Toru Kumon (公文 公, Kumon Tōru; March 26, 1914 – July 25, 1995) was a Japanese mathematics educator. He was born in Kōchi…
Toru Kumon (公文 公, Kumon Tōru; March 26, 1914 – July 25, 1995) was a Japanese mathematics educator. He was born in Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. He graduated from the College of Science at Osaka University with a degree in mathematics and taught high school mathematics in his home town of Osaka. In 1954, his son, Takeshi, performed poorly in a Year 2 mathematics test. Prompted by his wife, Teiko, Toru closely examined Takeshi's textbooks and believed they lacked the proper opportunity for a child to practice and master a topic. He wrote worksheets each day for his son. By the time Takeshi was in Year 6, he was able to solve differential and integral calculus. This was the beginning of the Kumon Method of Learning. Other parents became interested in Kumon's ideas, and in 1955, the first Kumon Center was opened in Osaka. In 1958, Toru Kumon founded the Kumon Institute of Education. Toru Kumon died in Osaka on July 25, 1995, at the age of 81 from pneumonia. There is a Toru Kumon museum in Osaka. Asteroid 3569 Kumon is named after him.
Famous People from Kochi Prefecture
Kochi Prefecture: 2 people
Osami Nagano (永野 修身, Nagano Osami; 15 June 1880 – 5 January 1947) was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy…
Osami Nagano (永野 修身, Nagano Osami; 15 June 1880 – 5 January 1947) was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy and one of the leaders of Japan's military during most of the Second World War. In April 1941, he became Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff. In this capacity, he emerged as a leading advocate for preventive war against the United States and served as the navy's commander-in-chief in the Asia-Pacific theater of World War II until February 1944. After the war, he was arrested by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East but died of natural causes in prison during the trial.