Free mock exam

Anzan Kentei 1 kyu and pre-1 kyu mock exam

1 kyu is the top of the kyu ladder of the League of Japan Abacus Associations (Nishuren). The column problems reach ten 3-digit rows and, on the official samples of pre-1 kyu and 1 kyu, include subtracted rows for the first time, while multiplication moves up to five digits across multiplicand and multiplier (jitsuho 5 keta) and division to five across divisor and quotient (hosho 5 keta), with the dividend not counted. Pre-1 kyu sits between 2 kyu and 1 kyu, and after 1 kyu comes the separate dan exam.

80 questions
12 minutes for the whole paper
Pass: 400 of 500
Ten 3-digit rows; subtraction on the sample

Free, no sign-up, no download

Which paper?

Clock

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Choose 1 kyu or pre-1 kyu and the mock exam writes a complete 80-question paper to that specification, subtracted rows in the ten-row columns included. Run it on the official 12-minute clock or untimed and answer in any order. It is scored at 10 points per column problem and 5 per multiplication or division and graded against the 400 pass mark. It is a practice paper, not an official one.

Built to the published format

Every paper follows the question counts, digit widths and question shapes of the published specification and sample papers, and a new paper is written each time you start.

The real clock

One 12-minute clock for a kyu paper, 3 + 3 + 4 minutes for dan, or untimed while you are learning. Answer the questions in any order, as in the exam.

Marked the way the paper is marked

Points per question, the pass mark or grade reached and, for dan, the rule that the lowest section decides the rank, then every wrong answer next to the right one.

The official format

1 kyu paper (Nishuren)

Section	Questions	Content	Points
A: Mitori anzan	Nos. 1–20	3 keta, 10 kuchi, 30 ji: ten 3-digit rows; 8 of the 20 problems on the official sample include subtracted rows	200 (10 each)
B: Kake anzan	Nos. 21–50	Jitsuho 5 keta: 3-digit × 2-digit and 2-digit × 3-digit on the official sample, such as 607 × 38 and 24 × 480	150 (5 each)
C: Wari anzan	Nos. 51–80	Hosho 5 keta: a 2-digit divisor with a 3-digit quotient, or a 3-digit divisor with a 2-digit quotient, on the official sample; dividends of 4 or 5 digits, such as 24,440 ÷ 65 and 6,090 ÷ 210	150 (5 each)
Whole paper	80 questions	One 12-minute clock, sections in any order	500; pass at 400

Section totals as printed on the official sample, with points per question worked out from them. The count of problems with subtracted rows is what the official sample shows; the written rules do not say where subtraction appears.

Pre-1 kyu (jun-ikkyu) paper (Nishuren)

Section	Questions	Content	Points
A: Mitori anzan	Nos. 1–10	3 keta, 7 kuchi, 21 ji: seven 3-digit rows, the 2 kyu shape	100 (10 each)
A: Mitori anzan	Nos. 11–20	3 keta, 10 kuchi, 30 ji: ten 3-digit rows; 4 of these 10 on the official sample include subtracted rows	100 (10 each)
B: Kake anzan	Nos. 21–35	Jitsuho 4 keta: 2-digit × 2-digit on the official sample	75 (5 each)
B: Kake anzan	Nos. 36–50	Jitsuho 5 keta: 3-digit × 2-digit or 2-digit × 3-digit on the official sample	75 (5 each)
C: Wari anzan	Nos. 51–65	Hosho 4 keta: a 2-digit divisor with a 2-digit quotient on the official sample	75 (5 each)
C: Wari anzan	Nos. 66–80	Hosho 5 keta: a 3-digit divisor with a 2-digit quotient, or a 2-digit divisor with a 3-digit quotient, on the official sample	75 (5 each)
Whole paper	80 questions	One 12-minute clock, sections in any order	500; pass at 400

The spec lists 15 multiplication and 15 division questions at each size; the shapes shown are those on the official sample, smaller size first. Points are worked out from the section totals, as on the 1 kyu paper.

Sample paper

The sample below is a shortened 1 kyu paper written to the published specification: ten column problems of ten 3-digit rows, four of which include subtracted rows, then ten 5-digit multiplications mixing 3-digit × 2-digit with 2-digit × 3-digit, then ten divisions mixing 2-digit divisors that give 3-digit quotients with 3-digit divisors that give 2-digit quotients, numbered 1 to 30. The real paper has 20, 30 and 30 questions. Pre-1 kyu shapes are in the mock exam rather than here. It is not an official paper.

