Where does the "Visual Multiplication" technique originate from?

Question

There is a geometric technique to perform multiplication of numbers.

But as the internet goes, it is hard to figure out who deserves the credit. What I've heard is

• A mayan technique
• From Vedic mathematics (possibly from the equally named book from Bharati Krishna Tirthaji)
• Used in Japanese schools to teach kids about multiplication.

I would love it if somebody could shed some light on the origins of this technique.

Answer 1

There is an accepted answer at History of Science and Mathematics:

It is a fun method but it appears to be very recent. It is characterized as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, or even Mayan method in various internet posts, all of them recent, and without attribution, naturally. The "ancient origin" story is most likely made up ...

Answer 2

Let's make a table:

        300 +   20 +   1
      ------------------      ----> 10000 x        6  = 60000
200 | 60000 + 4000 + 200             1000 x    (15+4) = 19000
 50 | 15000 + 1000 +  50              100 x (12+10+2) =  2400
  4 |  1200 +   80 +   4               10 x    ( 8+5) =   130
                                        1 x        4  =     4
                                    -------------------------
                                                        81434

This is a very organized way to use the FOIL identity:

$$ (100x + 10y + z)(100a + 10b + c) = 10^4a +10^3(ay+bx)+10^2(az+by+cx)+10(bz+cy)+cz$$