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About the Heguru Method
A Japanese Approach to Whole-Brain Development
The Heguru Method is a Japanese approach to children's learning and development that aims to nurture a broad range of abilities that support learning, thinking and personal growth.
Rather than viewing learning as a matter of developing one particular part of the brain, Heguru takes a whole-brain approach, bringing together memory, concentration, visualisation, listening, information processing, creativity, logical thinking and other learning-related abilities.
Developed in Japan, the Heguru Method combines a wide variety of structured activities within each lesson to provide children with opportunities to listen, observe, remember, imagine, process information, think and respond.
At Heguru Education Singapore, we introduce children to this distinctive Japanese learning approach through programmes designed for different stages of childhood.
What is the Heguru Method
The Heguru Method is a structured educational approach developed in Japan with a focus on whole-child and whole-brain development.
Children do not learn through memory alone, or through logical thinking alone. Learning involves many interconnected abilities, including attention, perception, memory, language, reasoning, visualisation, creativity, emotional development and the ability to process and apply information.
The Heguru Method therefore incorporates a broad range of activities rather than concentrating on a single academic subject or learning skill.
Through regular practice, children are given opportunities to develop and strengthen different learning abilities in an engaging and stimulating environment.
Modern Day Science & Clearing the Myth:
From “Right Brain Training” to Whole-Brain Development
Heguru has historically been described as a form of “right brain training”, particularly because of its emphasis on abilities such as visualisation, memory, rapid information processing and creativity.
Today, however, it is more useful to understand the Heguru Method from a whole-brain perspective.
The two hemispheres of the brain do not operate independently. Most meaningful learning and everyday activities involve networks across the brain working together.
For this reason, the Heguru approach is not simply about developing one side of the brain. Instead, Heguru lessons incorporate activities that engage different cognitive and learning abilities—from memory and visualisation to language, numeracy, reasoning, concentration and creative thinking.
Founders & Creators
of the Heguru Method in Japan
he Heguru Method was developed in Japan by Mr Hirotada Henmi and Mrs Ruiko Henmi, the founders of Henmi Educational General Laboratory (HEGL). Together, they have dedicated decades to developing and refining Heguru's educational programmes and methodology.
Mrs Ruiko Henmi
Mrs Ruiko Henmi is CEO of HEGL Inc. and serves as MEP General Manager of Heguru. Her work in education began with her involvement in the Todai Academy in 1989, followed by the establishment of the Right Brain Method School in Tachikawa, Tokyo, in 1992. She has since played a leading role in developing Heguru's educational programmes and expanding the method internationally. In 2011, she was selected to appear on a TV Tokyo programme recognising 20 notable teachers in Japan.
Mr Hirotada Henmi
Mr Hirotada Henmi is COO of HEGL Inc. and MEP General Manager of Heguru. He began his educational career by establishing the Jochi Seminar in Tokyo in 1986 and subsequently helped develop and expand the educational methodology that became Heguru. In 2000, he and Mrs Henmi established Henmi Educational General Laboratory (HEGL) and continued the development of the Heguru programmes.
A Shared Educational Vision
Together, Mr and Mrs Henmi developed Heguru around a broader vision of education: to nurture children's potential, develop their learning abilities and encourage them to grow with confidence, creativity and positive values.
Their work has evolved over decades, with Heguru programmes now offered not only in Japan but also through international centres.
The Heguru Method Founders and Creators - Mrs Ruiko Henmi (left) and Mr Hirotada Henmi (right).
Heguru Education Centre Singapore Founder - Mr Kuah Eng Liang (centre).
What Does the Heguru Method Aim to Develop?
The Heguru Method is designed around a broad range of learning and developmental abilities.
Memory
Children participate in activities involving the recall of images, sounds, numbers, words, sequences and other information. The aim is to give children regular opportunities to practise taking in, retaining and recalling information.
Concentration and Attention
Children are exposed to activities that require listening, observing and responding. This encourages children to practise maintaining attention and engaging actively with information.
Visualisation
Visualisation activities encourage children to create and work with mental images. This can support imaginative thinking, visual memory and the ability to represent information mentally.
Information Processing
Some Heguru activities involve receiving and responding to information at a fast pace. Children are encouraged to listen, observe, process and respond, providing repeated opportunities to practise handling information efficiently.
