History of Soroban

   An Abacus is " an instrument for performing calculations by sliding counters along rods or in grooves"


There has been a need to calculate from the time man started to live in groups and traded among themselves. Some sort of calculating tool has been in use from the time of Sumerians (2700 - 2300 BC). Various forms of the abacus have been used by ancient Greeks, Romans, Chinese, Indian, Russians and many other cultures.



SOROBAN – Modern Day Abacus

The Japanese were introduced to 'suan pan', the Chinese abacus in the 1600's. Suan pan has 2 heaven and 5 earth beads. Japanese developed and renamed this abacus "soroban". Soroban has 1 heaven and 4 earth beads. This perfectly adapts to the present day decimal number calculation. It is an invaluable calculating tool to those who know how to use it.


Abacus