OUR TEACHERS

MIWAKO SAKABAYASHI, FOUNDER

Lovingly known as Sensei Miwako (‘sensei’ means ‘teacher’ in Japanese), Miwako grew up in her native country of Japan with the Abacus. When she first put her hand to a heavenly bead at age 7, her path was set. At the age of 12, she placed third in Japan’s National Abacus Competition, and her Abacus math accomplishments as an adult garnered a prestigious position in Japan’s banking industry.

She came to the U.S. in 1992 and settled in Oregon. With her love of the Abacus and a passion for working with children and teaching, she founded the Japanese Abacus Math School, JAMS, in 2001. For Miwako, there’s no greater sense of accomplishment than seeing a student’s face light up with confidence when they discover their mental calculation abilities and succeed with their class work.

And Miwako is a hands-on person – maybe that’s why she’s so skilled with the Abacus. She’s earned degrees in calligraphy, flower arranging, tea ceremony and sewing kimonos. Beyond the classroom, she still enjoys those activities, as well as getting creative in the kitchen or preparing genuine Japanese cuisine.

MAI BUKRES, ASSISTANT TEACHER

Mai Bukres is a third-year undergraduate student at Portland State University majoring in International Studies, International Development, and with Economics along with a minor in Child/Youth and Family Studies. In the future, she hopes to apply her research with a focus on foreign policy concerning youth. She is also a full-time educator at the Japanese Abacus Math School, teaching children Abacus. She grew up in a Japanese-Libyan home in Tigard, Oregon, and studied abroad in Japan during high school, which heavily influenced her strong international perspective in academia. She also had the opportunity to be an intern for a congressman in Japan over the summer. In her free time, she enjoys playing the violin and has been classically trained since the age of 5.

HITOMI, EDUCATION ASSISTANT

Hi to all JAMS students and their families!

I am Hitomi, born and raised in Yokohama, Japan. I have been a resident of NW Portland for more than 23 years now. Some of you may still remember our daughter Misono, who is now a college freshman in Japan and majoring in architecture. She was a student at JAMS for about 10 years and learned a lot of things while she was there, including the importance of making steady efforts, not giving up your goals quickly, and being respectful of other people’s great accomplishments, in addition to her mental math skills.

I am so excited to be part of JAMS and to be able to help all of you from behind the scenes, mainly working on your educational materials. I look forward to learning with the JAMS students. Let’s advance our skills together as we challenge abacus learning. See you very soon in the classroom, and, more importantly, let’s motivate each other to master the abacus more!

CAROL

Carol grew up in Taiwan and came to the U.S. for college. During her childhood, she learned the abacus and it is a skill she encouraged her kids to pursue. Her oldest son started learning the abacus from Miwako Sensei when he was in kindergarten and loved it. He has now graduated from college and is working, but the growth mindset to persist that was built during those years has been carried throughout his life. It has also taught him important life skills like time management. Carol believes everyone can grow intellectually through effort. She has a heart to teach children and help them gain confidence in math. She is excited to work with kids, discover their potential, and celebrate their achievements!

ANIKA

Anika is a senior at Sunset High School and has over eight years of experience with the Abacus. In her free time, she loves to sing with her sister, read a good book, and play the harp. At her school, she is currently pursuing the IB Diploma, and she enjoys the subjects of math and business.

SITARA

Sitara is a teacher at JAMS and a senior in high school in Portland, Oregon. In the past, Sitara has tutored students across the country in the arts and sciences. Her love for STEM developed over the eight years she learned the abacus at JAMS and the time she spent on a local robotics team. Through tutoring and robotics mentoring, Sitara gained valuable experience engaging with youth. Academically, Sitara is interested in psychology, and in the future, she hopes to pursue a career in social work. This past summer, she worked with a social justice organization to empower the voices of young people in her community. Outside of these activities, Sitara enjoys reading a good book and playing the harp, which she has been learning for the past five years.

KOHTA

Kohta is a freshman at highschool and he always loves doing abacus. He started learning abacus when he was five and reached Dan 2 in both abacus and Anzan. His favorite subject in the abacus is the flash Anzan. He once got second place at the JAMS abacus tournament. Kohta strongly believes that learning an abacus really helped him do better at math. He hopes that he can help students with their abacus and their learning. Math is one of his favorite subjects but he also likes learning about economics and international relations. Outside JAMS, he enjoys playing badminton and playing his electric bass.