I've got an old (minimum 25 years) folding Japanese goban and would like to know what it is made of. It was not horrifically expensive but the business I bought it from was a mom and pop Japanese restaurant with a little shop attached and the owner may have just been happy to sell it. I figure it's most likely shin kaya, but how would I know? Is there a distincive feature that real kaya possesses that shin kaya would not?

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Assertion without proof takes up little time; misrepresentation is always beautifully brief. –John Stuart Mill

In all likelihood it is neither kaya or shin-kaya, but rather katsura or (most likely) agathis. Real kaya is usually reserved for thick boards (i.e. greater than 50mm), and the Japanese do not commonly use shin-kaya for folding boards (too soft), though the Chinese do use shin-kaya for folding boards. For it to be likely kaya (shin or not) there should be a prominent straight grain showing against a yellow-tinted wood; absent this, then it becomes a matter of deciding whether you have katsura or agathis. Agathis is a lighter almost beige colored wood, while katsura is a bit darker, but in both the grain does not show so prominently, nor is it in straight lines. Katsura is often preferred for slotted boards, while agathis is more usual for folding boards; that said, I own a thin (15mm) folding board made of katsura wood, so they do exist. I was told that folding boards made of agathis have metal hinges, while those of katsura have a fabric hinge (and are backed with felt) but I do not know if this holds generally. HTH, and good luck ID'ing your board!

You really should at least post a picture of it (but not a huge picture) if you want help in identifying it

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I don't have it handy at the moment as I'm having a woodworking friend make some minor repairs to it, but I'll try to post a pic in a few days.

It does have brass hinges. It's about 3cm thick. Based on your information I suspect it is agathis, but let me post a pic or two.

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Assertion without proof takes up little time; misrepresentation is always beautifully brief. –John Stuart Mill

I was under the impression that how the wood is treated significantly affects the color, making it difficult or impossible to identify the wood based on color. Although, just from looking at boards, kaya seems to be more consistent (perhaps because they are more consistently treated?). Boards made of "shin-kaya" (a term not restricted to a particular wood) have wide variations in color. My agathis folding board isn't even close to biege, but closer to the board pictured here. That board actually looks lighter than mine, but that's just based on my monitor (and the camera that took the picture, etc.).

But take this with a grain of salt--this is all based on anecdote.

I got my board back and got some pictures which I will try to post, but I also looked at some goban photos on Yutopian and the agathis board photo on their site looks exactly like my board - same grains, same colors. So I think it is 90% likely it is agathis.

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Assertion without proof takes up little time; misrepresentation is always beautifully brief. –John Stuart Mill