滋賀はどこにあるか知っていますか？

Do you know where Shiga is? We already do.

One day after the Tokyo 2021 Olympics began, we met with students from the University of
Shiga University. Admittedly only virtually, but for the past 2 years it’s actually normal. Preparations for the games began in November 2020. That was when Professor Chikakane wrote for the first time.

Meeting with students from Japan was an interesting experience. In a month, another one. And in February 2022 there is hope for personal contact, because students from Shiga will be in Poland and we plan to spend time together.

Unfortunately the Polish Post Office failed us and we didn’t receive the package with the necessary materials. The first meeting with Soroban took place without an abacus. But maybe it was supposed to be so, because more time could be spent admiring the Master in action. Rui Kitamura is Japanese Master of Soroban calculations, she took 1st place at the age of 12.

After the meeting we talked for a long time about the fact that in Polish school, no one teaches the use of abacus. We joked that if a student did the calculations from memory (multiplication of four-digit numbers), the teacher would write on the report card “where did you get this result?”.
It was a Saturday morning. It was time well spent.

* The graphic shows Shiga University’s mascot, which is Kamon-chan.
The project is supported by two embassies: Embassy of Poland in Japan and Embassy of Japan in Poland.

Information about the project is also found on the University’s webpage here.