paper, algebraic notation system, made it possible to solve questions with two or more unknowns. His later invention, the determinants, is still one of the most common methods used by science students, and is used in manufacturing today. The picture on the right is an illustration used to explain the determinants theory.

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Collaboration: Kenichi Sato (Director, WASAN Institute), and Ridai Museum of Modern Science

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