Logical and Analytical Thinking
As children progress through the programmes, activities increasingly incorporate reasoning, numeracy, language, problem-solving and analytical thinking.
Creativity and Imagination
Children are encouraged to use imagination and explore ideas in different ways. Creative activities can provide opportunities to generate associations, visualise possibilities and approach information from different perspectives.
Language and Communication
Heguru activities can involve listening, vocabulary, verbal responses, comprehension and exposure to different forms of information, supporting children as active listeners and communicators.
Confidence and Positive Learning Attitudes
Children are encouraged to participate, challenge themselves and experience the satisfaction of accomplishing new tasks. The objective is not simply to produce children who can remember more, but to encourage confident and engaged learners.
Why Start Early? The Importance of the First Six Years
The early years of childhood are a particularly important period for brain development. From infancy through the preschool years, the brain undergoes rapid growth and reorganisation. Neural connections are formed, strengthened and refined in response to a child's experiences and environment.
This process of neuroplasticity allows the developing brain to adapt as children interact with people, language, movement, play and learning experiences.
This does not mean that a child's brain stops developing at six, or that meaningful learning becomes difficult after that age. Brain development continues throughout childhood, adolescence and adulthood. However, the characteristics of brain development change with age, and some abilities are particularly sensitive to experience during earlier stages.
For parents, the practical message is simple: early learning is about building foundations—not rushing children to achieve academically.
The Brain Is Especially Plastic During Early Childhood
Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to change and adapt in response to experience. During the first years of life, this capacity is particularly pronounced.
The developing brain forms many neural connections, while frequently used connections are strengthened and less-used connections are gradually refined.
Repeated opportunities to listen, communicate, remember, concentrate, explore, move, imagine and solve problems provide experiences from which neural networks can be strengthened and refined.
In other words, the developing brain is not simply growing—it is being shaped by experience.
Early Experiences Help Build the Foundations for Later Learning
Complex abilities do not suddenly appear when a child enters primary school. They are built progressively from earlier skills.
Later academic learning relies on underlying abilities such as attention, working memory, information processing, understanding, reasoning and application.
A child who can listen carefully, hold information in mind, recognise patterns and maintain attention has important foundations for learning mathematics, languages, reading, writing and other subjects.
This is why early childhood enrichment should not only ask, “What should my child learn?” It can also ask, “What abilities will help my child learn?”
Why the Years Before Six Are Particularly Important
The period from infancy through approximately five or six years of age is especially significant because several developmental processes are occurring simultaneously.
Rapid Development of Brain Networks
During early childhood, the brain develops increasingly complex networks. Simpler neural circuits provide foundations upon which more complex circuits are subsequently built.
High Capacity for Experience-Dependent Learning
Young children's brains are highly responsive to experience. Language exposure, social interaction, play, movement, music, visual experiences and learning activities all provide information that the developing brain uses to build and refine its networks.
Foundational Cognitive Skills Are Developing
Important learning-related abilities are developing rapidly during the early years, including attention, working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, language, perception, memory, emotional regulation, social understanding and problem-solving.
Early Learning Can Build on Natural Curiosity
Young children naturally explore their environment. They observe, imitate, ask questions, experiment, listen and
Why Heguru Starts from Infancy
The Heguru Method begins from infancy because learning and development begin long before formal schooling.
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Listening
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Looking
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Moving
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Exploring
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Imitating
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Recognising familiar patterns
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Responding to people
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Developing language
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Building memory
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Developing attention
Heguru's early programmes do not approach infants as miniature schoolchildren. Activities are adapted to the child's developmental stage and focus on appropriate sensory, cognitive, language, movement and interaction experiences.
As children grow, the activities evolve with them.
From Foundation to Higher-Level Thinking
Infancy and Toddlerhood
Attention → Sensory processing → Recognition → Memory → Communication
Preschool Years
Attention → Working memory → Visualisation → Language → Pattern recognition → Creativity
Primary Years
Memory → Information processing → Reasoning → Problem-solving → Analysis → Application
These abilities do not develop in isolated stages. They overlap and influence one another. Working memory, attention, language, memory, reasoning and executive functions interact during learning.
The Heguru approach therefore aims to provide progressive and varied experiences rather than focusing on one isolated ability.
Does Learning After Six Become Less Effective?