1 kyu & pre-1 kyuSample paper

Mitori anzan: columns

No. 1159732637927971353367993104168
No. 2217180332925977346757609511547
No. 3833577975216902921632582627202
No. 4232618688597416102257245849926
No. 5142285−142385472809−362827−830873
No. 6175888560710587416117649846495
No. 7562435−307−477448−129503838908948
No. 8385266−412201937−714−112317165385
No. 9592−102149880−412−794231−195233444
No. 10737474932628568313589853939452

Kake anzan: multiplication

No. 11167 × 98 =
No. 12285 × 14 =
No. 13943 × 69 =
No. 14910 × 66 =
No. 15647 × 20 =
No. 1630 × 657 =
No. 1751 × 230 =
No. 1868 × 636 =
No. 1933 × 865 =
No. 2043 × 673 =

Wari anzan: division

No. 2135,297 ÷ 47 =
No. 2229,400 ÷ 75 =
No. 2336,331 ÷ 47 =
No. 2420,300 ÷ 25 =
No. 2522,104 ÷ 24 =
No. 2615,910 ÷ 370 =
No. 2714,976 ÷ 624 =
No. 2826,676 ÷ 702 =
No. 294,452 ÷ 212 =
No. 3063,140 ÷ 820 =

Kani Math is not affiliated with, endorsed by or licensed by the League of Japan Abacus Associations (Nishuren), the League for Soroban Education of Japan (Zenshuren), the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry or any other exam body. The sample papers and mock exam on these pages are written to the published specification; they are not official papers, and a mock result is not a certification. Flash Anzan is a trademark of its owner. Exam details can change, so confirm them with whoever runs your sitting.

Answer key

5,411
5,401
6,467
4,930
2,459
5,443
3,729
1,418
1,026
6,485
16,366
3,990
65,067
60,060
12,940
19,710
11,730
43,248
28,545
28,939
751
392
773
812
921
43
24
38
21
77

How it is scored

The weights are the same as at every grade from 6 kyu up: 200 for the 20 column problems, 150 for 30 multiplications and 150 for 30 divisions on the official sample, which works out to 10, 5 and 5 points a question. The pass mark is 400.

At 1 kyu a column problem carries 30 digits of work for its 10 points, while a 5-digit multiplication earns 5 points. Leaving two ten-row problems costs as much as leaving four multiplications.

The 100-point margin can go on ten column problems, twenty multiplication or division questions, or a mix. A candidate who reaches only 16 of the column problems but gets everything else right scores 460.

Pre-1 kyu uses the same marks and the same 400 to pass.

What changes at this level

Columns grow from seven rows to ten: 3 keta, 10 kuchi, 30 ji, so thirty digits per problem. The width has been three digits since 3 kyu; only the number of rows keeps rising.
Subtraction appears for the first time on the official samples. In 8 of the 20 ten-row problems at 1 kyu, and 4 of the 10 at pre-1 kyu, some rows are subtracted. One ten-row problem on the official samples reads 632, 140, 837, −615, −397, 184, 756, −508, −924, 209, which works out to 314. No official sample from 10 kyu to 2 kyu has a subtracted row.
Multiplication moves to jitsuho 5 keta, five digits between the two numbers. The sample uses both 3-digit × 2-digit (607 × 38 = 23,066) and 2-digit × 3-digit (24 × 480 = 11,520), so the longer number can be either the multiplicand or the multiplier.
Division moves to hosho 5 keta, which the official sample fills with a 2-digit divisor and a 3-digit quotient, or a 3-digit divisor and a 2-digit quotient. Dividends on the sample run to four or five digits: 24,440 ÷ 65 = 376, 35,778 ÷ 534 = 67, 7,446 ÷ 73 = 102 and 6,090 ÷ 210 = 29.
Two details in those divisions deserve attention: 102 has a zero inside the quotient, and 210 is a divisor that ends in zero.

Pacing

The clock is still 720 seconds for 80 questions, 9 seconds on average, but the columns are now 30 digits long and, on the official samples, some of them change direction partway down.

