409-9RS-02 9X9 Go Board 3-Piece Go Set

Go Board：Hyuga Kaya 9*9-ro table Go board No.76944

The board is made of Hyuga Kaya wood, which is considered to be the highest quality board material.
It is made of 1.9-Sun Masame with 4-pieces composition.
The board is made of Tachimori-finished with Japanese lacquer.
The 9X9 board is still thick, but the aspect ratio is about 1/4 scale of the regular 19X19 board, giving it a solid thickness and a massive feel.
The board has a beautiful yellowish color with a soft wood color unique to Hyuga Kaya wood.
There are some knots and intergrown knots on the bottom.
Please check the picture.

Go stone：Clamshell Go Stones BLUE Label size30

Size 30 is 8.0mm thick, which is both luxurious and easy to play.
Generally, the thickness of Go stones that are said to be “easy to play” is “size 30-36”, so size 30 (8.0mm) has a moderate thickness and you can fully enjoy the feel of a Clamehsll Go stone.
Clamshell Go stones are only made in Hyuga City, Miyazaki Prefecture, in Japan.
Each stone is carefully finished by the craftsmen of Kuroki Goishiten, who have been making Go stones for over 100 years.
The Clamshell Go stone is a gem that allows you to fully enjoy the superb feel and taste of the stones.
*The quality of Clamshell Go Stone Blue Label is semi-qualified level of selected products, so there are some flaws.
*The raw material for the white Go stones is Mexican clam shells, and the raw material for the black stones is Nachi-guroishi from Kumano City, Mie Prefecture.
*Each Go stone we manufacture is numbered with a numbering that appears when illuminated by a black light. The numbering is a proof of “Kuroki Goishiten” and a proof of quality control and assurance.

Go Bowls：Miniature Go Bowls made of Honkuwa[Mountain mulberry] for 9x9-ro Go stones by Kaishi.
Go bowls are made from Honkuwa [Mountain mulberry], that is very popular and highest quality material to make bowl.
Mulberry wood has a beautiful yellowish wood color, and when polished, it appears golden with a unique texture. The wood is extremely hard and is even used to make walking sticks, which require great strength.
*There are miniature Go Bowls for 15mm diameter Go stones.
Please check the size comparison images.

"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".

"Masame" cutting style has masame (straight grain) only on the top surface of the board.
The bottom surface has "Itame (flat grain)".
The general "Masame" boards belong to this type.
The top surface is beautifully finished so the "Masame" board is highly valued.

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

When the material itself is too large in diameter to make a one-piece board, or when the board cannot be made from a single piece of wood for any reason, it is sometimes made by joining pieces of wood together.

A board made in this way is called a "tsugi-ban" or "hagi-ban" (joined or composite board).
There are several types of these boards and the ones with a fewer number of pieces, with less variation in color and grain, are regarded as more valuable.
When using a composite board, we collect material wood that is as close as possible in wood color and grain in order to make the board as consistent as possible.
Then, the joints are precisely calculated and bonded together so that the lines are placed right over the joints as much as possible. (Not ensured in some cases)

In fact, we spend more time and effort to produce tsugi-ban boards, which are slightly less valuable than one-piece boards.
The composite board also has some advantages: since multiple pieces of material are joined in parallel, each piece is narrower and less prone to warping.

* "composition board" is explained detail in "How to choose a board".
Please take a look.
Go to "How to choose a board".

• Go Board：Hyuga Kaya table Go board 1.9-Sun Masame 4-piece composition 9*9-ro board
  Product No：NO.76944
  Size：221 ㎜ × 200 ㎜ × 59 ㎜
  Weight：abot 1.2㎏
  
• Go stone：Clamshell Go Stones BLUE Label size30
  
  *It is same diameter as regular Go stones.
  Thickness： size 30 (8.0mm).
  Materials： White Go stones／Mexican clamshell, Black Go Stones／Nachi-guro Slate from Kumano City, Mie Pref., Japan
  Spare Go stones (2 for each)
  Quality: Semi-qualified level (shape, color, scratches, etc.) *Wooden Go stones box, Fabric Go stones bag are not included.
  
• Go Bowls：Miniature Go Bowls made of Honkuwa[Mountain mulberry] for 15mm diameter Go stones by Kaishi.
  Size：Diameter About 90㎜ × Height About 70㎜
  Weight：About 240ｇ
  *Please check the comparison image.
  

• 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.