For Go boards of the highest quality. Feel the difference!

The harvesting of a Kaya tree

Beautiful, well-defined ring patterns, great flexibility, an amazing natural oil-rich gloss, and a pleasant scent have earned Japanese Kaya wide recognition as a premium Go board wood. The Kaya wood produced in Hyuga is of the highest quality, and is highly prized.

Great temperature differences from season to season, ample rainfall, and the intense sunshine available in Hyuga all contribute to the development of Kaya's well defined rings. In addition, trees grown on Hyuga soil grow particularly slowly. The resulting narrow width and high density of the rings adds greatly to the beauty of the wood. It is no wonder that Go boards made of Hyuga Kaya are often used in important Gotitle games.

A craftsman carving the lines on a board

Characteristics of Go Board wood
Masame	Itame (Kiura)	Itame (Kiomote)
These boards are made from wood selected for extremely high quality as can be seen in the evenness and clarity of their rings. The beauty of the wood combined with an excellent "uchiaji" or "feel" when snapping stones in place is sure to satisfy. There are three kinds of Masame board which vary according to the part of the log from which the boards were taken: ???, ???, and ???.	While Itame boards are ranked a cut below Masame boards, they are still of very high quality. An Itame board of the Kiura (tree back) type displays its inner face (the face of the block closest to the heart of the tree) on its playing surface. Kiura boards never display flaws or knots on any face and offer a somewhat more affordable alternative to Masame boards.	An Itame board of the Kiomote (tree front) type displays its outer face (the face of the block that was closer to the bark of the tree) on its playing surface. These boards sometimes have flaws on their undersides, but never on the playing surface or on the sides. Although they lack the perfection of Masame and Kiura boards, Kiomote type Itame boards offer the satisfying feel of Japanese Kaya at fraction of the cost.