The Unshu area in Shimane Prefecture is the birthplace of the highly-valued Unshu abacus, from which the contemporary Japanese abacus is descended. The Unshu abacus originates from an abacus modeled on one from Hiroshima and made by Kichigoro Muraue, a carpenter in the village of Nita in Shimane Prefecture. Craftsmen in the town of Yokota  reformed his model, designed an abacus-making tool and made a lathe to whittle the beads. As a result, an indigenous industry began on the basis of the renown of the Unshu abacus.. Moreover, its fame led to an abrupt rise in production. The Unshu abacus still keeps the hand-crafted tradition, yet it is adapting to the modern world, and in Japan, it shares about 70% of the abacus market. The great skills needed to make the Unshu abacus have been passed down over 180 years and inherited by today’s craftsman.