This awesome goban set came to Baduk Club from a samurai sword dealer in Kanagawa, Japan.
The board is 5.7cm thick and has a pleasant yellow color that is easy on the eyes. This is most likely Kaya given the density (5.9kg). The endgrain shows very dense and wavy lines. It is a hagi board, made of multiple pieces - this helps prevent warping which can occur when a board this thin is made from a single piece. The board looks to have been treated with a yellow coloring agent when it was made - this helps the different pieces appear more uniform and was the fashion in the 1980s. A sticker on the side of the board indicates that the appropriate permits were held to harvest the tree this wood was taken from. It sits on 4 rubber feet. There are some small scratches and a rounded corner here or there, this is just regular wear and tear. The board comes with a paulownia lid for protection while in storage.
The bowls are Keyaki (zelkova) or cherry, size XL and they fit the stones with a comfortable amount of room to spare. They also have incidental marks from use.
There is a full set of stones plus a spare of each color. They are size 32 slate and shell, about 9mm thick. The black are both thicker and wider than the wide to account for the brightness of the white stones (if they are made the same size, an optical illusion causes the white to appear oversized).
This is a Vintage item. Visit my Care Instructions to learn more about waxing a board.
Shipping Details:
FedEx International Priority shipping from Japan (to nearly anywhere) is already included. This service reduces the actual transit time to only 5 business days, and also allows more room for padding in order to avoid shipping damage. Please allow a week for Customs preparations, then a FedEx tracking number will be provided that you can use to sign up for notifications.
Because of the quality of this set, Surface shipping is not recommended, but it is possible (in 2 parcels with Japan Post) if you wish to reduce the cost by about $120. Contact us with the chat widget to make such arrangements.
