This set came to Baduk Club from an antique dealer in Hyogo, Japan.
The board is a single-piece of Kaya, cut in the Plain-sawn style (Kiura Itame). This cutting style shows off the endgrain where you will sit, so you can view the beautiful heartwood. The sides feature straight lines, and the playing surface will be unique like a fingerprint. This is an ideal cut when the tree is not large enough to be quarter-sawn. Kaya is dense, so it is very heavy, and it also carries a sweet scent particular to Kaya. Under the legs is an inscription, probably from the maker. The legs are a bit darker than the board (and a little dusty), they may be Kaya but are more likely Katsura. The edges and corners are in great shape. The wood has some pith rays in the endgrain and underside - cracks may form along these, but the board is very stable and will not come apart.
The bowls are most likely Cherry, but could be something similar like Zelkova or Quince.. They are size XL and fit the stones snugly. They have their original finish in good shape.
The stones are size 36 slate and shell. The black stones are slightly larger than the white, to account for black's visual slimming effect. There are 181 black pieces, plus two spares. There are 174 white pieces; please contact us when the item arrives if you want to purchase spare stones to complete the set,
Shipping Details:
Airmail shipping from Japan with FedEx International Priority is already included, there will be no additional fee at checkout.
You can downgrade to Japan Post shipping to save $80 by using the discount code SURFACE at checkout. This will be at your own risk, as the Surface Shipping transit time is up to 3 months.
In either case, please allow one week for packing and Customs, then we will email you a tracking number from the shipping service that you can use to sign up for notifications.
