Jingoki

Japanese mathematics

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June 29, 2026

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Jingoki (1627) by Yoshida Mitsuyoshi was a pivotal Japanese mathematical text that popularized mathematics by being written in Japanese, unlike most prior works. It introduced the soroban (an abacus) and Chinese mathematical knowledge.1

Jingoki also presented methods for computation using counting rods, a technique no longer used in China. It included "difficult problems" without solutions, fostering a tradition of mathematical challenges in Japan that spurred development.1

This led to mathematicians like Seki Takakazu, considered the founder of Japanese mathematics (wasan), who developed powerful algebraic tools and generalized traditional problems. Seki's work, disseminated by his disciples, significantly advanced mathematics in Japan.12

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East Asian mathematics
The elaboration of Chinese methods
…mathematical book written in Japan, Jingoki (“Inalterable Treatise”), published in 1627 by Yoshida Mitsuyoshi, seems to be the first book that played an important role in the emerging Japanese tradition. Inspired by the Chinese text “Systematic Treatise on Mathematics,” whose importance is stressed above, it described in Japanese the use…
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…mathematical book written in Japan, Jingoki (“Inalterable Treatise”), published in 1627 by Yoshida Mitsuyoshi, seems to be the first book that played an important role in the emerging Japanese tradition. Inspired by the Chinese text “Systematic Treatise on Mathematics,” whose importance is stressed above, it described in Japanese the use…
Read More