Japanese Arithmetic and Numerical Matters Concerning Which Much Painful Labor Is Required

There are two ways to count in Japanese.^[190] The first is with the ordinary numerals which are called iomi. With these one is able to count to ten; e.g., fitotçu means 'one,' which is also used to (67 say 'a little,' as in saqe fitotçu nomaxite tamǒre 'give me a little sake to drink.' Futatçu means 'two,' mitçu 'three,' iotçu 'four,' itçutçu 'five,' mutçu 'six,' nanatçu 'seven,' iatçu 'eight,' coconotçu 'nine,' and tovo 'ten.' Icutçu means 'what?' and is used when one does not have the proper number.

The second way of counting is with the coie vocables which are borrowed from Chinese. These numbers are not used by themselves to count to ten; but are rather used when counting things which are represented by Chinese, and not Japanese vocables. These bound numerals (termini numerales) are: ichi 'one,' ni 'two,' san 'three,' xi 'four,' go 'five,' rocu 'six,' xichi 'seven,' fachi 'eight,' cu 'nine,' jú 'ten.' The numbers eleven and above are made by joining these numbers together. Thus, 'eleven' is jǔichi; júni is 'twelve,' júsan 'thirteen,' júcu 'ninteen.' The tens are obtained by placing one of the numbers in front of ten; e.g., nijú 'twenty,' sanjú 'thirty,' sanjǔichi 'thirty-one,' cujǔ 'ninety.' Fiacu means 'hundred,' fiacu ichi 'one hundred and one,' fiacu jǔ 'one hundred and ten,' fiacu sanjǔ 'one hundred and thirty,' ni fiacu 'two hundred,' sambiacu 'three hundred.' Xen means 'thousand,' and xen roppiacu sanjǔ ichi is 'sixteen thirty-one.'

By placing the Japanese numerals in front of Japanese vocables, which are called iomi, and by removing the tçu of the aforementioned numbers before they are joined to nouns or verb stems, one is able to enumerate those things which are indicated by the vocable; e.g., fito cotoba 'one word,' futa cotovari 'two reasons,' mi ami 'three nets, or three casts of the net,' iocama 'to bake something four times in an oven,' itçu caqe 'five attacks,' mu casane 'six robes, or covers,' nana catana 'seven wounds by a sword,' ia catague 'eight loads,' cu cavari^[191] 'nine changes,' to cusa 'ten varieties.' Above the number ten this way of counting is not used, instead they say iro júichi or júichi no iro for 'eleven colors.' The interrogative is icutçu. If the thing being questioned is placed after the interrogative the particle no is added; e.g., itçucu no qi zo [icutçu ...] 'how many trees are there?' To such a question the answer is futatçu 'two,' mitçu 'three,' etc. If the tçu is removed from icutçu, one may place it in front of the thing being asked about; e.g., icu tocoro 'how many places?' icu toqi 'how many hours?'; also fito fanaxi 'one sermon, or conversation,' futa sugi 'two treads,' io te 'four hands, as in a fight,' itçu tçubu 'five grains,' mu tocoro 'six (68 places,' ia mavari 'six [eight] circuits,' cu ninai 'nine loads, carried in the Japanese fashion on a stick with the load in front,' to vatari 'ten crossings.' It is possible to count the same thing in different ways. Thus, mu tocoro is also mutçu no tocoro and tocoro mutçu 'six places.' Fito ie means 'one plain thing,' futa ie 'doubled, or duplicate,' mi ie 'triplicate,' etc. In the same way one may add Chinese numerals to Chinese vocables, or coie. Usually in this way of counting a [phonetic] change occurs in either the number or the thing counted. Sometimes this change is in the first part, sometimes in the second, and at other times in both. This is particularly true with the first, second, third, sixth, tenth, and one hundredth numbers. With the items below, if nothing is noted, it is an indication that nothing is changed.

When asking about men one says icutari? 'how many men?' The response is made by adding nin to the Chinese numeral; e.g., ichi nin 'one man,' ni nin 'two men,' iottari 'four men'; this is because xinin means 'dead person.'

When asking about days one says icca 'how many days?' The response is fi fitoi,^[192] because ichi nichi means 'one entire solar day,' futçuca 'two days,' micca 'three days,' iocca 'four days,' itçuca 'five days,' muica 'six days,' nanuca 'seven days,' iǒca 'eight days,' coconoca 'nine days,' toca^[193] 'ten days,' fatçuca 'twenty days.' The remaining days are counted with coie numerals.

When counting nights ia is added to the coie numerals; e.g., ichi ia 'one night,' ni ia 'two nights,' etc. It is also possible to add io which means 'night' in Japanese to the iomi numeral; e.g., icu io 'how many nights?' futa io 'two nights,' nana io 'seven nights,' etc.

