Choice of Goban

[gowan]

I am also a go board junkie.

ez4u, are you also a go bowl junkie?
Do you happen to know if they still make Goseigen-style bowls in Japan (as opposed to Kitani-style ones)?

I admit to being a lover of go bowls (not a junkie, I can stop anytime I want to!). I have five sets of stones and bowls: 1) chestnut bowls with glass stones, 2) Keyaki bowls with 9.2 mm jitsuyo slate and shell, 3) Karin bowls with 8.8 mm yuki slate and shell, 4) Kuzu bowls with 9.8 mm tsuki slate and shell, and 5) mulberry bowls with 8.0 mm yuki slate and Japanese clam shell stones.

My mulberry bowls, which I use with my kaya 6 cm table-top board, are hirakata, or "flat" model. They are wider and somewhat shallower than the standard model. I have never seen reference to "Go Seigen" or "Kitani" model bowls in Japanese publications, only on the Samarkand website when it was in business. Samarkand sold mostly Korean goods so maybe those bowl styles are a Korean thing. In Japan "Honinbo" shape bowls are occasionally seen, a more cylindrical shape. Except for these shapes there are different sizes, such as medium, large, extra large and extra extra large, which are suitable for different thicknesses of stones.

[tchan001]

"Go Seigen" and "Kitani" bowls are coined by Janice Kim for when Samarkand was still in the retail business of selling books and equipment.

quoted from http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive ... 00200.html

Date: Mon, 12 Sep 2005 14:36:40 -0600
From: "Janice Kim" <jkim@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Anton Ninno" <antonninno@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: Origin of Go Seigen & Kitani style bowls?

Dear Anton,

Actually, I named them the Go Seigen and the Kitani bowls because
I wanted to have an easy way of distinguishing between them. The
bowls that I think are more Chinese-style because of their wider,
flatter
shape I called the Go Seigen bowls since he is from China, and the
Japanese-style taller shape I called the Kitani since Kitani is from
Japan.
It was a little unexpected that others would start calling them that
also!
It's getting hard to find the Chinese-style bowls any longer, but if we
find
a new supplier the "Go Seigen" bowls will make a comeback on the
Samarkand site.

Best,
Janice

[gowan]

It seems, then, that the "Go Seigen style" bowls might be the same as the Japanese hirakata. These are still made in Japan. A quick check of the Nihon Ki-in online shop shows they are selling this style in chestnut and keyaki (zelkova) woods. Since these bowls are easily available in Japan you might try asking Kiseido in Japan whether they can supply them. I also see that Kuroki has a "custom request" option and I imagine that they could also supply this kind of bowl. Probably the hirakata style is available in many different kinds of wood.

[EdLee]

gowan & tchan001, Thank you very much.

gowan, you don't seem to have 10.7mm (size 38) slate & shell -- have you tried it? It's fantastic.

[JarrodCL]

Apologies for missing this post! I’ve been focusing on studying and tried to avoid the temptation to distract myself looking at boards etc…rather than playing

I would suggest that you consider what you expect to use the board for.

Hmm, well, I’ve since decided to pick up a nice table board first and then a floor board once I hit 1d (as determined by the local authority…may be stronger or weaker than other 1d ranks). I tend to play a bit against friends at home, but I also want to be able to play against friends on a nice board at a café/library etc…but not so nice that I’ll break down when I bump it against a wall.

It is easier to study on a table. Thick stones look nice but they are harder to handle.

I had a play with a variety of stones at the most recent tournament, and found that I like the feel of a medium thickness stone…I hate the wobble of a thick bi-convex stone.

Do you have a nice deck or yard that you might want to sit out in to study or play?

I do…I suspect the cheaper table board might be handy for this

If I bought another set of shell stones, I would definitely choose a lower grade so I would mind it less when (not if) I lost/broke one occasionally.

Excellent advice!

I considered that grubby mite crawling around in front of me for about 10 seconds before deciding that maybe katsura would be sufficient for my needs.

No kids yet…but my friends are getting to that age now where they’re bringing their children over. Hmm…also good advice to think about.

My fundamental philosophy after years of varied experience is that a good board is a great boost to you enjoyment of go. However: 1. you should always have practical usability in mind and 2. you should spend just enough so that if your best go friend has a little too much and spills a glass of beer (you are Australian, right?) on your board, he/she will still be your best go friend.

LOL! Yes, definitely good advice. It would probably be wine or a martini/Gin and Tonic in my household, but your point is an excellent one. I think, perhaps, a Katsura board and a modest set of stones/bowls should do me just fine based on your advice 