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My son has become very interested in Go as a result of the serialization in Shonen Jump, and the American edition of the manga. He is very interested in acquiring "real" Go equipment, but his ideas of what is appropriate and tasteful have been strongly influenced by the artwork in the Hikaru no Go manga.
In the drawings, especially of the Go Club playing room, for example on pp. 73, 81, 100 of Volume 6, there are goban which appear to be thicker than table boards (as shown on p89, v.1), but nowhere near as thick as the usual floor board (as shown on p92,95 v.6).
Does anyone know if this is just an artistic convention, or is there actually a board size that's between the standard table and the standard floor boards? About 3-3.5 inches thick is what we're trying to confirm. We haven't found any evidence of such a size in the on-line searches we've done, but maybe there's some sort of children's floor size???
Thanks much for any assistance in clearing this up, if possible.
Strongly influenced by Hikaru no Go, eh? I can understand your son. The main reason I want a floor board, is because of Hikaru no Go :)
Well, a quick search showed me that Samarkand have some floor boards that are 4.5 inches thick. Kuroki Goishi Ten have a board of 3 sun thickness, which is apparently about 3.5 inches.
This proves that it is not just an artistic convention.
I find the idea of it being a child size as being... rather unlikely...
3-3.5 inch boards would basicly be a kind of budget floor board. They sell in Japan, as there is a much bigger market there, but in non-asian countries there isn't that big a demand. Those who want floor boards, will generaly want a thicker one.
High quality boards for use on tables are very common in Japan, especially in go clubs. They are usually 2-sun thickness, or about 5 to 6 centimeters. That is thicker than most folding or slotted boards. Could that be what you are seeing in HnG? Boards with legs come in all thicknesses from 2-sun to 8-sun. 2-sun boards for use on a table are available on line from Samarkand.net, Kiseido.com, and Yutopian.com as well as from Kurokigoishiten.com at prices ranging from about $80 to about $1000. Boards with legs cost anywhere from under $300 to over $200,000, depending on thickness and type of wood. One point about the 2-sun boards for use on tables. On top of a standard Western table they are too high for some people to use easily. The tables in Japan on which these boards are commonly used are much lower, usually around 24 inches from the floor to the top of the table. --Bob McGuigan