Tendo, the Town of Shogi, and the Dawn of Piece Making

The story of how Tendo became the "town of shogi" is rooted in the domain's administration during the Edo period.
This area was the territory of the Oda clan, descendants of Oda Nobunaga, but they were in constant financial difficulty.

Lower-ranking samurai, who did not receive sufficient stipends, were encouraged to make shogi pieces as a side business.
When the samurai class was abolished with the Meiji Restoration, this side business became a full-fledged "profession," and the craft of shogi piece making took root in Tendo.

The founding of Nakajima Seikichi Shoten was part of this trend.
The first-generation owner, Tamesaburo, began making shogi pieces in 1880.
While there wasn't what you would call a "shogi boom" at the time, the game was popular among the common people, and there was certainly enough demand that "if you made them, they would sell."

Shogi Pieces: A Craft Symbolizing Japan's "Wood Culture"

The material is what largely determines the value of shogi pieces. The raw materials are surprisingly simple: wood and lacquer. Essentially, no other materials are used.

It is believed that the shape of shogi pieces was established in the 1500s, and since then, their fundamental nature has hardly changed.
A piece must not simply be a pentagon; an extremely delicate sensibility is required for everything from the wood grain and texture to the color, luster, and even the weight of each individual piece.

In a 40-piece set of shogi pieces, even the slightest difference can disrupt the overall harmony.
That is why the very process of discerning the individual characteristics of the material and creating a uniform set is at the core of shogi piece making.

For its highest-grade products, Nakajima Seikichi Shoten uses hon-tsuge (Japanese boxwood) from Mikurajima Island (domestically sourced boxwood from Mikurajima in the Izu Islands).
The characteristics of hon-tsuge are its fine grain and a luster that deepens the more it is used.
Even when freshly cut, it already possesses a moist sheen, and it is said that you can feel the difference the moment you touch it.

Even more crucial is the drying process.
After the logs are cut into round slices and processed into boards, they are naturally dried for at least two years.
Rapid drying can cause cracking and warping, so it is necessary to slowly remove the moisture over time.

Only after this process do they become tools that will not deform even after years of use as shogi pieces and will continue to feel comfortable in the hand.

This delicacy in selecting and handling materials can be said to symbolize Japan's unique "wood culture," which has historically not embraced materials other than wood.

Lacquer is also an indispensable material.
It has a viscosity and elasticity that cannot be replicated by other materials.
It holds the lines of the characters, allows them to be raised, and possesses the strength to withstand many years of use.

Although there was a time in the early days of shogi pieces when ink was used, today, no alternative to lacquer is considered.
This is not a matter of rationality, but an inevitability born from accumulated experience and sensibility.

Craftsmanship Passed Down Through Specialization: The Making of Shogi Pieces

The craft of making shogi pieces is sustained through a clearly defined system of specialization.
There are kijishi, who create the wooden blanks; kakishi, who handwrite the characters; and horishi, who carve the inscriptions.
Each artisan hones their own expertise, working in sequence to complete a single shogi piece.

Kijishi: Everything Begins with Choosing the Wood

The kijishi is the craftsperson responsible for shaping the wooden base of the shogi piece from raw logs.
Using a saw, each piece is carefully cut and finished by hand, one by one.

What matters most is the ability to read the grain of the wood.
Even when cut from the same log, variations in grain pattern and color naturally occur. Ensuring consistency in grain, tone, and weight across a full set of forty pieces—the complete set used in shogi—is the first major challenge in the process.

This sensitivity to wood grain is something no machine can replace.

Kakishi: A Lifetime of Skill in a Single Stroke

The kakishi writes the shogi characters directly onto the wooden pieces using lacquer, without any preliminary sketch.
Each piece takes only a few seconds to complete, yet every line embodies years of accumulated experience.

The subtle variations in line thickness and the faint textures created by the brush all shape the final expression of the piece.
Only a seasoned kakishi can achieve both speed and beauty at once.

Horishi: The Difficulty of Consistency

The horishi carves each character into the wood using chisels.
Within a single set of shogi pieces, the pawn (fu) appears most frequently, requiring many identical characters to be carved.

For this reason, many horishi carve the same type of piece in one continuous session.
Even the slightest change in rhythm or condition can affect the expression of the carved characters.

Why Moriage Shogi Pieces Are Called Works of Art

Among the various techniques used in making shogi pieces, moriage-goma stand at the very pinnacle.
Moriage is a method in which the characters are first carved into the wood, filled with lacquer, and carefully polished. After this, additional layers of lacquer are built up to create a raised, three-dimensional form.

Using an extremely fine brush, the artisan works with no margin for error—any excess lacquer is unacceptable. A single mistake means starting the entire process over from the beginning.

What is crucial in this technique is how much luster can be achieved during the carving and filling stage. Once the raised lacquer is applied, the surface can no longer be polished. In other words, the final beauty of the sheen is determined entirely before the moriage itself begins.

The completed moriage pieces transcend their function as game equipment, possessing a presence akin to fine art. This is precisely why they are used in professional shogi title matches.

Choosing to Abandon Mass Production and Perfect a Single Set

Around forty years ago, Nakajima Seikichi Shoten reached a major turning point.
At the time, relatively inexpensive shogi pieces dominated the market, and mass-production machines capable of cutting nearly 10,000 pieces a day were in operation.

However, as the shogi-playing population declined, this approach began to reach its limits.
“We have to focus on making truly good pieces from now on.”

The company decided to step away from mass production and switch to machines better suited for precise, careful processing. As a result, daily output dropped to around 1,500 pieces. What they gained instead was the ability to devote themselves fully to achieving consistency in color, grain, and texture across all forty pieces of a single set.

If even one piece within a set differs slightly in color, its value diminishes. By selecting wood dried in the same year and carefully reading the individual character of each piece of boxwood, they complete one set at a time.

It is a commitment that runs counter to efficiency—and a deliberate choice to pursue perfection over volume.

Passing Shogi Pieces on to the Future

Shortages of materials and skilled craftspeople continue to weigh heavily on the industry.
The ban on harvesting imported boxwood once commonly used for shogi pieces, along with the aging of toolmakers, has made the situation even more challenging. Even so, Nakajima Seikichi Shoten has continued its efforts in researching domestically sourced materials and training the next generation of artisans.

“We want more people to play shogi.”
That desire is reflected not only in their craft, but also in hands-on workshops and the creation of related small items that invite people to engage more deeply with the tradition.

Shogi pieces are crafts completed over time, shaped by the hands and hours of those who play with them.
The resolve embedded in each set of forty pieces has been quietly passed on for more than 150 years—and will continue into the generations to come.