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Anzan Kentei 5 kyu mock exam

On the 5 kyu paper of the League of Japan Abacus Associations (Nishuren), only one section changes from 6 kyu. Multiplication and division keep exactly the same specification, while the mitori column grows from six digits to eight: three of its five rows now have two digits.

  • 80 questions
  • 12 minutes
  • Pass: 400 of 500
  • Mitori: 5 kuchi, 8 ji

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5 kyu

80 questions (20 mitori, 30 kake, 30 wari) · 12 minutes · pass: 400 of 500

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Each time you start the mock exam it builds a new 80-question 5 kyu paper to the published specification. Use the 12-minute clock or turn it off, answer in whichever section order you are practising, and the result is scored like the real paper: 10 points for a mitori question, 5 for each multiplication and division, and a pass at 400. It is 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

5 kyu paper (Nishuren)

SectionQuestionsContentPoints
A: Mitori anzanNos. 1–201–2 keta, 5 kuchi, 8 ji: three 2-digit rows and two 1-digit rows on the official sample200 (10 each)
B: Kake anzanNos. 21–50Jitsuho 3 keta: 2-digit × 1-digit on the official sample150 (5 each)
C: Wari anzanNos. 51–80Hosho 3 keta: 1-digit divisor, 2-digit quotient on the official sample150 (5 each)
Whole paper80 questions12 minutes in total, any order500; pass at 400

Only section A differs from 6 kyu. The section totals appear on the official sample papers, and the per-question points are derived from them.

Sample paper

This fixed sample has 30 questions built to the 5 kyu specification: 10 mitori questions with three 2-digit rows and two 1-digit rows in each column, 10 multiplications of a 2-digit number by a 1-digit number, and 10 divisions with a 1-digit divisor and a 2-digit quotient. It runs 1 to 30 in one sequence instead of the real paper's 1 to 80. Following the official samples, every row is added and every division is exact; the answer key comes after the questions. It is not an official paper: Kani Math wrote it to the published specification.

5 kyuSample paper

This fixed sample has 30 questions built to the 5 kyu specification: 10 mitori questions with three 2-digit rows and two 1-digit rows in each column, 10 multiplications of a 2-digit number by a 1-digit number, and 10 divisions with a 1-digit divisor and a 2-digit quotient. It runs 1 to 30 in one sequence instead of the real paper's 1 to 80. Following the official samples, every row is added and every division is exact; the answer key comes after the questions. It is not an official paper: Kani Math wrote it to the published specification.

Mitori anzan: columns

  1. No. 143750691
  2. No. 256798468
  3. No. 351674619
  4. No. 414367667
  5. No. 555214885
  6. No. 677566293
  7. No. 731278310
  8. No. 813686358
  9. No. 966622548
  10. No. 1045187840

Kake anzan: multiplication

  1. No. 1195 × 4 =
  2. No. 1224 × 4 =
  3. No. 1343 × 3 =
  4. No. 1425 × 3 =
  5. No. 1549 × 4 =
  6. No. 1650 × 6 =
  7. No. 1797 × 4 =
  8. No. 1820 × 8 =
  9. No. 1928 × 9 =
  10. No. 2053 × 9 =

Wari anzan: division

  1. No. 21153 ÷ 3 =
  2. No. 22154 ÷ 7 =
  3. No. 23392 ÷ 4 =
  4. No. 24168 ÷ 3 =
  5. No. 25183 ÷ 3 =
  6. No. 26497 ÷ 7 =
  7. No. 27279 ÷ 3 =
  8. No. 28448 ÷ 7 =
  9. No. 29304 ÷ 4 =
  10. No. 30385 ÷ 7 =

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. 188
  2. 197
  3. 93
  4. 130
  5. 164
  6. 234
  7. 124
  8. 193
  9. 183
  10. 118
  11. 380
  12. 96
  13. 129
  14. 75
  15. 196
  16. 300
  17. 388
  18. 160
  19. 252
  20. 477
  21. 51
  22. 22
  23. 98
  24. 56
  25. 61
  26. 71
  27. 93
  28. 64
  29. 76
  30. 55

How it is scored

Scoring is unchanged from 6 kyu. The official sample prints 200 points for mitori, 150 for multiplication and 150 for division, which works out to 10, 5 and 5 points a question, and 400 of the 500 is a pass.

What does change is where the points are at risk. At 5 kyu the extra difficulty sits almost entirely in section A, and section A pays 10 points a question. Two more mitori errors than a child made at 6 kyu cost 20 points, as much as four slips in multiplication.

Since only the total counts, it helps to know the two edge cases. With full marks in multiplication and division (300 points), a candidate needs just 10 of the 20 mitori questions. With full marks in mitori (200 points), they need 40 of the 60 multiplication and division questions. Knowing where your child usually drops points shows which section deserves the practice time.

