囲碁将棋盤 榧寿堂 ／ Why Shogi Boards Cost So Much More Than Each Other: Wood, Thickness, Cut and Finish
Why Shogi Boards Cost So Much More Than Each Other: Wood, Thickness, Cut and Finish
Search for “shogi board” in a Japanese shop and the results run from light folding boards to thick legged blocks of kaya, in very different price bands. Every one of them has the same 9 × 9 grid. The size of the playing surface explains almost none of the difference.
What does explain it is a short list of things Japanese board makers grade, one by one. Once you can read that list, a listing in Japanese stops being a wall of unfamiliar words, and you can decide for yourself how far up the ladder you actually need to go.
This page does not quote prices. Prices differ from shop to shop and change over time; the useful thing to know first is where the money goes.
The short answer
- The wood sets the band. Japanese shops rank hon-kaya (true kaya) at the top, with other woods below it and synthetic boards at the entry level.
- Thickness, measured in sun (1 sun ≈ 3 cm), multiplies the price, because a thicker board needs a bigger log.
- The cut (kidori) — which part of the log the board came from and which way the grain runs — can separate two boards of the same wood and thickness.
- The finish — how the lines are drawn, and whether the surface is clean of knots, cracks and uneven colour — adds the last layer.
1. The wood: what the board is made of
Kyoto Ōishi Tengudō, a go and shogi equipment shop in Kyoto, grades shogi board woods like this: hon-kaya (finest); hiba, hinoki and ginkgo (high grade); shin-kaya and katsura (middle grade); synthetic boards (standard) (Kyoto Ōishi Tengudō, “About shogi boards” (Japanese), checked Nov 5, 2026). Other shops may order the middle of that list differently; treat it as one maker’s grading.
What the woods are like to play on, according to Maekawa Kaya Goban-ten, a specialist kaya board maker (Maekawa Kaya Goban-ten, “Choosing a go or shogi board” (Japanese), checked Nov 5, 2026):
| Wood | What the maker says |
|---|---|
| Hon-kaya (本榧) | Ranked finest in Tengudō’s grading above; the wood the other names are measured against |
| Katsura (桂) | Firm to play on, but the sound is not bad |
| Hiba (ヒバ) | Soft, plays fairly well, with a restrained sound |
| Shin-kaya (新榧) | Not kaya at all: spruce imported from North America, said to have a shorter working life |
The trap here is the name. Shin-kaya means “new kaya”, and it sits one character away from hon-kaya in a listing. They are different trees with different prices. If the wood matters to you, read the material line of the listing character by character. More on this in Honkaya vs Shinkaya and What Is Kaya?; for how wood choice for a shogi board differs from a go board, see Choosing the Wood of a Shogi Board.
2. Thickness: the multiplier
Shogi board thickness is written in sun (寸) or in gō (号) (Tengudō). A tabletop board is usually 1 to 3 sun thick, according to Maekawa (Maekawa).
Thickness pushes the price up in two ways at once. A thicker board needs a larger log, and every extra sun is more of the same expensive wood. Maekawa describes the effect on value plainly: as thickness increases, the board gets heavier but the feel and sound improve; from about 5 sun a board starts to be rated highly, and above 6 sun it is treated as more valuable still. Some thick legged boards weigh over 30 kg.
So before comparing prices, fix the thickness you need. That is decided by where the board will live: on a table where you sit on chairs, or on the floor where you sit on tatami. Comparing a 2-sun tabletop board with a 6-sun legged board tells you nothing about either. Sizes are explained in Shogi Board Sizes, and thickness in Go & Shogi Board Thickness.
3. The cut: same wood, different board
This is the hardest factor to see in a listing, and it can explain a big gap between two boards that look alike on paper.
Kidori (木取り) means how the board was cut out of the log.
- Masame (柾目, straight grain): the growth rings stand close to upright against the surface, so the top shows straight parallel lines. These boards come from the part of the log between the heart and the bark, which means a large, old tree.
- Itame (板目, flat grain): the rings run closer to flat, giving a wavy or arched figure on the top.
Maekawa lists the cuts from the most highly valued: shihomasa, tenchimasa and tenmasa (all with straight grain on the playing surface), then oimasa (between straight and flat grain), then the flat-grain kiura and kiomote (Maekawa). Maruhachi Goban-ten likewise says a kiomote board is seen as ranked below kiura (Maruhachi Goban-ten, “Kidori” (Japanese), checked Nov 5, 2026). Note that shops do not all rank the straight-grain cuts in the same order, so treat any single shop’s ladder as that shop’s view.
