Soroban, the Japanese abacus

In short

How the soroban came to Japan

The soroban is said to have come from China to Nagasaki at the end of the Muromachi period. A Chinese abacus, with two beads above the middle bar and five below, was improved into the shape used today.

People in Japan are thought to have begun using it in daily life in the Bunroku era (1592–95).

At that time a mathematician, Mori Kanbei Shigeyoshi, opened a school in Kyoto called “Tenka-ichi Warizan Shinan.” He taught soroban calculation to many people, and this started its spread across the country.

Banshu soroban from Ono

In the Tensho era (1573–91), when Toyotomi Hideyoshi attacked Miki Castle, people of the area fled toward Otsu. There they learned how Otsu soroban were made, and after they came home they began making soroban around Miki and Ono. This is said to be the start of soroban making in the Banshu area of Hyogo Prefecture.

Soroban making grew around the city of Ono, which came to make much of Japan’s soroban. The busiest years were around 1960.

After that, demand fell, for four reasons given by Hyogo Prefecture: calculators spread, schools gave fewer hours to the soroban, offices began using computers, and there were fewer children.

In June 1976, Banshu soroban were named a traditional craft by the Minister of International Trade and Industry. Makers have since made colorful soroban and run workshops where people build their own, in Japan and abroad.

The soroban in school today

Japan’s national curriculum, the Course of Study made in 2017, has a part on the soroban in grade 3 and grade 4 mathematics.

In grade 3, children learn how numbers are shown on a soroban, and learn how to do simple addition and subtraction with it.

In grade 4, children add and subtract with the soroban.

In both grades, children look at how the soroban works and use that to think about how to calculate with large numbers and decimals.

The curriculum also says that in the lower grades, teachers should use the soroban and real objects as teaching tools when helpful, so that children understand what numbers and calculations mean.

Think about it

• Q1On a soroban, one bead can stand for 1, 10, 100 or more, depending on its rod. How is that like writing numbers on paper?
• Q2Calculators made the soroban less needed for work. Why might schools still teach it?
• Q3What tools for counting or calculating were used in your country in the past?

There is no single right answer. Talking it over with someone at home is a good way to learn.