What the Professionals Play On: Boards, Shogi Pieces and Go Stones in Japanese Title Matches

When a Japanese title match is broadcast, the equipment is in view the whole time: a legged board, lacquered pieces with raised characters, stones placed on the wood. If you have watched one, you may have wondered what exactly that equipment is, and whether an amateur can own the same thing.

This page explains what Japanese sources say about the boards, shogi pieces and go stones at professional title matches, what they leave unspecified, and how to work toward a similar set at home.

The short answer

• Board: at go and shogi title matches, the board is either a historic board owned by a notable person in the host town, or one finished for the match by a master board maker (Number, reporting on a long-established board maker). The finest boards are kaya.
• Shogi pieces: raised-lacquer pieces (moriage-goma) made by certified traditional craftsmen are used in professional title matches (Tohoku Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry).
• Go stones: Japanese sources describe the finest stones as white clamshell and black slate. Which stones a given match uses is not published as a fixed standard.
• For amateurs: the same materials are available. You can build up to them in stages rather than buying everything at once.

The board: historic, or made for the match

There is no single “official title-match board”. A feature in Number, the Japanese sports magazine, describes the practice this way: at go and shogi title matches, the board used is either a board with a history, owned by a notable person of the host area, or a board finished for the match by a master craftsman (Number Web, 2021, checked 6 November 2026).

The same article follows Yoshida Goban-ten, a board maker in Gyōda, Saitama, founded in 1916. It reports that its boards are made from kaya trees 300 years old, some as old as 800 years, and that the wood is dried for around 15 years after felling before it becomes a board.

Why kaya

The Nihon Ki-in, Japan’s main go association, puts it plainly: “for a go board, kaya is the most suitable wood” (Nihon Ki-in, “Go trivia”, checked 6 November 2026). The same page gives the reasons: kaya combines just the right elasticity, beautiful grain and lustre, and a fragrant scent. What it is and why large, old trees matter is covered in What Is Kaya?.

The lines

A title-match board is also finished by hand. On the finest boards the grid is laid down in lacquer with a Japanese sword: tachimori (太刀盛り) means putting lacquer on the blade and using the blade’s curve to draw the line (Number, same article). The lines go down one at a time, 19 each way on a go board, 10 each way on a shogi board (which gives its 9 × 9 squares). The method, and the two other methods makers use, is explained in Tachimori: How the Lines on a Go Board Are Drawn.

Thickness

The boards seen at title matches are legged boards. The sources above do not give a thickness for them. A thicker board needs a larger block of wood, so ask the shop about thickness and price together. How thickness is measured in sun, and what each thickness suits, is in Go Board Thickness.

Shogi pieces: raised lacquer by certified craftsmen

For shogi pieces, there is a clear statement from a government source. The Tohoku Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry, describing Tendō shogi pieces (a designated traditional craft of Yamagata Prefecture), says that raised-lacquer pieces made by traditional craftsmen certified by the Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries are now used in professional title matches (Tohoku Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry, “Tendō shogi pieces” (Japanese), checked 6 November 2026).

The same page explains why these pieces sit at the top:

• How they are made: a craftsman takes a horiume piece (characters carved, then filled level with lacquer) and, with a fine makie brush, builds the characters up in lacquer so they stand above the surface, then dries and polishes them.
• Rank: they are technically difficult and the highest grade of shogi piece.
• Wood: the main woods for piece blanks are Satsuma (Kagoshima) boxwood and Mikurajima (Tokyo) boxwood.

In short, the pieces at a title match are boxwood, with characters raised in lacquer by a certified hand. The other ways of making pieces (stamped, written, carved, carved-and-filled) are compared in Types of Shogi Pieces, and the two boxwood origins in Boxwood Shogi Pieces. The calligraphy on the pieces is a separate choice again; see Shogi Piece Calligraphy Styles.

