FUNAYAMA, Sukeyuki 船山輔之.

Ehon kufū no nishiki 絵本工夫之錦 [Ingenious Ways to Understand Wasan, Illustrated].

Numerous attractive woodcut illus. in the text. 22; 23; 23 folding leaves. Three vols. 8vo, orig semi-stiff patterned wrappers, title-slips, new stitching. Edo & Nagoya: Suharaya Ichibei 須原屋市兵衛 et al. Preface in Vol. I dated 1795, colophons dated 1798.

First edition, a complete set, and rare; we find no copy of our original edition in WorldCat. Funayama (1738-1804) was a disciple of Yamaji Nushizumi (1704-73) in the school of wasan mathematics founded by Seki Kōwa, “the most distinguished Japanese mathematician of the 17th century, and in some respects the most distinguished of all Japanese mathematicians…He was a great teacher.”–D.E. Smith, History of Mathematics, I, pp. 439-40.

Having studied mathematics and astronomy, Funayama became an official astronomer to the bakufu and specialized in calendar reform. The present work is his most important, a pioneering book, written for children and beginners, using illustrations and games to teach mathematical principles. Our set is complete with the third volume, in which the author replied to critiques posed by orthodox mathematicians like Fujita Sadasuke, one of the leading wasan scholars of the day.

The three volumes pose 41 questions, accompanied by 41 answers, richly illustrated with double-page and full-page woodcuts, illustrating in charming ways the problems discussed.

Fine and fresh set.