Board craftsman Mr.Yoshida made Shin kaya [Spruce wood] Shihou-koguchi 2.9-Sun (about 88 mm thick) Table Go Board No.79088F

With a substantial thickness of 2.9-Sun (thick about 88 mm), this is a remarkable board made in the rare Shihou-koguchi grain orientation.
The diagonally running straight grain on the top surface—one of the defining features of Shihou-koguchi—creates a striking impression.
As a table Go board in the Shihou-koguchi cut, both end grain surfaces (the sides facing the players) as well as both lateral sides are end grain, making this an extremely rare configuration.
*For more details, please refer to “About Shihou-koguchi.”
The straight, even grain characteristic of spruce gives this board a clean and elegant appearance.
This is a beautiful board with almost no noticeable flaws.
*Please refer to the images.

Shihou-koguchi refers to an extremely rare grain orientation in which all four side surfaces are end grain.
Unlike Tenchi-masa or Shihou-masa cuts, the grain on the top and bottom surfaces appears as slightly angled straight grain.
This method of cutting is highly luxurious, requiring timber approximately 1.4 times larger than usual.
*Please refer to the images.
Boards made in the Shihou-koguchi style have long been regarded as auspicious. Since all four sides are end grain (“openings”), they have been said to provide “escape routes” in times of difficulty, and are also associated with the idea of never lacking sustenance. For these reasons, they have been treasured as symbols of good fortune throughout history.

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.

Shin-kaya wood, also known as "new kaya", is a spruce wood grown mainly in North America, which is different from Japanese kaya.
Spruce wood is widely used because it grows straight, is odorless, has low oil content, is easy to process, and is in good supply, making it relatively inexpensive to produce Go/shogi boards.
Spruce board is sold at an affordable price but it has a similar grain and color to honkaya but is not as high quality as honkaya wood.
The quality of the spruce is comparable to that of honkaya or Hyuga kaya, but it is less prone to deformation and cracking.
Spruce wood is also used as SPF (spruce, pine, fir) material for furniture and building materials, but unlike kaya wood, it shows significant deterioration over time, such as changes in wood color, and has a shorter life span.

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

• Board craftsman Mr.Yoshida made Shin kaya [Spruce wood] Shihou-koguchi 2.9-Sun (about 88 mm thick) Table Go Board
  Product No : No.79088F
  Size：460 mm × 430 mm × 88 mm
  Weight：About 7.3 kg
  Certificate Included
• 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.