Go stones: clamshell and slate

The Nihon Ki-in describes the finest go stones this way: the white stones are made from clamshell, with a soft lustre, and the black stones from a hard, fine-grained slate (same Go trivia page). In Japan the black slate is nachiguro, from Kumano in Mie Prefecture; see Nachiguro.

Two further points from the same page are worth knowing before you shop:

• Hyuga clams are almost gone. The prized white stones were made from suwabute clams taken at Okura-ga-hama beach in Hyuga, Miyazaki. The Nihon Ki-in says these are now almost exhausted, and Mexican shell is mainly used today. A Hyuga clamshell set is therefore a rarity, and a Mexican clamshell set is the normal high-grade choice.
• A full set is 180 white and 181 black, 361 in all. Check the count on any listing; individual products can differ.

The sources do not set out which stones are used at a given go title match, so we do not name a grade here. Clamshell stones are graded by the fineness of their stripes and by thickness; how to read the grades is in Clamshell Go Stone Grades.

Why top matches use this equipment

No source states one official reason. What the sources above do say:

• The wood. The Nihon Ki-in calls kaya the most suitable wood for a go board for its elasticity, grain, lustre and scent.
• The grade. Raised-lacquer pieces are, in the government source’s words, technically difficult and the highest grade of shogi piece.
• The place. The board is a historic one owned in the host town, or one a master finished for the match (Number).

None of this changes the rules of the game. The equipment is part of the occasion.

Building toward a title-match set at home

You do not need everything at once. A sensible order:

1. Start with what you will play on most. A tabletop board and good everyday pieces or stones. See The Equipment You Need to Start Shogi or Go Starter Equipment.
2. Upgrade the pieces or stones first. They are what your hand touches every move. For shogi, carved-and-filled (horiume) boxwood pieces are the stage raised-lacquer pieces are built from (Tohoku Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry), so they are a natural step before raised lacquer; for go, a Mexican clamshell and slate set.
3. Then the board. A kaya board, tabletop or legged. Ask the shop about the grain and thickness; see Go Board Wood Grain Explained.
4. Keep it in good condition. Kaya and lacquer reward care; see Caring for a Go or Shogi Board and Caring for Shogi Pieces.

Prices vary widely by wood, cut, thickness, maker and grade, so compare listings from specialist shops directly.

FAQ

Is there an official board model for title matches? Not as a fixed product. According to Number, the board is either a historic board owned locally or one finished for the match by a master craftsman.

What pieces are used in shogi title matches? Raised-lacquer (moriage) pieces made by certified traditional craftsmen, according to the Tohoku Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry. They are boxwood, and the characters are built up in lacquer.

What stones are used in go title matches? The sources we checked do not fix a standard. The Nihon Ki-in describes the finest stones as white clamshell and black slate.

Do professionals only ever play on 19×19? Official title matches are played on 19×19, but there are also 9×9 tournaments, including one the Nihon Ki-in runs for women professionals. See 9×9, 13×13 or 19×19?

Can an amateur buy the same equipment? Yes. Kaya boards, raised-lacquer boxwood pieces and clamshell stones are all sold to the public by specialist makers and shops.

Summary

• Title-match boards are historic boards or boards finished for the match by a master, and the finest are kaya.
• Shogi title matches use raised-lacquer boxwood pieces by certified craftsmen, the highest grade of piece.
• The finest go stones are white clamshell and black slate (nachiguro); Hyuga clams are now nearly exhausted and Mexican shell is the usual source.
• A full go set is 180 white and 181 black, 361 stones.
• Build up in stages: pieces or stones first, then the board.

Sources (checked 6 November 2026): Tohoku Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry — 天童将棋駒 (raised-lacquer pieces in professional title matches; how they are made; boxwood sources) / Number Web — トップ棋士の対局に使われる将棋盤の“秘密”とは (2021; boards used at go and shogi title matches; kaya age and drying; tachimori) / Nihon Ki-in — 囲碁雑学 (kaya for go boards; clamshell and slate stones; Hyuga and Mexican shell; 180 white and 181 black). This page is based on the Japanese version on this site.