Yamagata [Other Crafts] TENDO Shogi Koma (Japanese Chess Pieces)

Categories
Art / Traditional crafts
Area
Tohoku Yamagata
Shops
Traditional Crafts Aoyama Square
Update date
2023-01-06

Toward the end of the Edo era (1600-1868), the Oda clan attempted to improve their poor fortunes by having lower-ranking warriors produce shogi chess pieces, leading to the development of the craft in what is now the city of Tendo.

The pieces are made from the wood of cucumber, snowbell, maple, spindle and boxwood trees. The characters are usually painted on the pieces using natural lacquer, but for higher-end sets, a raised effect is created by first carving the character into the piece and then applying multiple layers of natural lacquer. Today, 95% of all shogi pieces made in Japan come from Tendo.

TENDO Shogi Koma (Japanese Chess Pieces) (details page)

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