Our Basic Philosophy Craftsmanship Over the Generations

“Hand-shaping Technique” Has Been Handed Down Through Generations Only In Hyuga

Go stones made from natural clamshells have two opposite characteristics: ‘Hard yet soft’.
Because of this unique character, our Go stones can generate unimaginable feelings when they are placed on a board. This “hard yet soft” texture is only made possible thanks to our special technique called “hand shaping”, what we call “Te-zuri” in Japanese. Only available in Hyuga City of Miyazaki, this special skill has been passed down from generation to generation.
During the Te-zuri process, we use two types of traditional tools, a grinding stone with round and arched grooves as well as a special stick called “Kai-bo (shell stick)” as a holder. First we trim the surface and then form the evenly shaped Go stone by keeping adequate thickness.
This traditional technique breathes new life into the clamshell to produce clamshell Go stones of the highest quality.

Hand-Shaping Process Movie at Kuroki Goishiten in Hyuga City, Miyazaki (78 seconds)

Board Craftsmen Are Always Close to Wood

All of our Go boards are made from natural wood. Every tree and wood has different characteristics because of the environment, soil and climate they have grown in. Go & Shogi boards must always produce not only a nice and comfortable feeling but they must also have a beautiful color, shine, durability, and be perfect as a whole. In order to breathe new life into a board, we have to maximize the various advantages of its raw materials by looking, touching, and listening closely to the wood and create only one board in the world. Our craftsmen make always every effort to communicate with the wood.

Tachi-mori (Drawing Lines with Sword) Movie  (110 seconds)