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Anzan Kentei 10 to 7 kyu mock exam

In the written mental-arithmetic exam (anzan kentei) run by the League of Japan Abacus Associations (Nishuren), the first four grades share a single paper. Candidates for all four sit the same 50 mitori anzan questions (columns of single-digit numbers) in 12 minutes, and the score decides whether the grade awarded is 10, 9, 8 or 7 kyu.

  • 50 mitori questions
  • 12 minutes, one clock
  • 10 points each
  • Grades at 250, 300, 350, 400

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10 to 7 kyu (one shared paper)

50 mitori questions · 12 minutes · 250 / 300 / 350 / 400 points for 10 / 9 / 8 / 7 kyu

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The mock exam builds a fresh 50-question paper to the same specification every time you start it: 15 three-row, 15 four-row and 20 five-row questions. Run it on the official 12-minute clock or untimed, answer in any order, and when it ends it marks every question at 10 points and shows which of 10, 9, 8 or 7 kyu the score would reach, if any. It is practice written to the published rules, not an official exam.

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

10 to 7 kyu shared paper (Nishuren)

SectionQuestionsContentPoints
Mitori anzanNos. 1–153 kuchi 3 ji: three 1-digit rows150 (10 each)
Mitori anzanNos. 16–304 kuchi 4 ji: four 1-digit rows150 (10 each)
Mitori anzanNos. 31–505 kuchi 5 ji: five 1-digit rows200 (10 each)
Whole paper50 questions12 minutes for the paper, answered in any order500

A kuchi is one row of a column, so 3 kuchi means three rows; ji is the total number of digits across the rows. The grade follows the score: 400 or more is 7 kyu, 350 or more 8 kyu, 300 or more 9 kyu and 250 or more 10 kyu. Every row on the official sample papers is added.

Sample paper

Below is a fixed sample of 15 questions built to the shared paper's published specification: five 3-row, four 4-row and six 5-row questions (the real paper's 15, 15 and 20, scaled down), with every row a single digit and every row added, as on the official samples. It is numbered 1 to 15 rather than 1 to 50, and the answer key follows. It stays the same each time the page loads, so it can be printed for a class. Kani Math wrote it; it is not an official Nishuren paper.

10 to 7 kyuSample paper

Below is a fixed sample of 15 questions built to the shared paper's published specification: five 3-row, four 4-row and six 5-row questions (the real paper's 15, 15 and 20, scaled down), with every row a single digit and every row added, as on the official samples. It is numbered 1 to 15 rather than 1 to 50, and the answer key follows. It stays the same each time the page loads, so it can be printed for a class. Kani Math wrote it; it is not an official Nishuren paper.

Mitori anzan: columns

  1. No. 1483
  2. No. 2213
  3. No. 3856
  4. No. 4427
  5. No. 5132
  6. No. 69231
  7. No. 72835
  8. No. 89142
  9. No. 92158
  10. No. 1019568
  11. No. 1194123
  12. No. 1229343
  13. No. 1356176
  14. No. 1467129
  15. No. 1517345

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
  1. 15
  2. 6
  3. 19
  4. 13
  5. 6
  6. 15
  7. 18
  8. 16
  9. 16
  10. 29
  11. 19
  12. 21
  13. 25
  14. 25
  15. 20

How it is scored

Each of the 50 questions is worth 10 points, so the paper is marked out of 500 and every question counts the same, whether it has three rows or five. There is no single pass line: the total is read against four grade lines, and the highest line the score reaches is the grade awarded.

Counted in correct answers, the lines fall at 25 correct (250 points) for 10 kyu, 30 correct (300) for 9 kyu, 35 correct (350) for 8 kyu and 40 correct (400) for 7 kyu. A candidate can miss up to 10 questions and still reach 7 kyu, and can miss half the paper and still reach 10 kyu. Below 25 correct, that sitting awards no grade.

Because one sitting can land on any of the four grades, the paper places a child whose level is not yet clear. The 400-point line for 7 kyu is also the pass mark on every Nishuren kyu paper from 6 kyu up.

What changes at this level

  • This is the first rung of Nishuren's anzan ladder, so there is no lower paper to compare it with. On the official samples it asks a child to add single digits to a running total in their head and to carry past 10 without losing the tens.
  • The difficulty climbs inside the paper instead of between grades: three rows in Nos. 1 to 15, four in Nos. 16 to 30 and five in Nos. 31 to 50. Totals stay small (at most 27, 36 and 45), but each extra row is one more number to take in while holding the total. A 3-row question might read 4, 7, 2 (answer 13); a 5-row one 5, 8, 7, 9, 6 (answer 35), crossing 10, reaching 20 and passing 30 on the way down.
  • Nishuren created the 7 to 10 kyu grades in fiscal 2003. They are the only kyu grades on its anzan ladder that share a paper.

