Easy to remember and fun! A collection of number pun/mnemonic ideas

716 / Seven Colors

Imagine a colorful rainbow! Here are some ideas for “716/Seven Colors.” In Japan, many people probably associate “seven colors” with a rainbow.

Interestingly, the number of colors in a rainbow varies by country.

For example, in the United States it’s often described as six colors; in Russia and Indonesia, four; and among Taiwan’s Bunun people, three—there are many perspectives, and it’s fascinating.

Since the boundaries between colors in a rainbow appear fuzzy, I think it’s fine for everyone to see it differently.

It could also be fun to decide together with friends or family what aspects of the seven colors you want to express with “716.”

No way, my lord! (1853) Perry’s arrival

During the Yamato period, the Ashikaga era, and the time of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, advances into Korea and China long captivated Japanese history.

It’s easy to imagine Japan’s astonishment upon learning that neighboring China—whom they themselves had never managed to subdue—was invaded by Great Britain, a small island nation.

Soon after, Perry arrived in Japan with his Black Ships, so of course people felt, “1853? No thank you!” It’s curious how neatly that number pun fits.

Japan, which had maintained sakoku (national isolation) for so long, accepted the outrageous demands of Perry’s squadron and was drawn into the maelstrom of the world…

If only there weren’t tests, history would be so much more fun!

3.141592653 (pi) — a groom in a foreign land

During the era of “yutori education,” the value of pi was set to “3.” The program boldly began by giving students Saturdays completely off to foster “zest for living,” but it ultimately led to a decline in academic performance and was later reversed—something widely known.

Pi was restored to the original 3.14.

Once you reach junior high school, π/pi shows up, so your time with it is brief, but even as adults, everyone remembers the word “pi,” right? The mnemonic is ‘san ten ichi yon—ikoku ni muko-san’ (3.14—“a groom to a foreign land”).

Even if you remember the digits up to 4, you don’t really use them…

How splendid—Heijō-kyō (in 710)!

This is a very personal impression, but compared to Heian-kyō, Heijō-kyō feels a bit plain—what do you all think? I think it’s brilliant that people matched the year Heijō-kyō was founded, 710, with the exclamation “nanto!” (“how surprising!”) as a mnemonic.

The site of Heijō-kyō is now the National Heijō Palace Site Historical Park, one of Nara’s tourist attractions.

There’s enough to keep you busy all day, from a photo exhibition themed on summer birds to a hands-on corner where you can make Sue ware, an ancient type of pottery.

If you’re in the area, definitely stop by!

Let’s revert to the blank slate (894 AD), the missions to Tang China.

The envoys to Tang China are a real headache for students—they always get mixed up with the envoys to Sui in our memories.

The envoys to Sui were the missions sent to the Sui dynasty during the Asuka period by Prince Shōtoku; Ono no Imoko and others are well known.

The envoys to Tang were the diplomatic missions to the Tang dynasty that Sugawara no Michizane abolished.

The difference between the missions to Tang and to Sui is simply whether the destination country was the Sui or the Tang.

Japan kept sending missions to adopt China’s advanced culture, but once the Tang entered a period of stability and there was “nothing more to learn,” the dispatch of envoys to Tang was halted in 894.

The person who matched the number 894 with the word hakushi (blank sheet) clearly had a great feel for words—probably someone very good at studying.