Browsing through YP, I ran across this listing, described as kaya go bowls.

I'm curious, what are the red streaks? Something in the wood reacting with the lacquer or stain? Kibitzers' blood?

Is that a feature or a bug ?

Did those streaks occur naturally in the tree ?
If yes, does it mean the tree was healthy or sick ?
If no, then did they appear during or after the manufacturing process ?

Kaya wood can have different colors in it. I don't know how the color happens. I've never seen bright red as in these bowls. Some wood color comes from fungus in the wood. If a kaya log is cut and some objectionable color is found the wood might be judged unsuitable for making go boards. Maybe that part of the log would be used for bowls, trays, saucers, or other smaller things. Many boards boards show darker brown streaks. These are fairly common. Maybe they would look more red as an artifact of the photo processing.

Yes! That's exactly what I'm wondering.



Interesting, thank you. Yeah, I wonder if the red is being exaggerated by the photo, or if it really is that bright.

Red stains on the kaya? What are you talking about? I don't see any red stain...



I'm sorry, I couldn't resist.

I did do some research online, but wasn't able to find anything about red coloration in kaya or spruce (shin-kaya) wood. I've honestly never seen anything like what is shown in the images, but from the look of it the color seems to be on the tree rings. I could see how maybe the stain somehow sat in those areas too long - perhaps they were slightly indented compared to the rest of the wood? Or, perhaps there was a flaw in the actual tree itself. I'm not sure.

To be honest, I actually sort of like the coloring on the bowls. It makes them look distinctive and interesting. The lids, on the other hand, I'm not a huge fan of. There are too many of those markings and it makes it look like someone spilled something on them.

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I blushed inwardly to recall the ignorant thoughts that had gone through
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-Kageyama Toshiro on proper moves

Whatever the reason may be (and I assume it’s some natural cause), I find these bowls beautiful!

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“The only difference between me and a madman is that I’m not mad.” — Salvador Dali ★ Play a slooooow correspondence game with me on OGS?

Since I've already got a few things coming over via YJ, figured I might as well do my part for science and grabbed these.

We'll see what they actually look like in person soon!

How nice of you to sacrifice yourself for a higher purpose!

Ah, probably that’s why I couldn’t find them when I went there to look for myself …

Please send pics when they arrive, will you?

_________________
“The only difference between me and a madman is that I’m not mad.” — Salvador Dali ★ Play a slooooow correspondence game with me on OGS?

I think they look magnificent.

Maybe it is in the pictures, maybe it is in the bowls themselves. I personally like darker/reddish/brownish bowls. So to me, they sure look appealing. Don't know what the streaks are. Seems like they have a natural cause, in the wood itself. I concur with moyoaji: it makes the bowls looks more distinctive and interesting.

My guess is that it is lacquer. Lacquer is often used with kaya bowls to prevent the resin from the kaya wood staining your go stones. Perhaps the kaya wood used for the bowls was not cured properly and there were some defects which were lacquered over resulting in the red patterns you see where the lacquer is thicker.

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Go is such a beautiful game.

I'm probably a bit late in chiming in, but thought I'd comment.

The bowls were likely made by Honkayakoubou. It's a manufacture based (I believe) in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. They post (mostly) outlet items on Yahoo Auctions Japan and will from time to time sell collections of bowls that have problems or other unusual features such as this. So far, Honkayakoubou is the only place I've seen making/selling bowls with discolorations like that in the wood.

I've considered picking up a set for myself just because of the distinctive features. It's too bad the stains don't match between the lid and bowls (like Kurokaki).

Yeah, they almost align, but not quite. I'm very happy with them, they are very distinctive and the craftmanship is solid.

As promised, photos!

Beautiful, thank you!

_________________
“The only difference between me and a madman is that I’m not mad.” — Salvador Dali ★ Play a slooooow correspondence game with me on OGS?