A worked budget: at 7 seconds per multiplication and division, the 60 short questions use 420 seconds and leave 300 for the columns. That is 15 seconds per ten-row problem, 1.5 seconds per row.

At 6 seconds each, the short questions use 360 seconds and each column gets 18 seconds, 1.8 seconds a row. Subtracted rows interrupt the rhythm of adding, so treat them as the slowest rows on the paper when planning.

If time is running out, the scoring decides what to leave: an unfinished column costs 10 points and an unfinished multiplication 5, so the better choice is whichever the candidate can finish correctly in the seconds that remain.

Pre-1 kyu hands some time back: half of its columns have seven rows, and half of its multiplication and division is at the 4-digit size of 2 kyu.

How Zenshuren's exam differs

The League for Soroban Education of Japan (Zenshuren) also tops its kyu range at 1 kyu. Its paper has three separately timed sections, multiplication, division and mitori, 3 minutes each and 100 points each, and a pass needs 70 or more in every section.

Zenshuren publishes no per-level question specifications online, so its 1 kyu shapes cannot be set against the Nishuren shapes shown here. Decimals appear only in Zenshuren's dan exams, not in its kyu exams.

The ladders above 1 kyu are also built differently. Nishuren's dan exam is one paper whose sections are ranked from 90 to 290 points; Zenshuren marks each dan section out of 200, with 70 or more in all three for pre-shodan and 190 or more for 10th dan.

Zenshuren runs kyu exams every month and dan exams six times a year, in January, March, May, July, September and November (as of September 2026).

How to prepare

Add subtraction before the exam does
Because the samples bring in subtracted rows only at pre-1 kyu and 1 kyu, a student coming from 2 kyu may never have met a minus row under time. Start with one or two subtracted rows in a ten-row column and build towards the four in the sample problem quoted on this page.
Grow the column in rows, not in width
The rows have been three digits wide since 3 kyu. Move from seven rows to eight, nine and ten, holding accuracy at each step before adding the next.
Mix both 5-digit multiplication shapes
607 × 38 and 24 × 480 are the same size of problem but feel different. Put both shapes in every practice set so neither comes as a surprise.
Practise divisions with zeros
Build a small set of divisions whose quotient has a zero inside, like 7,446 ÷ 73 = 102, and whose divisor ends in zero, like 6,090 ÷ 210 = 29.
Look ahead to dan
Dan multiplication starts at the 1 kyu size of five digits and goes on to six and seven, with 60 questions in 3 minutes. A student who finishes 1 kyu with time to spare has a realistic next target in the dan paper.

Common questions

When does subtraction first appear in the column problems?

On the official samples, in the ten-row column problems of pre-1 kyu (4 of 10) and 1 kyu (8 of 20). No official sample from 10 kyu to 2 kyu has a subtracted row. The written rules do not say where subtraction appears, so this is what the samples show rather than a rule.

What does hosho 5 keta allow?

The divisor and the quotient share five digits, and the dividend is not counted. On the 1 kyu sample that means a 2-digit divisor with a 3-digit quotient (24,440 ÷ 65 = 376, 7,446 ÷ 73 = 102) or a 3-digit divisor with a 2-digit quotient (35,778 ÷ 534 = 67, 6,090 ÷ 210 = 29). The dividend comes out at four or five digits depending on the numbers.

Can the multiplier have three digits at 1 kyu?

Yes. Jitsuho 5 keta covers both 3-digit × 2-digit and 2-digit × 3-digit, and the official sample has both, for example 607 × 38 and 24 × 480.

Is 1 kyu scored differently from the lower kyu?

No. Like every paper from 6 kyu up, it has 80 questions in 12 minutes, 500 points and a pass mark of 400. The rise in difficulty comes from the content, not from the marking.

What comes after 1 kyu?

Nishuren's dan exam: a separate paper that covers all 13 ranks, from pre-shodan to 10th dan, with each section's score deciding its rank. Its three sections have their own clocks (3, 3 and 4 minutes), and its multiplication starts at the same five-digit size as 1 kyu. The dan page covers the format.

Where and when can my child sit 1 kyu?

As of September 2026, Nishuren's kyu exams run on unified dates in June, October and February, though the month can differ by local chamber or league, and anytime sittings exist at every kyu level. Few chambers of commerce offer the anzan exam, so check with your local chamber or abacus school before planning.

Sources

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