

Vintage Soroban Kanban
Japanese Antique Kanban | Soroban / Abacus | Taisho Period
Age:Pre-1930
Descriptive qualities& condition:
Dimensions: 43-0”L x 12-1/4”w x 2-0”d
This is a wonderful RARE wooden Japanese Soroban / Kanban for an Abacus Shop. This realistic piece was designed especially for merchants in this specialization, as it is oversized and has eyelets hanging horizontally either inside or outside the shop. The is a large section and a small section are separated by a wood member that has been lacquered in a cream color, with 21 rows of beech wooden beads with 1/5 bead count, (style), 126 beads in total. Each bead is fitted onto bamboo and boar’s hair bristle dowels to keep each bead in position, although for a shop sign it was not necessarily to be an architectural signage piece used by the merchant or tradesmen.
The entire frame is made of Japanese Oak and probably crafted between 1920-1930. This date range can be inferred from the number of wooden beads it contains, (The Japanese formally changed a 1/5 style beading to a 1/4 style in 1930 when all Japanese school textbooks were revised). Due to its apparent age and construction, this Soroban was likely made exclusively with traditional Japanese hand tools to create the traditional joinery and metal corner hardware, which have held the abacus together all these years.
And finally, there is an ancient signature script on the top of the frame, which is an early form of Japanese “photographic script”, and cannot be interpreted. This kanban/abacus is a collector’s find for the number of beads that dictate a piece made in the Taisho era, and the signature indicates that the signer if it were the craftsman who made the piece, used a much older script to identify himself.
Condition: The abacus is in excellent condition which means that the piece is weathered and commensurate with age, with slight separation on the bottom side of the trim and most likely from being hung outside the merchant's shop. The original cast iron hanging fasteners from which it was hung remain functional and fully in tacked with the original finish. Designers today and keeping these wonderful pieces as found and insert them into metal frames with glass tops to create expressive tables.
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