🎎 Handmade Japanese Counting Toy – Repurposed Soroban Beads – Japan Antique Roadshow
🎎 This is a one-of-a-kind handmade toy—likely crafted by a parent for their child using the salvaged parts of a broken soroban (Japanese abacus). Rather than discard the old abacus, someone bent a few iron wires, anchored them into a piece of wood, and threaded on the original wooden beads—three rows of ten. Whether it was intended as a simple counting aid or just something fun to fiddle with, we’ll never know for sure. But what’s clear is the love, care, and ingenuity behind it.
The soroban was once a common sight in Japanese classrooms and shops—a beautifully efficient calculating device that taught generations of kids the rhythm of numbers. This piece is no longer functional in that way, but it still offers a kind of arithmetic charm, like a lullaby remembered from childhood.
📏 Approximate dimensions
• Length: 20.5 cm
• Width: 6.2 cm
• Thickness: ~0.75 cm
• Beads: Standard wooden soroban type (~1 cm each)
• Weight: 90 g
• Materials: Wood, iron wire, original nails
• Condition: Worn but stable, with oxidation on metal and signs of long use
• Estimated era: Early Showa, Taisho, or possibly even Meiji period
Curated in Shizuoka City by Kurt Bell, this humble creation offers a quiet little window into Japanese home life—resourceful, handmade, and made to last.
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Quality Guarantee & Returns
- Quality is guaranteed. If there is a print error or visible quality issue, we'll replace or refund it.
- Because the products are made to order, we do not accept general returns or sizing-related returns.