I was watching an anime and saw this [image](https://i.ibb.co/nnXmC33/20221024-012623.jpg) of a pocket watch, but I know that with 1 exception (the 5), the other 11 characters are not 1,2,3,…11,12. What are those kanji? Are they still used on watches & clocks?
4 comments
That is 1-12 in fool-proof numbers. These types of numbers are used when dealing with money in the good old days to prevent misunderstandings or scamming by changing characters.
It’s a different way to write the numbers 1 through 12 called 大字.
Apparently used for legal and financial documents, (I suspect it’s to make it harder to tamper with the numbers, as it’d be really easy to turn 一 into ニ or 三) maybe someone else can chime in with a more detailed answer here.
The 5 is also a different kanji, usually it’s 五 while on the watch it’s 伍.
These are Formal Numbers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_numerals#Formal_numbers
Have you noticed some upscale European and american watches use Roman numerals not regular ones? Maybe same idea.