The Miwa Tradition

This picture shows the Miwa Saburo store during the early Showa period (early 1930s).  Here you see business founder Saburo Miwa and his wife together with employed craftsmen.

2nd generation Yasuji Miwa drafts board lines with the traditional katana blade, under the watchful eye of founder Saburo Miwa.

Keiji Miwa's family has been making Go equipment in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, since the beginning of the 1900s.  Their workshop and Go store, situated in the city of Nagoya, is part of the fabric of history in the area.

Customers know that a Go board carrying the Miwa name will embody the skills and lessons learned over three lifetimes.  This trust between craftsman and customer is never taken lightly.

Currently the family business is run by 3rd generation master craftsman Keiji Miwa with help from his youngest son, who will no doubt continue this tradition into the next generation.

What exactly is the difference between a traditionally handmade Goban and a mass-production board?

The first step is the choice of woods.  Select lumber is acquired from Hokkaido (the northernmost Island of Japan), China and North America.  Once the wood has arrived, it is air dried naturally under meticulous climate/humidity control.  Due to the sharp decline in timber production output, it has become very difficult to secure necessary quantities of material.  The drying process can last several years, depending on the type of wood.

Next, the raw lumber is cut to the correct size with great precision.  Even a slight misalignment can greatly reduce the quality of the final product.  Therefore, high precision equipment, long experience and great care are needed to cut the board.  This is the final step where modern machinery is used on the wood. From here on, only handtools will be used.

All surfaces of the board are finished using a hand plane. Did you know that 70% to 80% of all "traditional style" Go boards currently available in the market are not finished using a hand plane?  It is the strong opinion of Keiji Miwa that using an electric sander after using a hand plane defeats the purpose of using a hand plane in the first place.  According to Miwa-san: "The difference between products finished using only hand planes and those finished using an electric sander is very clear when you compare the two side by side.  Using hand planes makes a big difference in color and lustre as 10, 20 years passes."

After hand-planing, a special wax is rubbed into the surfaces of the board.  Waxing the board gives protection, while maintaining a non-glare surface and pleasing acoustic properties.  In contrast, mass-produced boards often use a hard polyurethane finish that causes unpleasant glare from natural and indoor lighting.  In addition, the hard shell of polyurethane creates a sharp "click" sound when stones are placed, instead of the natural "thok" of a waxed board.

Next, a hand chisel is used to form the traditional octagonal legs common on Japanese Go boards.  Since this is usually the only stylized element on a Japanese board, it is particularly important to create a beautiful shape.  Distinct edges and curves help to accentuate the natural grain of the wood.  This step is important in creating an elegant feel to the board.

Miwa-san expertly drafts lines on a finished board.

The application of lines is the final and most critical step.  These 38 straight lines reveal a craftsman's level of skill more than any other.  Setting lines by hand with the traditional katana blade is extremely difficult and precise work.  Take two boards made by different craftsmen and compare the glossiness of the lines, the sharpness and smoothness.  Beautiful lines are the hallmark of the skilled Go board craftsman.  On the other hand, if the lines are not up to standard, the quality of all the other steps may be called into question.