Go Sanctuary

When one starts to really study go, it is natural to want a very nice set. In my opinion, go is so much about aesthetic and 'feel' that playing on a nice set gives one greater pleasure and even increased concentration. After getting my board back from Japan, I decided to dedicate an area of my home to my go studies.

The board had made it from Japan, but I was missing cushions, a mat, and a nice set of stones for this new board. Finding a mat was simple enough and I bought a rice mat on sale through an online retailer. The stones and the pillows, however, were pricey. Nice stones run hundreds of dollars and zabutons (floor cushions -- lit. sitting futons) are often $50 - $100. It seemed as though my ideal area would have to wait for an influx of cash.

But with a stroke of luck both problems would be solved with in a week. I attended a tournament in Columbus, OH and there was a vendor there who had some beautiful stones for sale that were size 40 (11.8 mm thick). This thickness of stones is the largest size often used in the nicest floor board sets only. He offered me the stones in exchange for lessons! I am so grateful for this.

Lastly, I had been trying to figure out what to do with my large couch 'euro sham' pillows whose cases worn and one coffee stained. Two new black pillow cases made them look great and they are ideal size and firmness for zabutons.

Here are a few pictures of my completed go sanctuary with my beloved Arthur cat.

Go in Japan

In January I had the opportunity to stay with some of my friends in Japan and do a number of things, but I made sure not to miss out on playing igo in Japan.

When I visited Japan I was a KGS 1d, but for a number of reasons ranking are quite inflated compared to KGS or the AGA. I played in a local club as a 3d and went 4-2. After playing a few games it was determined that I was about 5d in Japan!

Here is a photo of the local club in Kani-shi, Gifu-ken.

The club was 1,000 yen (~$14) for whole day or 500 yen if you came for only the latter part of the day. There were two workers, a lady who took the fee,made tea (matcha) and passed out candy, and a man (far left of photo above) who made parings, kept track of results, and rankings.

There were about 15 players there and all players were dan level-- here is some insight to how rankings in Japan get inflated as no one wants to state they are kyu even if they are.

I was also fortunate to visit an artisan igo and shogi board maker's shop while in Japan. This shop I was in Nagoya, Aichi. It also seemed to be the home of the owners. When I first arrived at the shop, I was with my friends who in Japan now--who speak much better Japanese than I do. Unfortunately, it was the type of shop that was 'by appointment' and although the doors were open, the two were upstairs having lunch.

I made an appointment to return in an hour, and my friends had to head by train back to Kani for work. It was quite an adventure going back and speaking very very broken Japanese with the owner and his wife. They were so kind and made tea and pastries as he showed me beautiful kaya wood boards, shell & slate stones, and photos of his father and him cutting some of these trees.

These sets were reasonably priced for the premium quality that they were, but still were too high for my budget. Most of the boards were around 500,000 yen ($6,000) with some being even more expensive. He also offered me a 25% discount on stones, but even a thinner set of slate and shell stones was a couple hundred dollars.

Although I left empty handed, it was one of my favorite excursions in Japan. The traditional craft, hospitality, and pure kindness was touching. Also, I enjoyed the nerve-wracking experience of trying to use what Japanese I knew and my electronic dictionary to try and communicate; I even was proud to what degree I was able to communicate. Here are a few photos of his shop, workshop, and his merchandise.

Even though I did not get to take one his boards home, I did not come back home empty handed. "Recycle Shops" in Japan are very popular, and have incredible items in great condition. Finding a go board in these shops was much easier that I had imagined. Each recycle shop had quite a few boards and sets of stones, but many of them were very worn. After going to about seven or eight shops over the course of a couple days, I found a great board for 3,000 yen (~$40) ! At another store I found some beautiful bowls to complete my set for another 1,000 yen. I imagine that a used set like this would go for hundreds of dollars in the US based on some recent eBay searches.

So lastly, I leave you with a few pictures of my purchase.