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Cultural Demonstration: Traditional Japanese Soroban

Demonstrations & Performances

When
July 31, 2026 | 1:15 PM - 3:00 PM
Where
Cathy Rudd Cultural Corner, Yanai Classroom
Event Audience
Public and All Members
This event is included with daily admission or a membership to the Garden.
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An abacus placed on top of a sheet of financial information

Event Information

Join us for a special soroban presentation by Miwako Sakabayashi, President of Soroban League North America, featuring demonstrations by visiting students from Japan and the United States at the Jordan Schnitzer Japanese Arts Learning Center. 

Soroban, the Japanese abacus, was introduced to Japan from China more than 500 years ago and was refined into the uniquely Japanese style still used today. For centuries, it played an important role in education, business, and everyday life in Japan. Even in the digital age, soroban continues to be valued as both a practical calculation tool and a powerful method for developing concentration, memory, mental math skills, and a deeper understanding of numbers. 

During the presentation, visiting students from Japan, together with students from the United States, will demonstrate the results of their daily soroban training through exciting live performances and rapid mental calculation exercises. Guests will also learn how soroban students visualize numbers and perform amazingly fast calculations using the abacus. 

After the lecture, guests are invited to join Miwako Sakabayashi and participating students in the Yanai Classroom for a hands-on soroban experience. Students will teach visitors simple calculations using the abacus, offering a fun and interactive introduction to this traditional Japanese learning tool. 

About the Demonstrator

Miwako Sakabayashi currently serves as President of Soroban League North America and President of the Oregon Toyama Prefectural Association. She was born in Takaoka City, located in the northwestern part of Toyama Prefecture. She began attending a local abacus school in the second grade, going on to win Toyama-based competitions and tournaments in elementary and middle school. By the age of 12, she placed third in Japan’s National Abacus Competition.  

Sakabayashi went on to use her mathematical skills at a prestigious bank in Japan before moving to Oregon in the spring of 1992, influenced by the sister-state relationship between Oregon and her home prefecture of Toyama. In 2001, she founded the Japanese Abacus Math School (JAMS) based in Portland. Sakabayashi continues to teach Soroban to a wide range of students both at JAMS and at Portland State University.  

Thank You to Our Event Sponsors

Portland Japanese Garden would like to thank James F. and Marion L. The Miller Foundation , Oregon Arts Commission, and Toshiba International Foundation for their support of arts and culture programming.