Choosing the Wood of a Shogi Board: Why Not the Same Way as a Go Board, and What Affects Sound and Wear

When people choose a shogi board (shogiban), the question of wood is usually shrunk to one: “hon-kaya or shin-kaya?”

Brought over unchanged, that question drops everything that is specific to shogi. A go board and a shogi board look alike, but what happens on the playing surface is different.

Go stones are placed. Shogi pieces are struck. That one point changes how the wood should be chosen.

The hon-kaya / shin-kaya difference is not repeated here

A short recap. Hon-kaya (本榧) is kaya (Japanese torreya) wood itself. Shin-kaya (新榧) is the product name of a substitute wood made to resemble it in appearance and feel, so it is a different tree. The names differ by one character and are often confused, but this is not a ranking of grades.

What the woods are, how to tell them apart and how origins differ is covered in Hon-kaya vs Shin-kaya. This page starts from there and covers only how the same differences play out on a shogi board.

1. On a shogi board, wood shows up first as sound

Shogi is a game in which pieces are struck down onto the board. Every move makes a sound, and you hear it through the whole game.

Sound is said to come from three things: the wood, the thickness, and how the underside is made. The wood alone does not decide it.

On a tabletop board, differences in wood are harder to hear. Put on a desk, the sound of any wood is absorbed by the desk. If you plan to use a tabletop board, paying more for the wood for the sake of sound has little point, and that bears directly on how you split your budget. For thickness, see Shogi Board Sizes.

About the heso (chidamari)

The underside of a legged board has a recess carved in the middle, in the shape of a square pyramid. It is called the heso (“navel”) or chidamari (“blood pool”) — one and the same place.

It is said to be there to improve resonance, and also to help guard against moisture and cracking. Boards with thin legs may not have one. There is also a widely told legend that it is where the blood of anyone who interfered in a game was collected after the head was cut off. There are several theories about the origin, and none can be stated as the correct one. It is, though, a part you can turn the board over and look at, so if you get the chance to see a legged board, have a look.

2. The surface wears, faster than on a go board

A go stone sits on the surface. A shogi piece lands with its corner and base, and it lands in the same places again and again: the initial position and the narrow area used in the endgame.

• Dents: small dents form where the base of the pieces keeps hitting.
• Friction: if you slide pieces to move them, the surface is rubbed.
• Wear of the lines: the lines, built up in lacquer, are the weakest part of the surface (see Caring for a Go or Shogi Board).

This is where the character of the wood matters. Kaya is elastic, and is often described as a wood that does not mark easily. A wood with a hard feel when struck, such as katsura, may show marks more readily. How well a dent actually recovers depends on the board and how it is used, and we have not confirmed a fixed rule, so do not treat “it recovers by itself” as a promise.

This does not mean hon-kaya never gets damaged. A playing surface always changes with use. A thick board keeps the option of resurfacing (planing the top down), but planing also removes the lines, so the lines have to be redrawn as a set. A thin board has no room for this at all.

3. Substitute woods are chosen more often for shogi

What woods other than kaya (katsura, ginkgo, hiba, agathis and so on) change and do not change is covered in Go Board Woods Beyond Kaya. Only the situations specific to shogi are listed here.

• Several boards are often used side by side. Shogi clubs, schools, brothers and sisters at home: setting up several boards is not unusual in shogi. The cost per board becomes a practical condition.
• Carrying is often assumed. Demand for folding and tabletop boards is large on the shogi side, and for that use light weight is a practical advantage.
• The pieces can matter first. Rather than raising the board’s wood one grade, choosing carved pieces (hori-goma) can change the feel and sound more (see Types of Shogi Pieces).

A substitute wood is not a lesser version of hon-kaya; it is a tool for a different use. If you know how the board will be used, the substitute wood is quite often the right answer.

4. What to check before you buy

Photos and a price are not enough. Check what is written in words.

1. The exact name of the wood. “Kaya”, “hon-kaya”, “shin-kaya” and “kaya-type” are easily left vague. Does the listing give the origin as well (Hyuga kaya, other Japanese-grown kaya, or Chinese-grown)?
2. The grain cut. Masame (straight grain) or itame (flat grain). Even for the same hon-kaya, this can make a large difference to the price (see Go Board Wood Grain Explained).
3. How the thickness is written. Is it given in sun, or is it confused with the dimensions of the playing surface?
4. For second-hand boards, the lines and the surface. Is there a history of resurfacing, and have the lines been redrawn? (See Buying a Used Go Board for what to ask about.)

Summary

1. Hon-kaya and shin-kaya are different woods. It is not a difference of grade.
2. On a shogi board, wood shows first in sound. But sound is the sum of wood, thickness, legs and heso, and if you plan a tabletop board the effect of the wood is small.
3. The surface is worn by the pieces. Elastic kaya is often described as resistant to marks, though how far dents recover varies. A thick board keeps the option of resurfacing.
4. A substitute wood is the right answer more often for shogi. Several boards, carrying, and putting budget into the pieces.
5. Check the wording, not the photo. Wood name, origin, grain cut and sun.

If you start from the wood, you get a two-way choice of hon-kaya or shin-kaya. If you start from how you will use it, the order changes. Once you know where, with whom and how many boards, the wood narrows down on its own.

This page is based on information that is publicly available. How woods are named, and how sound and marks are judged, can differ between makers and players. Confirm the details with a specialist shop or the maker before you buy or have a board repaired. Kayajudo is an independent guide to Japanese go and shogi equipment.