When enumerating the months of the year guat is added to the coie numeral, with the exception that the first month is called xóguat. The second is niguat, the third is saguat,^[194] the fourth is xiguat, the eleventh is ximotçuqi, and the twelfth and last is xi vasu. When counting months the tçu is removed from the iomi numeral and the word tçuqi, which means 'month,' is added. Icutçuqi? means 'how many months.' In response one says fitotçuqi 'one month,' up to ten which is totçuqi, and from there on one counts with coie numerals; e.g., júichiguat 'eleven months.' If one wants to ask what month it is, January, February, one says nanguat. The first month of the (69 Japanese year is March.

In the enumeration of the years nen is placed after the coie numeral. In asking how many, nen [nan] is placed before nen; e.g., nannen 'how many years?' In response one says ichinen 'one year,' ionen 'four years,' sanganen 'three years,' sǒ ionen^[195] 'three or four years,' sǒ xijúnen 'thirty or forty years,' fatachi means 'twenty years of age,' as does nijǔnen, nijǔ no toxi, or toxi niju. They ask with icutoxi or toxi icutçu 'how old are you.' They count the age of men and animals such as cattle and horses by adding sai to the coie numeral; e.g., issai 'one,' nisai 'two,' sanzai 'three.'

In counting turns (visis) do is added to the coie numerals; e.g., nando 'how many times,' ichido 'once,' iodo 'four times,' godo 'five times,' sai san 'twice or thrice.'

In the enumeration of ships sô is placed after the coie numeral; e.g., nanzo [nanzô] 'how many ships,' to which one answers issô 'one ship,' niso [nisô] 'two,' sanzô 'three,' fassô 'eight,' jússô [jissô] 'ten.'

Ichiren 'one string,' niren 'two,' saren 'three,' as in figs or pearls.

When enumerating sermons, homilies (tractatus), or repetitions of things, fen is placed after the numeral; e.g., ippen 'one sermon,' nifen 'two,' sanben 'three,' ave maria fiacu gojippen 'one hundred and fifty Hail Mary's.'

In counting gold currency momme is placed after the numeral; e.g., ichi momme 'one momme,' ni momme 'two,' san mome [san momme] 'three.' When a momme is divided into tenths it is called an ippun [fun]. Thus, ippun means one tenth part of a momme, nifun means 'two tenths,' gofun means half the basic unit (media dragma), roppun means 'six tenths of a momme.'

When the tenth part of a momme is divided again into ten parts it is counted as ichirin, nirin, sarin, iorin, gorin, rocurin, xichirin, fachirin, and curin. Then comes ippun, which is one tenth of a momme. Fiacu me means 'one hundred momme,' fiacu ichi momme 'one hundred and one,' icquan me means 'one thousand momme,' jicquanme means 'ten thousand.' There are other coins of silver which are counted by placing mai or mon after the numeral; e.g., ichi mon means one of that unit, ni mon is 'two,' San mai is three hundred mon. They no longer produce a coin which is one half of the gold coin, but one thousand of these coins make icquan, while jicquan is 'ten (70 thousand quan.'^[196]

Core va ica fodo ni suru 'how much is this worth?' or ica fodo ni uru 'at what price will you sell this?' Ni momme suru 'I consider it worth two momme,' or ni momme ni iasui 'I can sell this for more than two momme, or at two momme this is cheap.'

The enumeration of liquid measurements is done by placing the particle xô in front of the liquid quantity; e.g., ixxo [ixxô] 'one xô,' nixo [nixô] 'two,' sango [sanjô] 'three.' Ten xô are itto which is the particle to placed after the numeral; nito means 'twenty xô,' sando 'thirty.' For one tenth of a xô one places the particle go after the numeral; e.g., Ichigo 'one go,' nigo 'two,' sango 'three,' ixxô gogo 'one and one half xô.' Fatto is eighty xô. One hundred xô make ichi cocu. By placing the cocu after numerals one obtains ni cocu 'two hundred xô,' sangocu 'three hundred,' jiccocu 'one thousand,' xencocu 'ten thousand,' ichi mangocu 'one hundred thousand.'

