Go Board Woods Beyond Kaya: Chinese Kaya, Hiba, Katsura, Ginkgo, Shin-kaya and Shin-katsura Explained

Almost every conversation about Japanese go boards starts with kaya. The Nihon Ki-in (the Japan Go Association) puts it plainly: kaya is the wood best suited to a go board, with the right degree of elasticity, a beautiful grain and lustre, and a fragrance of its own.

But browse a Japanese board maker’s catalogue, or an auction listing, and you will see other names far more often: chūgoku-san kaya, hiba, katsura, ichō, shin-kaya, shin-katsura. What tree is each of these? Are they simply “the cheap ones”? This page goes through them one by one, using what the Nihon Ki-in and Japanese board makers publish.

The short version

1. A board that is not kaya is not automatically a cheap board. Each wood has its own character and suits a different use.
2. Japanese board makers rank the woods roughly as: Hyuga kaya > Japanese kaya > Chinese kaya > hiba > katsura, ginkgo, shin-kaya and similar > other woods, plywood and laminated boards > non-wood. That is Kuroki Goishi-ten’s ranking, and the maker itself notes exceptions.
3. Shin-kaya is not kaya: it is mainly North American spruce. Shin-katsura is not katsura: it is a trade name for agathis. These two labels cause most of the confusion.
4. The same 2-sun legged board differs by over 17,000 yen depending only on the wood. See the price example below.
5. Warping, the quality of the lines, how well the wood was dried and where the board will live matter more than the wood’s name.

What the Nihon Ki-in says

In its introduction to go equipment, the Nihon Ki-in notes that many woods have been used for boards over the centuries, and that today the mainstream woods are kaya and katsura. It adds that natural board timber is becoming scarcer every year, and good material harder to find.

In other words, in Japan katsura is not a makeshift substitute. It is one of the two mainstream board woods alongside kaya.

Each wood in turn

Chinese kaya (chūgoku-san kaya)

Japanese board makers divide kaya by origin: Hyuga kaya (from the mountains of Miyazaki in southern Kyushu), other Japanese kaya, and Chinese kaya, mainly from Yunnan Province.

Kuroki Goishi-ten describes Chinese kaya as having a redder colour and a slightly harder texture than Japanese kaya. Because of the colour, the texture and its lesser rarity, it is generally valued a little lower than Japanese kaya; but for the same reason, a good-quality board can often be had for comparatively little. It is still kaya. Generally, “Japanese hon-kaya” is ranked above “Chinese hon-kaya”.

So when a listing says hon-kaya, it is worth asking where the wood came from.

Hiba

An evergreen conifer of the cypress family, though not the same tree as hinoki (Japanese cypress). The wood is a bright yellowish white with a fine, quiet grain and a distinctive scent, and it stands up well to moisture and resists rot.

On how it plays, Japanese makers agree: Maekawa Kaya Goban-ten describes hiba as soft in texture, with a comparatively pleasant feel when stones are played, but a restrained sound; Kuroki Goishi-ten says much the same. Maekawa adds that there is Japanese hiba and North American hiba, which are strictly speaking different species, and that most board hiba is North American.

Katsura

A deciduous broadleaf tree (Cercidiphyllum), with board timber coming mainly from Hokkaido. It has been used for boards for a long time.

Both Maekawa and Kuroki use the same words for it: the feel is on the hard side, but the sound is not bad at all. The wood is a strong brown that darkens over the years. (If you have read that katsura is soft and gentle, that is not what the makers say; “soft with a restrained sound” is their description of hiba.)

Ginkgo (ichō)

Ginkgo is a familiar garden and street tree in Japan. The wood is pale yellow, with a rather indistinct grain; it is dense, even throughout and moves little. Besides go and shogi boards, it is used for abacus beads, chopping boards, seals and carving. Because ginkgo grows quickly and becomes a large tree, wide timber is comparatively easy to obtain (Kuroki Goishi-ten).

Shin-kaya (mainly North American spruce)

“Kaya” is in the name, but it is not kaya. Shin-kaya is a different wood altogether, mainly North American spruce.

