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Edo-period teens tackling math's toughest problems

The Edo-period pursuit of wasan, Japan’s domestic tradition of tackling mathematical problems, was one involving samurai and commoners, young and old alike. Historical records reveal that women and teens were taking on difficult problems well before Japan opened up and imported Western learning as part of its modernization in the late 1800s.

This is a subset of the ema, wooden plaques presented by parishioners hoping to overcome some hardship in life, but sangaku have a narrower focus, commemorating a new solution to a problem in Japan’s Edo-period (1603–1868) wasan tradition of mathematics. Aki’s adventures include pointing out an error in a sangaku donated by a proud young samurai who studies at a famous wasan dōjō and opening a school of her own to teach basic arithmetic to impoverished children living in nagaya townhouses. After reading wasan-related books like Fukagawa and Rothman’s Sacred Mathematics: Japanese Temple Geometry, Karaisl became convinced that wasan and sangaku had developed through a human network that included not just specialists but everyday enthusiasts.

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