For shogi boards specifically, Tengudō puts it this way: straight grain on the top, the ends and the sides together is best; next comes straight grain on the ends and the top. It also notes that katsura boards are almost all flat grain, because thick katsura logs are scarce (Tengudō). In other words, the cut options depend on the wood too.
How to read these names on a listing, and which photograph to ask for, is in Go Board Wood Grain Explained. The same vocabulary is used for shogi boards.
4. The finish: lines, surface and dryness
How the lines are drawn
Tengudō lists four ways of putting the grid on a shogi board: printing, drawing by hand with a brush, raising the lines with a spatula (hera-mori), and raising them with a blade (ha-mori). Its own practice depends on thickness: boards of 4 sun and up get blade-raised lines in real urushi lacquer; boards of 3 sun and under get lines drawn with a spatula in cashew lacquer (Tengudō).
At that shop, in other words, the line method follows the thickness of the board. The blade method, often called tachi-mori, uses a Japanese sword with lacquer on its edge, drawn from the tip, one line at a time. It is explained in How Go Board Lines Are Made.
Flaws and colour
Natural wood is rarely perfect. Maekawa says that the fewer or less visible the flaws, the higher the value, and that even colour across the whole board is preferred (Maekawa). Two boards of the same wood, thickness and cut can still differ because one has a knot near the edge and the other does not.
Dryness
Drying matters too. Tengudō’s checklist for a good board: well-dried wood is light, warps little and does not crack; a high, clear sound with some spring is good (Tengudō). If you can handle a board before buying, its weight and sound are worth noticing.
One-piece or joined: less difference in play than in price
A board made from a single block (ichimai-ita) costs more than one made of two to five pieces joined side by side (hagi-ban). Maekawa notes that joined boards are easier to source and cheaper, and that there is no large difference from a one-piece board in feel, sound or durability (Maekawa). If you want real wood under your pieces and a sensible budget, a joined board is a fair choice. See One-Piece or Joined Go Board; the same applies to shogi boards.
Where to spend, where to save
| Situation | A sensible place to put the money |
|---|---|
| Learning the game, playing at a table | A tabletop board of modest thickness; the pieces will make more difference |
| Playing at home most days | A thicker tabletop board in solid wood; the sound of the pieces changes |
| A board to sit at on the floor | A legged board — but decide where it will stand first, because it is heavy |
| A gift | Think about the recipient’s home before the grade |
Maekawa warns that some thick boards weigh over 30 kg, so where the board will stand and the size of your home need thinking about first (Maekawa). Decide that before buying a large legged board. If you are just starting, The Equipment You Need to Start Shogi covers the whole set.
Buying second-hand
Japanese shogi and go boards circulate on the second-hand market. Warping, cracks, the state of the lines and how the board was stored all matter, and a vague description makes a low price impossible to judge. What to check, and which photos to ask for, is in Buying a Used Go Board.
FAQ
Does an expensive board really play differently? The sound and the feel of a piece landing on the board change with the wood and the thickness, according to the makers quoted above. Whether you need that depends on how you play. A beginner does not need a top-grade board.
The listing says “hon-kaya”. Is that enough? No. The wood name is only the start. The cut, the thickness, flaws and whether the board is one piece or joined all move the price within hon-kaya. Ask for each of them.
Why do two “5-sun kaya” boards differ so much? The cut (straight or flat grain, and which kind) and the surface (flaws, colour) can both explain it. Ask for a photo of the end grain.
What is the cheapest way to get a real wooden board? A joined board, a modest thickness, or a wood below kaya. Any of the three gives you a wooden board to play on.
Should I spend on the board or on the pieces? There is no fixed answer. You touch the pieces every move; the board is what lasts on the shelf or the floor.
Summary
- A shogi board’s price comes from wood, thickness, cut and finish — not from the size of the grid.
- Hon-kaya is ranked at the top; shin-kaya is a different tree (North American spruce).
- Thickness multiplies the price; Maekawa says value rises from about 5 sun.
- The cut can split two boards of the same wood; straight grain needs big, old trees.
- Lines, flaws, colour and drying are the last layer.
- Decide the thickness and the place first, then compare boards that match.
Sources (checked Nov 5, 2026): Kyoto Ōishi Tengudō, “About shogi boards” (Japanese) (sizes and units, wood grades, grain, line methods, dryness); Maekawa Kaya Goban-ten, “Choosing a go or shogi board” (Japanese) (order of cuts, thickness and value, weight, one-piece and joined boards, woods, flaws and colour); Maruhachi Goban-ten, “Kidori” (Japanese) (kiomote ranked below kiura). Grading and terms differ between shops; for a specific board, ask the shop. This page is based on the Japanese version on this site. This site is an independent information site about go and shogi equipment.