Pacing

Twelve minutes for 50 questions is 720 seconds, or 14.4 seconds a question on average. The paper holds 205 rows in all (45, 60 and 100 in the three blocks), which comes to about 3.5 seconds a row.

One way to split it: about 10 seconds for each 3-row question (2 minutes 30 seconds for Nos. 1 to 15), 13 seconds for each 4-row question (3 minutes 15 seconds for Nos. 16 to 30) and 16 seconds for each 5-row question (5 minutes 20 seconds for Nos. 31 to 50). That adds up to 11 minutes 5 seconds and leaves just under a minute to go back over gaps.

Since every question carries the same 10 points, a question that stalls is expensive: 40 seconds spent on one sum is roughly the time of three shorter ones. Answers may go in any order, so a child who freezes can leave a gap and return at the end.

For a child aiming at 10 kyu, 25 correct answers in 720 seconds is one every 28.8 seconds, which leaves room to slow down and check.

How Zenshuren's exam differs

The League for Soroban Education of Japan (Zenshuren) runs its own anzan exam with the same kyu numbers, in a different format. Its 8, 9 and 10 kyu are mitori only, set as two separate mitori sections, A and B. Its 7 kyu has one multiplication section and one mitori section. Division does not appear at Zenshuren until 6 kyu.

Each Zenshuren section runs on its own 3-minute clock and is marked out of 100. A pass at 7 to 10 kyu needs 70 or more in both sections, so a strong section cannot make up for a weak one. Zenshuren publishes no per-level question specifications online.

The practical difference for a family is at 7 kyu. A Nishuren 7 kyu is addition only on the official samples, while a Zenshuren 7 kyu already includes multiplication. Check which federation's exam your school or local venue runs before choosing what to practise.

How to prepare

  1. Make the facts to 10 automatic

    Pairs that make 10 (3 and 7, 4 and 6) and bridging through 10 (8 plus 5 is 10 plus 3) carry almost every question here. If a child still counts on fingers, a few minutes a day on these facts helps more than long sessions.

  2. Practise all three row counts

    Work at 3, 4 and 5 rows rather than staying on the easiest. The 20 five-row questions are worth 200 of the 500 points, more than either of the other blocks.

  3. Read the column, not a list

    The paper prints each question as a written column. Practise from columns on paper or on screen, reading top to bottom without saying the numbers aloud, so the eyes and the running total move together.

  4. Rehearse the full 12 minutes

    Run the mock exam below on the clock a few times before the day and note which block runs short. Results can dip under exam conditions, so for 9 kyu (300) aim for 350 at home.

  5. Keep practice short and daily

    Five to ten minutes a day of column addition, on paper or in the Kani Math app, builds speed more steadily than one long weekend session. The app is general arithmetic practice, not a course for this exam.

Common questions

Does my child have to start at 10 kyu?
No. Nishuren's FAQ says candidates may start at any grade, and may sit the exam at any venue regardless of where they live or work. On this paper the question hardly arises, since one sitting can award any of the four grades.
What happens if my child scores below 250?
No grade is awarded on that sitting. A child who can finish half the paper accurately inside 12 minutes is at the 10 kyu line.
Is there any subtraction on the 10 to 7 kyu paper?
Not on the official sample papers, where every row is added. The published rules do not spell this out. On Nishuren's samples, subtracted rows first appear at pre-1 kyu, inside the 10-row mitori problems.
When can the paper be taken?
As of September 2026, Nishuren holds unified exam dates in June, October and February, though the month can differ by local chamber of commerce or abacus league. Anytime sittings also exist at every kyu level. Few chambers of commerce offer the anzan exam, so check locally before planning around a date.
What comes after 7 kyu?
6 kyu, which changes the format entirely: 80 questions in the same 12 minutes, with 20 mitori questions, 30 multiplications and 30 divisions, and a single pass mark of 400 out of 500. The mitori rows also stop being all single digits: on the official sample, one of the five rows has two digits.
Is the mock exam on this page an official practice test?
No. Kani Math is not affiliated with, endorsed by or licensed by Nishuren, Zenshuren, the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry or any other exam body. The sample and the mock exam follow the published specification, but they are not official papers.

Sources

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.

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