Development and popularization of arithmetic

The Edo Period boasted a long stable period of peace that facilitated the birth of a society in which commoners, too, could learn "reading, writing, and abacus calculation" at terakoya (private elementary schools). The study of Wasan (traditional Japanese mathematics), once confined to scholars and certain members of the warrior class, also spread among commoners due to its practical application in study and business. Mathematics schools emerged in the academic field, and the ensuing intellectual competition led to the development of a high level body of mathematics comparative to Western mathematics.

This is he only publication issued by the wazan scholar Tkkazu Seki (? - 1708) during his lifetime. This book provides answers to the 15 questions proposed by Kazuyuki Sawaguchi in his book Kokin Sanpoki (1671). Over the 25 years since the publication of Kinkoki, the complexity of wazan problems far exceeded the realm of elementary arithmetic where promlems could easily be solved using the abacus. For problems shich in present days would use algebraic equations, Siki applied Fukudai which was developed from the traditional Chinese calculation method Tengen jyutsu.