Komadai and Komabako: Choosing a Shogi Piece Stand and Piece Box to Match Your Board

A shogi set is usually described as “a board and 40 pieces”, and that is all you need to play. Look at a formal game in Japan, though, and you will see more on the floor or table: a small stand beside each player holding the pieces they have captured, a wooden box the pieces came out of, and often a cloth bag inside the box.

Those are the komadai (駒台, piece stand), the komabako (駒箱, piece box) and the komabukuro (駒袋, piece bag). This page explains what each one does, how to match a komadai to your board, and in what order to add them.

The short answer

• Komadai: a stand for your captured pieces. There are three kinds, and each is made for a range of board thicknesses, so choose the board first.
• Komabako: a box for storing the pieces. Paulownia (kiri) is the usual wood.
• Komabukuro: a cloth bag. The pieces go into the bag, then the bag goes into the box, so the pieces do not knock against each other.
• Order to buy: board and pieces first, then a komadai sized to the board, then a box and bag.

Why shogi needs a piece stand

Shogi uses 40 pieces, 20 for each player (Japan Shogi Association). The rule that sets it apart from Western chess is that a captured piece changes sides: it becomes one of your mochigoma (持ち駒, pieces in hand), and on a later turn you can drop it back onto the board as your own.

That means captured pieces are part of the position. Your opponent needs to see exactly what you are holding, and you need to reach them quickly. A komadai keeps them in one place, in view, at the height of the board. Without one, players set captured pieces on the table or floor beside the board, which works, but they spread out and get mixed up.

The three kinds of komadai, and which board each fits

Kyoto Ōishi Tengudō, a long-established maker of go and shogi equipment in Kyoto, says there are broadly three kinds of komadai, and that komadai are made for each sun of board thickness (height). One sun (寸) is about 3.03 cm.

Source: Kyoto Ōishi Tengudō, “Shogi history, piece boxes and piece stands” (Japanese), checked 6 November 2026.

Read the table from the board’s side:

• A tabletop board (1 to 2 sun, roughly 3 to 6 cm) pairs with a flat komadai that sits on the table next to it.
• A legged board of 3 to 6 sun pairs with a single-leg stand.
• A thick legged board of 6 sun or more pairs with the four-legged yagura type.

Japanese listings often name the board thickness on the komadai itself (“6寸用”, “for 6-sun boards”). If you are adding a komadai to a board you already own, measure the board’s thickness first, and ask the shop which stand fits it. Whatever its thickness, a shogi board carries the same 9 × 9 grid, drawn with 10 lines each way. Choosing between a tabletop and a legged board is covered in The Equipment You Need to Start Shogi.

Matching the wood

The table also shows a pattern: the thicker and more formal the board, the higher the grade of wood used for its komadai. Shin-kaya (新榧) on these lists is a trade name for spruce, mainly from North America, not a kind of kaya. A kaya board with a kaya or mulberry komadai looks like one set; a shin-kaya or katsura tabletop board pairs naturally with a flat stand in the same wood. None of this changes how the game plays. It is about the set looking like it belongs together.

The komabako (piece box)

The komabako is where the pieces live between games. Tengudō says the usual material is paulownia (kiri), and boxes are also made in ebony (kokutan), rosewood (shitan), black persimmon (kurogaki), mulberry (hon-kuwa), zelkova (keyaki) and kaya (same page).

• Paulownia is light and is the common type, in Tengudō’s words.
• The other woods are the alternatives Tengudō lists; its page shows a black persimmon (kurogaki) box as an example.

A box is worth having even with an inexpensive set. Shogi pieces are small, flat and easy to lose, and a single missing piece stops a game.

The komabukuro (piece bag)

Tengudō describes the standard way to put pieces away: put the pieces in a cloth bag, then put the bag in the piece box. This is to keep the pieces from being scratched (same page).

On its own, a bag is also the easy way to carry pieces to a club or a friend’s house. You can use both: the bag every time, the box at home.

The order to add them

1. Board and pieces. Decide tabletop or legged and the thickness first. Everything else follows from that.
2. Komadai sized to the board. Flat for a tabletop board, single-leg or yagura for a legged one, by thickness.
3. Komabukuro and komabako. A bag and a paulownia box cover everyday use. A box in another wood can come later, with better pieces.

If you are buying a board and pieces together, ask the shop whether a komadai, box and bag come with them. Some sets include them and some do not, so compare like with like.

Keeping the set in good condition

Board, stand and box are all wood, so they need the same place to live. Maekawa Kaya Goban-ten, a kaya board maker, advises keeping go and shogi equipment away from direct sunlight, stoves and air conditioners, and places where wind blows straight through, because sharp changes in temperature and humidity cause cracks, warping and fading, and says damp storage leads to mould and stains. It also recommends a paulownia cover or a presentation box in addition to this (Maekawa Kaya Goban-ten, “Care” (Japanese), checked 6 November 2026).

The same page adds that equipment put away in the rainy season or other humid spells can pick up moisture even in a place that is not usually damp, so wipe it dry now and then. For the komabako and komadai themselves, it says a dry wipe with a soft cloth is enough for everyday care, but do not rub a komabako hard, because it is finished with wax. Pieces need their own care, especially lacquered ones; see Caring for Shogi Pieces.

FAQ

Is a komadai required? No rule requires one, and you can play perfectly well with captured pieces beside the board. A komadai keeps them tidy and visible, which matters more in shogi than in Western chess because captures come back into play.

I play on a tabletop board. Which komadai should I get? A flat (ita-jō) komadai. Tengudō lists this type for boards of 1 to 2 sun.

My legged board is 6 sun. Single-leg or yagura? Six sun sits at the boundary: Tengudō lists the single-leg type for 3 to 6 sun and the yagura for 6 to 8 sun. Both can fit a 6-sun board. The yagura is the more formal look; ask the shop to confirm the height against your board.

Box or bag? Both, if you can. The bag protects the pieces from each other; the box protects the set and keeps it together.

Can a komadai be used for go? The komadai is a shogi item. In go, the equivalent equipment is the pair of stone bowls (goke), whose lids hold captured stones.

Summary

• Komadai hold captured pieces in view, which shogi’s drop rule makes important.
• There are three kinds: yagura for 6 to 8 sun boards, single-leg for 3 to 6 sun, flat for 1 to 2 sun tabletop boards (Kyoto Ōishi Tengudō).
• Komabako are usually paulownia; ebony, rosewood, black persimmon, mulberry, zelkova and kaya are also used.
• Pieces go in the bag, the bag goes in the box.
• Choose the board first, then the stand to match, then the box and bag.

Sources (Tengudō 1443 and Maekawa checked 6 November 2026; the others 2 November 2026): Kyoto Ōishi Tengudō — 将棋の歴史・駒箱・駒台について (three kinds of komadai, board thickness and woods for each; piece box woods; bag inside the box) / Kyoto Ōishi Tengudō — 碁盤・将棋盤の等級・サイズ表示の見方 (1 sun = 3.03 cm) / Japan Shogi Association — 駒の並べ方 (40 pieces) / Maekawa Kaya Goban-ten — お手入れ方法 (where to keep equipment; paulownia covers and presentation boxes; dry wiping in humid seasons; care of piece boxes and stands). This page is based on the Japanese version on this site.