『"Board craftsman Mr. Yoshida" Special Feature』403YG-S03 4-Piece Miniature Shogi Set

Shogi pieces
These Shogi pieces are Mikurajima-hon-tsuge (Mikura Island grown boxwood) made writing Shogi pieces for this miniature Shogi board set.
*These are smaller sized Shogi pieces than regular pieces.
*Please check the photo images.
*A special Shogi pieces bag is included.

Shogi board
This miniature table Shogi board made by board craftsman Mr. Torayoshi YOSHIDA.
This shogi board is a miniature shogi board about 2/3 of the normal size. This Shihou-masa 1.7 sun (about 53 mm thick) table Shogi board is made from Hyuga kaya wood.
This is rare and valuable products as this is made from Hyuga kaya wood.
Bottom side of the board, the symbol "Ichi-jo-saku (一如 作）" is written with a brush. *Please check the photo images.
Ichi-jo-saku (一如 作）means "made with Ichi-nyo spirit" is the proof of his work.
The lines of a board are marked using Tachi-mori, the skill of drawing lines using a Japanese sword.
This traditional technique highlights the beauty of natural grain patterns and the texture of lacquered line is smooth and has also a nice feeling.
The works of Mr. Torayoshi YOSHIDA feature very thin markings lines, that create elegance and beauty.

Shogi pieces stand
This is a pair of Hyuga-kaya made Shogi pieces stands made to order for this set.
It is manufactured slightly lower than the top surface to match the height of the board.
This Shogi pieces stands are simple finish made with only beveled edges.

Yoshida Gobanten was established in 1916 and continuously made various Go and Shogi boards for more than 100years.
The owner takes over the name of 'Master Yoshida Torayoshi' for generations.
All the boards made by the 3rd and 4th generation of Yoshida Torayoshi, the present owner, have engraved words of Ichi-jo (一如) in Chinese character, as the evidence of his work.
The word 'Ichi-jo' is a part of famous four-character idiom 'Busshin Ichi-nyo (物心一如)', that literally means 'matter and mind are one/body and mind as one'.
This implies a strong will that when we make boards, our board and mind are as one.
The engraved words 'Ichi-jo (一如)' is the evidence of Go master, who made this board with his spirit and board as one.
We are happy to offer these special boards made by the Go board master Mr. YOSHIDA Torayoshi, for his devotion and his long years of experience and outstanding technique.

"Shihou-masa" cutting style is the most valuable cutting style among all cutting styles !!!

"Shihou-masa" is an ideal cutting style with straight grain (masame)* on the top, bottom, and both sides (players' sides) of the board.
This cutting style is only possible when the wood is cut out from a tree with a large diameter, so we can say that the word shihou-masa means the boards are made from trees with a large diameter or a well-aged tree.
Therefore, it is regarded as the most valuable board with a higher price.
Especially, a board made of kaya wood (Japanese Torreya) shihou-masa is very expensive, sometimes priced in the millions or even tens of millions of JPY (several thousand to several hundred thousand US dollars), because they are extremely rare and hard to get.

*Go board cutting styles are explained detail in "How to choose a board".
Please take a look.
Go to "How to choose a board".

"Kaya" is regarded as one of the best materials to make Go and Shogi boards, because of its good sound and feel when placing the stones, moderate elasticity, beautiful grain, color, gloss and luster, and aroma.

"Hyuga kaya" is a special type of close-grained Japanese nutmeg tree grown and harvested in a mountainous area in the southern part of Kyushu, Japan.

The reason why Hyuga kaya from Miyazaki Prefecture is of the highest quality is because of the natural environment in which the tree grows.
The climate in southern Kyushu and the Miyazaki area has relatively big temperature differences between daytime and night time, a lot of rainfall, and strong direct sunlight, all of which help trees to produce clear-grain grains.
The wood grows on rocky terrain and requires several hundred years to grow into a tree large enough to be used as Go board material.
This is why it is considered a top-quality product, due to its rarity as well as its wood quality.
The grain of the wood is very fine and dense, so it rarely causes warpage or distortion.

Hyuga kaya boards are used in various title matches and famous tournaments.
The sound of the placing of stones on the board is very clear. Moreover, as it is used over the years, it will take on a refined candy-colored luster, further enhancing its maturity.

*Go board materials are explained detail in "How to choose a board".
Please take a look.
Go to "How to choose a board".

It is becoming more and more difficult to obtain Hyuga kaya wood.
When it comes to Shihou-masa 1-piece board that requires a large diameter material, it is a rare board because it is extremely difficult to make a new board.

This Go board is a beautiful board without any complaints, and the rare item with no particular defects point.
*Please check the photo images.

Product : Board craftsman Mr. Torayoshi YOSHIDA made miniature 1-piece table Shogi board
Shihou-masa 1.7-Sun / 5.3 cm thick
Item No.89029
Size (height × width × thick)
237 mm × 224 mm × 53 mm
Weight : About 1.3 kg
Included：Certificate, miniature Shogi Pieces, Shogi Pieces stand and Shogi pieces bag

1,000 JPY flat rate shipping within Japan, free shipping for purchases totaling 20,000 JPY or more.
Please bear the actual cost for shipping charges outside Japan.

You may find small knots, burrs, rolled-in bark as all these products are made of natural trees.
There may be some small flaw or scratch, dent, chipping.