About Kodomo School
Growing the roots of the heart
through “reading, writing and soroban.”
We began in 1972 as a small tutoring school in Toyohashi. Today, at local classrooms in Aichi and Shizuoka and in Hanoi, Vietnam, we cheer on children’s “I did it!” moments.
What we value
“Visible skills” and
“invisible strengths”
Growing visible skills (traditional & right-brain education)
We teach Japan’s traditional basics: “reading, writing and soroban (Japanese abacus).” By focusing on soroban and calligraphy, children build solid, visible skills: calculation, beautiful handwriting, and also focus and patience.
Growing invisible strengths (heart & philosophy)
Even more than visible skills, we value education that nurtures the heart. We help each child’s individuality grow, and we also make time to think about questions with no one right answer, like “What do we live for?” and “What is happiness?”
Nurturing the heart
Thinking, sharing, appreciating each other
Waku-Waku Kids’ Meeting
Philosophy time for children, where everyone thinks together about questions with no one right answer.
Waku-Waku Friends Cards
With the questions on our “Wakutomo cards,” children listen to the voice of their own heart.
Art philosophy dialogue
Time in art class to look at famous paintings and talk about “How did it make you feel?”
Our teachers
A teacher’s words
can give a child confidence.
A teacher’s words can give children confidence, and a teacher’s words can take it away. Our teachers keep learning, so that every classroom feels safe and becomes a place where children can climb over many “small walls.”
- Self-esteem seminar
- Encouraging communication
- Teaching skills workshop
- Working with parents
- Child development
Where we teach
At easy-to-reach places in your community
Japan Classes are held at community centers and similar places in Aichi Prefecture (Toyohashi, Toyokawa, Okazaki, Anjo) and Shizuoka Prefecture (Hamamatsu).
Vietnam We teach Japanese-style soroban at our Hanoi school, Kodomo Soroban Center, and at soroban clubs in private elementary schools.
Our history
Over 50 years, starting in Toyohashi
- 1972Opened “Morita Juku,” the forerunner of Kodomo School, in 老松町 (Oimatsu-cho), Toyohashi
- 2010Opened “Jido Kurabu” (a forerunner of Kodomo School), with soroban and calligraphy classes in Toyohashi, Toyokawa and Hamamatsu
- 2011Became Morita Group Co., Ltd. Opened classrooms in Okazaki as well
- 2014Changed our name to “Kodomo School”
- 2022Established Morita Group Vietnam, our operating company in Vietnam
- 2023Opened “Kodomo Soroban Center” in Hanoi, Vietnam (June)
- 2026Our Japanese-style soroban education in Vietnam was selected as a supported project of “EDU-Port Japan,” run by Japan’s Ministry of Education (MEXT)
Kodomo School is a place that grows
everyone’s “roots of the heart.”
Start with a free trial lesson
Soroban and calligraphy trial lessons are free (about 20 minutes; just bring something to write with). The art trial lesson is 40 minutes and costs ¥1,000 (nothing to bring). Come with your child and see the feel of the classroom and how well the teacher suits your child.