What changes at this level

  • The mitori specification moves from 5 kuchi 6 ji to 5 kuchi 8 ji. Five rows holding eight digits between them, each row one or two digits wide, means three 2-digit rows and two 1-digit rows, the shape on the official sample. For example, 38, 6, 51, 9, 27 makes 131.
  • Two things follow. Totals now usually pass 100 and can reach 315, so the child has to carry into the hundreds while still holding the tens. And adding a single digit to a total near or above 100 is where place-value slips happen: 9 added to 95 has to land on 104, not on 185.
  • Sections B and C do not change. The specification is still jitsuho 3 keta and hosho 3 keta, and the official sample still shows a 2-digit number times a 1-digit number, and a 1-digit divisor with a 2-digit quotient. A child who passed 6 kyu has met every multiplication and division shape on this paper already; the task now is doing them faster, to free time for the wider mitori.
  • The division rule is worth restating because it is easy to misread: hosho counts the digits of the divisor and the quotient, never the dividend. 234 ÷ 6 = 39 is a hosho 3 keta question, exactly as 65 ÷ 5 = 13 is.

Pacing

The clock is 12 minutes for 80 questions, the same 9 seconds a question on average as at 6 kyu, but the mitori section now holds 160 digits across its 20 questions instead of 120. Its share of the time has to grow.

One plan: 14 seconds a mitori question (4 minutes 40 seconds for section A), 5 seconds a multiplication (2 minutes 30 seconds) and 6 seconds a division (3 minutes). That is 10 minutes 10 seconds, leaving 1 minute 50 seconds of slack, noticeably less than the 2 minutes 30 seconds left by the 6 kyu plan.

Because the paper can be answered in any order, some candidates do sections B and C first. In that plan the first 5 minutes 30 seconds bank up to 300 points, and the remaining 6 minutes 30 seconds go to the 20 mitori questions, 19.5 seconds each. Which order suits a child is best settled on the mock exam.

How Zenshuren's exam differs

The League for Soroban Education of Japan (Zenshuren) also examines 5 kyu in multiplication, division and mitori, with each section on its own 3-minute clock and marked out of 100. Its pass rule is 70 or more in all three sections.

That rule changes how a weakness plays out. On Nishuren's paper, a candidate with full marks in mitori and multiplication (350 points) needs only 10 of the 30 divisions to reach 400. Under Zenshuren's rule, a division section below 70 means no pass, whatever the other two sections scored.

Zenshuren publishes no per-level question specifications online, so its published material does not show whether its 5 kyu mitori also uses five-row, eight-digit columns.

How to prepare

  1. Practise columns that cross 100

    Give your child five-row columns with three 2-digit rows until totals between 100 and 300 feel routine. The moment the running total passes 100 is where errors cluster, so practise that crossing on purpose.

  2. Watch the 1-digit rows

    A single digit arriving after two 2-digit rows is easy to add in the tens place. Vary where the 1-digit rows fall in practice columns so the child learns to notice the width of each row before adding it.

  3. Shave time off sections B and C

    The multiplication and division are the same as at 6 kyu, so the gain here is speed. Bringing each question down by a second or two frees a minute or more for the mitori section.

  4. Try both section orders

    Sit two or three mock papers starting with section A and two or three starting with section B, and compare the scores rather than how each order felt.

  5. Keep a short daily habit

    Short daily sessions of column addition and tables practice, on paper or in the Kani Math app, keep the speed up between mock papers. The app is general arithmetic practice, not a 5 kyu course.

Common questions

What is the difference between 6 kyu and 5 kyu?
Only the mitori section. At 6 kyu each column has one 2-digit row among five (six digits in all); at 5 kyu it has three (eight digits). Multiplication and division are specified identically at both grades.
How large can a 5 kyu mitori answer be?
With three 2-digit rows and two 1-digit rows, the largest possible total is 315: three 99s and two 9s. Three 2-digit rows alone usually add to more than 100, so a child needs to be secure with running totals in the hundreds.
Do the multiplication questions get harder at 5 kyu?
Not by specification. Both grades use jitsuho 3 keta, and the official samples show a 2-digit number times a 1-digit number at each. Individual questions vary, of course: 97 × 8 takes longer than 21 × 3.
Should my child sit 6 kyu first?
Not necessarily. Nishuren lets candidates start at any grade. A child whose mitori is already comfortable with 2-digit rows can go straight to 5 kyu. One who is still unsteady on multiplication or division may prefer 6 kyu, which tests the same sections B and C alongside an easier column.
Where is the exam held?
Nishuren's exams are organised locally, by chambers of commerce and local abacus leagues, and a candidate may sit at any venue, wherever they live or work. Few chambers of commerce offer the anzan exam, so it is worth asking early which one near you does.
Is the mock exam marked the same way as the real paper?
It applies the same arithmetic: 10 points for each mitori question, 5 for each multiplication and division, and 400 of 500 to pass. It was written by Kani Math to the published specification and is not an official paper; 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.

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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