The enumeration of the measurements of human height is achieved by placing fito [firo] after the iomi numerals; e.g., fito firo 'one firo,' futa firo 'two,' jippiro 'ten.' The measurement of a span (palmus) is made by adding xacu to the coie numerals; e.g., ixxacu 'one span, or three spans by the Spanish measuring system,'^[197] sanjaku 'three.' Goxacu is the same as fito firo which is a measurement we have referred to before. Six xacu make up a measurement called icqen 'one qen,' nicqen [niqen] 'two,' jicqen 'ten,' and sanguen 'three.' From sixty of these measurements one makes a measurement called icchó, that is 'one mountain path,' nicchǒ [nichǒ] 'two,' jichiǒ [jicchǒ] 'ten,' sangiǒ 'three.' From sixty-three [thirty-six] chô, as measured in the northern part of Japan, one obtains ichiri which is one league or one miliar. One enumerates by adding ri to the coie numerals; e.g., niri 'two,' sanri 'three,' gori 'five,' júri 'ten'; iori is 'four,' because xiri means anus.^[198] Fan michi means 'a half of a league.' They say; ioco fan miqi tate ichiri [... michi ...] 'a half a ri wide and one ri long,' faba icqen 'the width is one qen,' iofǒ futa firo 'two hiro on all sides.'

The cardinal numbers first, second, etc. are made by adding ban to the coie numerals; e.g., ichi ban 'first,' ni ban 'second.' To these are also added me, as said before; e.g., xi ban me 'fourth.' One may also make the cardinal numbers by placing dai in front of the coie (71 numerals; e.g., daiichi 'first,' daini 'second,' etc.

The enumeration of multiples is done by adding bai to the numbers; e.g., ichibai 'double,' nibai 'triple,' sanbai 'quadruple,'^[199] fiacu zobai 'one hundred fold.'

The enumeration of the parts from the whole is done by placing buichi after the numeral; e.g., ni buichi 'one from two parts,' san buichi 'one from three parts.'

To indicate one tenth vari is placed after the numeral; e.g., ichi vari 'one from ten parts,' xi vari gobu 'four and one half from ten parts.' Jú buichi is the same as ichi vari.

The enumeration of oars, muskets, and long things made of wood is done by placing chó after the numerals; e.g., icchó 'one oar,' nichó 'two,' sangiǒ 'three,' jichó [jicchó] 'ten.'

The enumeration of fish and fire wood is done by placing con after the numerals;^[200] e.g., iccon, 'one fish,' sangon 'three,' jiccon 'ten,' fiaccon 'one hundred,' fiacu gojǔ sangon 'one hundred and fifty-three.' This is the amount Saint Peter caught, and even though he caught that number the net did not tear.

The enumeration of leaves of paper and sheets of gold, etc. is done by placing mai after the numeral; e.g., ichimai 'one leaf,' cami gomai 'five leaves of paper.'

The enumeration of the stories of a house is done by placing cai after the numeral; e.g., nicai 'the first floor,' sangai 'the second,' xigai 'the third,' gocai 'the fourth,' when counted as in a house in Madrid.

The enumeration of utensils and cups for drinking is done by placing fai after the numeral; e.g., ippai 'one drink, or one draught,' nifai 'two,' sanbai 'three,' jippai 'ten.'

The enumeration of rolls of silk or the like is done by placing tan after the numeral; e.g., ittan 'one roll,' nitan 'two,' sandan 'three,' jittan 'ten.' Xichitan bune is a ship with a sail seven tan wide.

This is also said by adding mai to the numeral; e.g., gomai 'five,' as in gomai bune 'a ship having a sail five mai wide.'

The enumeration of four-footed animals is done by placing fiqi after the numeral; e.g., ippiqi 'one animal,' nifiqi 'two,' sanbiqi 'three,' roppiqi 'six,' jippiqi 'ten,' fiappiqi 'one hundred,' xenbiqi 'one thousand.'

The enumeration of images, pictures, and medicines is done (72 by placing fucu after the numeral; e.g., ippucu 'one item,' nifucu 'two,' sanbucu 'three,' roppucu 'six,' jippucu 'ten.' Needles are also counted this way.

The enumeration of pounds (libra) is done by placing qin after the numeral; e.g., icqin 'one pound,' niqin 'two,' sanguin 'three,' rocqin 'six,' jicqin 'ten,' fiacqin 'one hundred,' xenqin 'one thousand.'

The enumeration of masses and congregations of men is done by placing za after the numeral; e.g., ichiza 'one congregation,' niza 'two,' sanza 'three,' jǔza, or better toza 'ten.'

The enumeration of sacks of rice, wheat, and the like, is done by placing fiô after the numeral; e.g., ippiô 'one sack,' nifiô 'two,' sanbiô 'three,' xifio [xifiô] 'four,' roppio [roppiô] 'six,' jippio [jippiô] 'ten,' fiiappio [fiappiô] 'one hundred,' xembiô [xenbiô] 'one thousand.'

The enumeration of pieces of wood, reeds, and needles is done by placing fon after the numeral; e.g., ippon 'one item,' nifon 'two,' sanbon 'three,' roppon 'six,' jippon 'ten,' fiappon 'one hundred,' xenbon 'one thousand.'

