Before Japanese adopted Arabic numerals, can 十分 mean "10 minutes" other than "enough"?


I am not sure when Japanese started using Arabic numerals. At the time before
it, can 十分 mean "10 minutes" other than "enough"?




_In modern usage_ , 十分 both means _10 minutes_ (when it's read as じっぷん) and
_enough_ (when it's read as じゅうぶん). For example, 十分待った may mean "waited 10
minutes" or "waited enough", depending on the context. In horizontal writings,
the former tends to be 10分待った, but in Japanese texts written vertically, kanji
numerals are much more common.

I don't know the historical usage of 十分, but as @macraf said in his comment,
western clock system was not widely used before the introduction of Arabic
numerals, so I doubt there was a period when 十分 only meant _10 minutes_. (See:
[Old Japanese time
system](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_clock#Traditional_Japanese_time_system)
used until the Edo period, which did not have "minutes")

**EDIT** : I don't know if this is important to OP, but to answer only what is
explicitly asked with some evidence, my answer would be "Yes and no". Arabic
numerals were officially _adopted_ in education by a law called
[学制](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AD%A6%E5%88%B6) promulgated on August
2nd, 1872, and Western-style calendar including the concept of minutes
officially came into use on January 1st, 1873. Therefore it is unlikely that
ordinary Japanese people used 十分 to mean _10 minutes_ before 1872; only a few
professionals did.




_In modern usage_ , 十分 both means _10 minutes_ (when it's read as じっぷん) and
_enough_ (when it's read as じゅうぶん). For example, 十分待った may mean "waited 10
minutes" or "waited enough", depending on the context. In horizontal writings,
the former tends to be 10分待った, but in Japanese texts written vertically, kanji
numerals are much more common.

I don't know the historical usage of 十分, but as @macraf said in his comment,
western clock system was not widely used before the introduction of Arabic
numerals, so I doubt there was a period when 十分 only meant _10 minutes_. (See:
[Old Japanese time
system](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_clock#Traditional_Japanese_time_system)
used until the Edo period, which did not have "minutes")

**EDIT** : I don't know if this is important to OP, but to answer only what is
explicitly asked with some evidence, my answer would be "Yes and no". Arabic
numerals were officially _adopted_ in education by a law called
[学制](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AD%A6%E5%88%B6) promulgated on August
2nd, 1872, and Western-style calendar including the concept of minutes
officially came into use on January 1st, 1873. Therefore it is unlikely that
ordinary Japanese people used 十分 to mean _10 minutes_ before 1872; only a few
professionals did.

