OSAKA - The All-Japan Youth Soroban Championship brought together super kids aged 15 and under from across Japan in Osaka. For first-year high school student Yuzu, one of the title favorites, this would be her final competition.
Having previously won national titles in the under-10 and under-12 divisions, her goal this time was to claim the coveted Best Performer Award in the event finals, regarded as the highlight of the tournament. We followed her closely as the fierce battle unfolded.
At Sonoda High School in Tokyo’s Shibuya, Yuzu appears like any energetic first-year student, though her reputation as a soroban ace has spread throughout the school. "I prioritize soroban, so I practice whenever I find a spare moment," she said. Yuzu began learning soroban at the age of five and quickly demonstrated her talent. By eight, she had earned the highest Anzan 10-dan certification, and at ten, she passed the advanced Shuzan-dan level, winning numerous competitions along the way. Outside of soroban, she plays bass in her school's music club, where she shows intense focus. "Once I pick up the bass, my mindset completely changes," she said, suggesting her sense of rhythm also supports her soroban skills.
When calculating, she moves her fingers quickly across the beads, solving large-number problems with tempo and precision. "Rhythm is very important in soroban. I focus on keeping a steady tempo," she explained. In some cases, she even relies on instinct for the lower two digits. Yuzu commutes for about an hour from Shibuya to a soroban school in Saitama Prefecture, often returning home late at night, especially during the intensive training in the final month before the tournament.
Two key rivals stood in her way. First was Kō, a third-year junior high student who set two tournament records last year, including titles in multiplication and division, making him a strong contender again. Another was second-year junior high student Yunamu, who had made remarkable progress over the past year. "We’ve been competing together all year for this Youth Championship, so I want to win this time," Yuzu said, aware that she no longer had the luxury of saying "next year" as she had in the past.
In training, she carefully reviewed her weak points. "Sometimes my writing can't keep up with my calculation speed and gets messy. I'm not very good with 3, 8, and 0," she admitted. Since even correct answers can be marked wrong if illegible, her focus was not only on speed but also on clarity.
The day of the competition arrived. A total of 390 competitors from across Japan gathered in Osaka. "I'm excited, but I want to stay calm and do my best," Yuzu said as she entered the hall, where her parents were also present to support her.
The morning session covered six disciplines, including multiplication, division, and mental arithmetic, with competitors aiming for perfect scores within strict time limits. Though soroban was allowed, top contestants often solved problems entirely with mental calculation, even the youngest kindergartners among them. Yuzu’s trademark rhythm helped her breeze through the problems confidently, receiving applause from the audience.
The afternoon featured the highlight event: the event finals, where the top ten in each discipline competed for speed. The first event was multiplication — six five-digit problems to be solved. The tournament record was 16.34 seconds, set by Kō last year. Yuzu performed steadily but made two mistakes, finishing in fourth place. Kō ranked third after being promoted from fifth.
Next was division, where Kō held another record at 8.967 seconds. Yuzu aimed to improve her standing here but again finished third, with neither her nor Kō achieving a perfect score. "I felt like I might have made a mistake," Yuzu said, noting that speed sometimes compromised her handwriting clarity. She had now lost both of her strongest events and felt the pressure to recover.
With only three events left for her to compete in, Yuzu knew she could not afford any further mistakes. However, the pressure of her final tournament disrupted her rhythm, leading to an unsatisfactory time and a fourth-place finish. With that, her hopes of winning the Best Performer Award were effectively gone.
Despite her disappointment, Yuzu kept fighting. She quietly began preparing for the final event: vertical addition, involving long columns of numbers. The tournament record stood at 6.973 seconds. As her turn came, she attacked the problems with renewed determination. In the end, three students from her training school claimed the top spots, with Yuzu finishing third once again.
Ultimately, Sachi secured the Best Performer Award, but Yuzu, though frustrated, expressed gratitude. "It’s disappointing, but I’m glad Sachi won. There are many other big stages ahead, so I want to keep improving," she said. In the overall competition, she achieved a perfect score and earned the top national ranking, proving that this experience will only fuel her growth further.
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The soroban, Japan’s traditional abacus, has played a central role in the country’s calculation culture for centuries. Introduced from China during the Muromachi period around the 14th or 15th century, it was originally based on the Chinese suanpan, which featured two beads on the upper deck and five on the lower.Over time, Japanese mathematicians adapted and refined the device to better suit domestic needs, gradually evolving it into the simpler design seen today, with one bead above and four below. This streamlined format made it highly effective for Japan’s decimal currency system and various commercial applications.
By the Edo period in the 17th century, the soroban had become indispensable to merchants, officials, and commoners alike, as stable economic growth under the Tokugawa shogunate fueled demand for accurate accounting and financial management.
Soroban schools, known as soroban juku, proliferated across towns and villages, teaching children and aspiring clerks not only calculation skills but also discipline and concentration.
As Japan opened to the West during the Meiji era, the soroban retained its relevance despite the arrival of mechanical calculators. It continued to be widely taught in schools, appreciated not only for its practicality but also for fostering cognitive development through anzan, or mental arithmetic performed without touching the device. Even with the spread of digital calculators and computers in the postwar era, soroban education remained deeply rooted in Japanese schooling.
Today, young students still practice soroban in schools and private academies, developing extraordinary speed and accuracy that are showcased at national and international competitions. The enduring popularity of events such as the All-Japan Youth Soroban Championship underscores how this centuries-old instrument remains a vital part of Japanese education and culture, blending tradition with modern forms of mental training.
Source: YOMIURI