The enumeration of bundles (fasciculus) is done by placing va after the numeral; e.g., ichiva 'one bundle,' niva 'two,' sanba 'three,' jippa 'ten,' júichiva 'eleven,' ni jippa 'twenty.'

The enumeration of burdens or the packs that horses carry is done by placing só after the numeral; e.g., issó 'one burden,' nisǒ 'two,' sanzó 'three,' jissǒ 'ten.' In the same way one counts those furnishings called biǒbu; two or a pair from a set is called issó, etc.

The enumeration of that which in the vernacular is called a quire of paper (mano de papel) is done by placing giô after the numeral; e.g., ichigio [ichigiô] 'one quire,' nigio [nigiô] 'two,' sangiô 'three,' so on to ten. Units of ten are counted by adding socu to the numeral; e.g., issocu 'ten quires, or what in the vernacular is called a half ream (media resma),' nisocu 'twenty, or an entire ream.' With this particle socu added to numerals one also counts pairs of shoes; e.g., issocu 'a pair of shoes.'

The enumeration of substance (substantia) is done by placing tai after the numeral; e.g., ittai 'one substance,' nitai 'two,' sandai 'three.' Deus no von tocoro va goittai de gozaru 'God as God is of one substance and one essence.'

The enumeration of the divisions in a writing (capitulum) is done by placing cagiô after the numeral; e.g., iccagiô 'one chapter,' (73 nicagio [nicagiô] 'two,' sangagio [sangagiô] 'three,' roccagio [roccagiô] 'six,' fiaccagio [fiaccagiô] 'one hundred.'

The enumeration of drops is done by placing teqi after the numeral; e.g., itteqi 'one drop,' jitteqi 'ten.' The same meaning is obtained by adding xizzucu to the iomi numeral; e.g., fito xizzucu 'one drop,' etc. In this case the tçu must be removed from the numeral.

The enumeration of the pairs of small sticks (paxillus) with which they eat is done by placing tçui after the numeral; e.g., itçui [ittçui] 'one pair,' jittçui 'ten.'

The enumeration of bundles is done by placing ca after the numeral; e.g., icca 'one bundle,' nica 'two,' sanga 'three.'

The enumeration of books is done by placing quan after the numeral; e.g., icquan 'one book,' niquan 'two,' sanguan 'three,' roquan [rocquan] 'six,' jiquan [jicquan] 'ten.'

With the interrogative nan, when it is placed before one of these nouns, it changes it in the same way as does the number three; e.g., ano mmadomo va nanbiki zo? 'how many horses are there?'

The enumeration of kingdoms (regnum) is done by placing cacocu after the numeral; e.g., iccacocu 'one kingdom,' nicacocu 'two,' sangacocu 'three,' jiccacocu 'ten.' Kingdoms are divided into provinces or districts called gun, and this word also is placed after the numeral; e.g., ichigun 'one province,' nigun 'two,' sangun 'three,' etc.

Sermons and exhortations are enumerated by placing dan after the numeral; ichidan 'one sermon, or assembly.' Words are enumerated by placing gon or guen after the numeral; e.g., ichigon 'one word,' sanguen 'three words.'

Placing the particle zzutçu after either coie or iomi numerals gives the meaning of 'each'; e.g., ichinin ni uxi sanbiki zzutçu vo toraxeta 'he let the men have three oxen each,' ichinin zzutçu saqe sanbai zzutçu vo nomareta 'each man drank three sake each.'

In speaking of two or three things separately, they join the two numbers; e.g., xigonin 'four or five men,' from which others may be copied.

The honorific particles are four; vo, von, go, and mi.^[201] The first two are joined to iomi vocables. The last two are joined to coie, or Chinese vocables. The last is the most honorific and is used when speaking of things divine; e.g., midexi tachi 'disciples of Christ the Lord,' goichinin vocoite cudasarei 'please send one from among the Lords.'

The words which follow have honorific particles that have (74 been added by the speaker. However, the honor is shown to the person addressed or to those related to him; e.g., go focô [go fôcô] 'a duty,' von furu mai 'a banquet,' von cotoba 'a word, or a sermon,' von mono gatari 'a conversation,' von natçucaxij or von nocori vovoi which mean the same as what the Portuguese call saudades (nostalgia) and the Spanish call carino (affection), von tori avaxe 'intercession,' von mi mai 'a visit,' von cha 'that which one drinks when they invite you,' go dancó 'a consultation or congregation for the purpose of obtaining advice,' von rei 'an act of gratitude,' von busata 'a lapse of good manners,' vo motenaxi 'to treat well and elegantly,' go chiso [go chisô] 'esteem,' go iqen 'an opinion,' e.g., fabacari nagara go iqen vo mǒxitai 'forgive me but I would like to give you some advice,' etc.