No. The brain remains capable of learning and adapting throughout life. Children continue to develop substantially throughout the primary-school years, adolescence and adulthood.
What changes with age is the nature of brain development and learning. Early childhood offers particularly high plasticity and is an important period for establishing foundations. Later childhood provides opportunities to build upon, refine and integrate those foundations into increasingly complex thinking and learning.
The Heguru philosophy is not “Start before six or it is too late.” It is “When appropriate opportunities are available early, children have more time to build, practise and develop their learning abilities progressively.”
Whole-Brain Development, Not “Right Brain” Training
Older descriptions of Heguru often used the term “right brain training.” Today, a more scientifically appropriate way to describe the approach is whole-brain development.
The brain does not function as two independent halves where creativity belongs exclusively to the right hemisphere and logic belongs exclusively to the left. Real-world learning involves networks across different regions of the brain working together.
Heguru therefore focuses on a broad range of abilities, including memory, attention, visualisation, language, reasoning, creativity, information processing and concentration.
The objective is not to develop one side of the brain in isolation. It is to provide children with rich and varied experiences that engage different cognitive and learning systems together.
The Heguru Method and Academic Learning
Heguru is not intended to replace a child's mainstream education. Instead, it provides a complementary enrichment experience that focuses on learning-related abilities and broader development.
While school education teaches children important academic knowledge and concepts, Heguru provides opportunities to practise abilities such as memory, concentration, visualisation, information processing and creative thinking.
These abilities can complement children's experiences at school and in everyday life.
What Makes the Heguru Method Different?
A Whole-Brain Approach
Heguru combines activities involving memory, visualisation, concentration, language, numeracy, reasoning, creativity and information processing.
A Wide Variety of Activities
A Heguru lesson can involve many different activities rather than focusing on a single academic subject.
Structured Japanese Methodology
The Heguru Method originated in Japan and follows a distinctive curriculum and lesson structure developed for children's learning and development.
Development Across Different Ages
Heguru programmes are designed for different stages of childhood, from infancy and toddlerhood through preschool and primary school.
Beyond Academic Achievement
Heguru aims to nurture academic-related abilities alongside confidence, creativity, curiosity, positive learning attitudes and broader personal development.
A Partnership Between Children, Parents and Educators
Children's development does not happen in the classroom alone. Parents are a child's first and most important educators. The encouragement, trust and support children receive at home can influence their confidence and attitude towards learning.
Heguru therefore views the learning journey as a partnership between the child, parents and educators.
When children are encouraged to be curious, to try, to make mistakes and to celebrate their progress, learning becomes a positive experience that extends beyond the classroom.
The Heguru Method in Singapore
Heguru Education Singapore brings the Heguru Method to families in Singapore through programmes for children from 6 months to 12 years old.
Our programmes provide structured opportunities to explore memory, concentration, visualisation, creativity, information processing, reasoning and other learning-related abilities.
The emphasis is on creating an engaging environment where children can participate, practise and develop progressively.
Infant and Todder Course
6 months – 4 years old.
Give your child an engaging introduction to learning during the early years.
The Infant & Toddler Programme incorporates carefully structured activities designed to nurture memory, attention, sensory awareness, language, numeracy and early cognitive abilities, while encouraging joyful parent-child participation.
Preschool Course
5 – 6 years old.
Build a strong foundation for learning before your child enters primary school.
Our Preschool Programme uses engaging activities to nurture memory, concentration, numeracy, language, visualisation, creativity and cognitive abilities, while encouraging children to approach learning with confidence.
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Primary School Course
7 – 12 years old.
Support your child's continued development throughout the primary school years.
The Primary School Programme focuses on memory, concentration, processing speed, logical reasoning, analytical thinking, visualisation and cognitive abilities, helping children develop effective learning habits and greater confidence.
Six Heguru Education Centres
Across Singapore
With six centres across Singapore, families can choose a convenient location for their child's Heguru programme.
SingPost Centre
#01-209 / 210 / 211
6346 4646
Serangoon NEX
#4R-81 (level 4R)
6509 6966
Waterway Point Mall
#02-07
6385 1588
Our Tampines Hub
#02-83 / 84 / 85
6384 1110
Punggol Coast Mall
#03-220
8988 3220
Pasir Ris Mall
#02-14
8088 0214