280Japanese idiom 四字熟語
読み書きそろばん
よみかきそろばんYomi kaki soroban
“Reading, writing, arithmetic.”
Word for wordReading, writing, abacus.
The meaning
The foundation of Edo's temple schools holds in three words — and has not aged: fundamentals first, everything else after. Every craft has its "read-write-count".
At the origin
The program of the terakoya, Edo's popular schools, which made Japan a land of readers.
The characters
In practice
Name the three fundamentals of your craft — and maintain them before the rest.