This awesome goban made its way to Baduk Club from a private home in Shizuoka, Japan.
The board is 17.5cm thick, and is nearly unused. It comes with a cloth cover and a protective paulownia lid.
It is textbook Kaya, with these indicators:
- The Cut: it is an Oi-masa cut, which shows off the heart of the tree. This cut is highly regarded because it presents straight lines on nearly all the surfaces.
- The Size: While kaya isn't rare, it does take 500-1000 years to grow large enough to be used for a go board. Most kaya boards are plain-sawn, but a quartersawn board like this is only possible with a tree of the largest diameter.
- The Grain: the lines are wavy. They are also quite thin because Kaya is a slow-growing tree and you can see hundreds of rings.
- The Weight: at 16 kilograms it is very dense. This is because Kaya retains its resin as it cures in the warehouse for 10 years before being shaped.
- The Color: the heartwood is a uniform candy color.
- The Scent: it carries a sweet smell like vanilla, incense, clove, or patchouli.
The board is in excellent condition. It still has white wax residue, which will easily clean up by brushing it with a clean cotton cloth. It has a raised lacquer grid. The legs are also kaya, and their proud shoulders are an excellent sign of quality.
Purchased new, such an item would cost about $5000-$10000 today.
If you would like to add go bowls or stones, it would be no trouble to bundle this item with other products from our warehouse in Japan.
Please refer to my Care Instructions for storage tips. Proper care will help cracks from developing along Pith Rays (veins used by the tree to transfer water).
Please understand that this is a Vintage item. Some defects may exist so please examine the photos carefully before your purchase.
Shipping Details:
FedEx International Priority shipping from Japan is already included in the purchase price. 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 we will email you a tracking number.