Maekawa Kaya Goban-ten describes it as coming from large trees, so that it is essentially always quarter-sawn; the wood is whitish (finished boards are usually stained), and its working life is said to be short. Kuroki Goishi-ten says its feel when stones are played compares well even with hon-kaya and Hyuga kaya, and that it resists warping and cracking, but that unlike kaya it shows ageing, such as colour change, much more over the years.

How to tell the two apart is covered in Honkaya vs Shinkaya.

Shin-katsura (agathis)

“Katsura” is in the name, but it is not katsura. Kyoto Oishi Tengudo lists it as agathis wood marketed under the trade name shin-katsura. It is common on lower-priced tabletop and folding boards.

Same thickness, different wood: what it costs

These are tax-inclusive prices for legged 2-sun go boards, joined from several pieces (hagi), from the online catalogue of Syogoya, a go and shogi equipment maker in Osaka, checked on 6 October 2026 (https://www.syogoya.co.jp/shopbrand/asitsukigoban/ ):

(As of October 2026. Prices change with stock and promotions, and do not include international shipping, duties or taxes in your country.)

Same form, same thickness: over 17,000 yen apart on the wood alone. Kaya boards sit a step above these, and within kaya the price is driven mainly by the grain and the thickness, over a very wide range.

Where the price differences come from

Two boards that are both “a go board” can differ in price tenfold or more. The difference comes from several things, and they multiply rather than add:

1. Wood: kaya or not, and if kaya, from where
2. Construction: one piece or joined (hagi)
3. Thickness: thicker boards need bigger logs
4. Grain: quarter-sawn (masame) or flat-sawn (itame), and how fine
5. Workmanship: how the lines are made, how the legs are cut

So a thin, joined kaya board will not necessarily satisfy a player more than a thick one-piece katsura board. Do not rank boards by the wood’s name alone. For thickness, see Go & Shogi Board Thickness.

Choosing by use

The overall approach is in How to Choose a Go Board.

Three things to check before the wood

Whatever the wood, these matter just as much:

• Warping or twisting: does it rock on a flat surface?
• Straight lines: the quality of the lines tells you about the workmanship (see How Go Board Lines Are Made)
• Seasoning: the newer the board, the more it can move with its surroundings

Then there is where it lives. Direct sunlight, air from a heater or air conditioner, and places where wind blows through will crack a board of any grade. If you live with dry winter heating or a humid summer, plan the board’s place before it arrives.

FAQ

Which is better, katsura or hiba? Neither; they are different. According to Japanese board makers, katsura plays on the hard side with a good sound, while hiba is soft, light in colour and fragrant, with a more restrained sound. Playing a few stones on each is the most reliable test.

If a board says shin-katsura, is it katsura? No. Shin-katsura is a trade name for agathis, a different wood at a different price level.

Is Chinese kaya “fake kaya”? No. It is kaya from a different origin. Japanese makers generally rate Japanese kaya higher, but regard Chinese kaya as a way to get good kaya for comparatively less.

Will a cheaper board hold back my go? No. Your go improves with the games you play. Just avoid boards that are warped or have uneven lines, because the small irritations add up.

Related pages

• Honkaya vs Shinkaya
• How to Choose a Go Board: Wood, Form and Thickness
• Go & Shogi Board Thickness
• The Equipment You Need to Start Go

This page is based on information published by the Nihon Ki-in (“Igo zatsugaku”, https://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/teach/lesson/school/knowledge.html ), Kuroki Goishi-ten (https://kurokigoishiten.com/pages/about_go_board ), Maekawa Kaya Goban-ten (https://www.maekawa-kayagoban.co.jp/hpgen/HPB/entries/10.html ), Kyoto Oishi Tengudo and Syogoya (checked 6 October 2026). Names, rankings and prices of woods vary by origin, period and maker, and every board differs in feel, grain and finish; see the board itself at a specialist before deciding. Kayajudo is an independent guide to Japanese go and shogi equipment, and we can also order boards, stones and pieces from makers and shops in Japan for you and ship them abroad — see Ordering from overseas.