囲碁将棋盤 榧寿堂 ／ Go Bowl Woods and What the Price Ladder Actually Buys
Go Bowl Woods and What the Price Ladder Actually Buys
Go bowls are the part of a set where the price range is widest and the reason for it is least obvious. The same shape, holding the same stones, spans roughly twenty times in price depending on one variable: the wood. Here is what that ladder actually looks like.
The wood ladder, with real prices
Figures below are listed prices from one specialist maker — they are illustrative of the ordering, not a universal price list.
| Wood | Price |
|---|---|
| Kurogaki (black persimmon) | ¥395,000 |
| Mochi wood, peacock grain | ¥140,000 |
| Kassod tree | ¥56,000 |
| Hon-kuwa (premium mountain mulberry) | Out of stock (no price shown) |
| Rosewood (flat type) | ¥38,000 |
| Amur cork tree | ¥26,000 |
| Chinaberry | ¥23,000 |
| Camphor | ¥20,000 |
What you are paying for
Not durability, and not function. A camphor bowl holds stones exactly as well as a black persimmon one. What separates them is rarity and figure — the pattern in the wood, and how little of it exists.
Kurogaki is black persimmon: the dark figure appears unpredictably in a small proportion of persimmon trees, and cannot be cultivated to order. Peacock grain is named for the pattern itself. Hon-kuwa is distinguished from ordinary mulberry as the premium mountain variety.
At the top of the range, bowls are finished by a certified traditional craftsman and supplied with certificates. That is the other half of what the price covers: attribution.
How to place yourself on this ladder
- Match the bowl to the stones, not to the board. Bowls exist to hold and pour stones; that is the functional requirement, and it is met at every price point.
- Spend on the stones first. Stones are touched every move; the difference between shell grades is felt in play. See Go Stone Sizes and Clam-Shell Grades.
- Buy figure only if you want it. There is no performance argument at any point on this ladder — which makes it the one component where “the cheaper option is not a compromise” is literally true.
For fit, form and matching to stone size, see How to Choose Go Bowls (Goke).
Sources. Wood types and listed prices, the certified-craftsman finishing and certificates: Hyuga Goboard & Stone (en.goboard-stone.co.jp, go bowls). Prices checked 2026-10-06. Prices are one maker’s listings at that date and will differ elsewhere and over time — treat the ordering as the durable information, not the figures. We do not stock equipment, but we can order it from makers and shops in Japan for you — see Ordering from overseas.