FurugiStar
Japanese Abacus (Soroban). Antique, between 1850 - 1930.
Japanese abacus, known as soroban in Japan. The reverse side has carved kanji characters painted red and black. Hand carved kanji numbers are across the front.
This is a 1/5 soroban: 1 bead above and 5 below.
In 1600s 2/5 soroban were imported from China. In 1850 they were changed to the 1/5 type (same as this one). Finally, they were revised to better suit decimal calculation in 1930 and became 1/4. This type is still used today in elementary schools.
Therefore, this bead combination shows that this was made somewhere between 1850 and 1930.
This, and many other Japanese vintage/antique items, are for sale here:
If you would like regular updates of new items find me on Facebook and Twitter:
Japanese Abacus (Soroban). Antique, between 1850 - 1930.
Japanese abacus, known as soroban in Japan. The reverse side has carved kanji characters painted red and black. Hand carved kanji numbers are across the front.
This is a 1/5 soroban: 1 bead above and 5 below.
In 1600s 2/5 soroban were imported from China. In 1850 they were changed to the 1/5 type (same as this one). Finally, they were revised to better suit decimal calculation in 1930 and became 1/4. This type is still used today in elementary schools.
Therefore, this bead combination shows that this was made somewhere between 1850 and 1930.
This, and many other Japanese vintage/antique items, are for sale here:
If you would like regular updates of new items find me on Facebook and Twitter: