This thick goban set came to Baduk Club from an antique dealer in Hyogo, Japan.
The board is 17.5cm thick, which is very large and it stands 29.5cm tall. It comes with a decorative woven cover in addition to a paulownia lid. It looks like Katsura, based on the consistent orange-red color.
The board has a Kiura-itame cut, known by woodworkers as a Plain-sawn board. This cutting style which shows off the heart of the tree in the endgrain where the players sit. The sides feature nice straight lines, and the surface will have some cross-grain in a unique pattern like a fingerprint.
The board itself is in good shape. The corners and edges look very good. It has been used, so you may find small indentations in the playing surface where players laid their stones aggressively. Some scuffing is visible on the lower part, where the legs of the seated players would come into contact with the board.
The orange-brown bowls are size XL and have great lines. They are probably Keyaki (zelkova), but could be Cypress or something similar. They come with a protective paulownia storage case that closes with a cotton ribbon.
The stones are a full set of 181 slate and 180 shell, about size 35 (10mm). The clamshell stones have a creamy patina, so they may be Japanese in origin. This is not a new set, so small imperfections may exist.
All together, this set weighs 24kg.
This is a Vintage product.
Shipping Details:
FedEx International Priority shipping from Japan (to everywhere) is already included in the purchase price for free, a service that reduces the actual transit time to only 5 business days.
It is possible to downgrade to Surface shipping by removing the legs and sending them separately with the bowls and stones in a second parcel. Japan Post takes up to 3 months in transit, and this would be done at your own risk of shipping damage. You can use the code SURFACE at checkout.
In either case, please allow a week for the board to be packed and to clear Customs, then a tracking number will be provided that you can use to sign up for notifications.
