Soroban
Japanese Shopkeeper's abacus
early C20th, wood, brass rods , 13" long
biconal beads divided by a reckoning bar:
above the Heavenly, below the Five Earthly.
from a temple market in Osaka
The soroban has been in use for calculation for over 500 years in Japan, is still used by some and until recently was taught to school children.
