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How did Chinese mathematical books reach Japan through Korea?

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East Asian mathematics Counting boards and markers, or counting rods, were used in China to solve systems of linear equations. This is an example from the 1st century ce.

The transmission of Chinese mathematical knowledge to Japan was facilitated by the shared use of the Chinese writing system across East Asia, which allowed scholarly texts to circulate throughout the region.1

Beginning in the 7th century, Chinese science reached Japan indirectly by way of Korea. Many mathematical books were brought from Korea, serving as a primary conduit for these texts. Through this channel, significant works such as Yang Hui suanfa (1275; "Yang Hui’s Methods of Mathematics") and Zhu Shijie’s "Introduction to Mathematical Science" arrived in Japan. Additionally, books on calendrical computations, which contained essential mathematical knowledge, were imported through these interactions.2

This flow of information provided Japanese scholars with access to advanced algorithms for solving systems of simultaneous linear equations and finding roots of equations, which deeply influenced the development of Japanese mathematics.2