How did Jingoki help popularize mathematics in Japan?

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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 Jingoki ("Inalterable Treatise"), published by Yoshida Mitsuyoshi in 1627, was instrumental in popularizing mathematics in Japan primarily because it was written in Japanese, making mathematical knowledge accessible to a wider audience that could not read works written in Chinese.1

The book helped stimulate the Japanese mathematical tradition in several key ways:

Practical Instruction: It provided clear descriptions of how to use the soroban (an improved version of the Chinese abacus) and introduced various Chinese mathematical methods.1
Methodological Innovation: The 1641 enlarged edition introduced techniques for performing computations with counting rods, a method that had fallen out of use in China.1
The Tradition of Challenges: Inspired by Chinese sources, Yoshida included "difficult problems" without providing solutions. He recommended that these be posed to other mathematicians, which initiated a tradition of mathematical challenges that strongly encouraged the development of algebra and advanced problem-solving in Japan.1

This foundation eventually led to the rise of wasan, the distinct Japanese tradition of mathematics, and paved the way for later mathematicians like Seki Takakazu to advance beyond classical methods.1