I am currently interested in a higher end board and I live in Japan, so I have access to a variety of vendors. I am having a problem, though, understanding the differences between all the types of boards and there seem to be a lot of conflicting accounts of the wood types. I read through a lot of information, but I am still confused about a few points, particularly because there are conflicting views.

For instance, Kiseido derides Chinese Kaya and says it is inferior to Japanese Kaya. While it may be true that Hyuga-kaya is one of the best wood types for boards, is Kiseido overstating the poor quality of KAya? For example this guy, http://www.maekawa-kayagoban.co.jp/ builds boards in Japan and most of his kaya boards are made from Chinese Kaya. He says on his website that there is really no difference and that even Chinese Kaya is now increasing in price because it is becoming a bit more scarce. Note that his boards are dried over a 10 year period, so the quality is very high. It is not as if the boards are being mass-produced in some factory somewhere.

Thus my first question: Is there a really noticeable difference between boards made from Chinese Kaya and Japanese Kaya if they are produced using very high level expertise?

I am also wondering about the importance, benefits and costs, of having a single piece board versus a composite board. For me, I really love having a single board. I just enjoy the look a lot more. However, there are some composite boards that seem to do a really good job on the board face and it is barely noticeable that it is a composite board when looking down on the board. So, again, I am torn between whether it makes sense or not. If you need to know I am looking at about a 2 or 3 sun table board. So, it is a little thick but not very thick.

Thus my second question. Does it make a difference in the way the boards warp over time or are there any other costs/benefits to having a composite board versus a single wood board? I read through previous posts and there seems to be some idea that composite boards warp less, but if I buy a high quality aged and dried single wood board, I should also not have any problems. Is this accurate consensus?

Finally, for anyone familiar with buying from Japanese vendors, i notice several different designations of the wood style. Some vendors say 本榧 (hon-kaya), but do not specify any more information than that. Should I assume that it is Chinese Kaya in that case? Because usually if it is Japanese kaya, they will specify that it is 日向榧. Other times, though, the vendor says it is 本榧（日本産) (Hon-Kaya Japanese Origin). In that case, it does not specify that it is Hyuga, so what should I assume about the origin? Is it simply that they cannot know the type, but it is definitely kaya or should I just not trust it and assume they are lying and it is actually Chinese Kaya?

Thank you for all your help.

I have a beautiful one piece Chinese kaya table board which I bought in late 2009 and it still looks and smells great. I also have a composite Hyuga kaya table board from kurokigoishi. In my opinion, if the board is made with Japanese craftsmanship with the proper curing time, I do not find any significant difference in the quality of Chinese kaya compared with Hyuga Kaya. There are always differences in different kaya boards as each tree is different. It doesn't make sense to judge a kaya board just based on the location from which it came. You need to look at the individual board itself to see if it is a work of beauty.

I think that you shouldn't find it too much of a problem concerning a single wood board warping over time if it is sufficiently cured and at about 2 or 3 sun. The only problem might be if you move from one extreme climate area to the other extreme climate area such as from a tropical environment to a desert environment.

As for the different designations of kaya, as long as it's real kaya whether it is Hyuga, honkaya, or Chinese kaya, I'm fine if I can find a reasonably affordable beauty

I'd like to add that the supply of kaya go boards will only get tighter and tighter as time goes by because Japanese kaya seems to be highly restricted in harvesting while Chinese has stopped harvesting kaya wood over a decade ago. In the future, you might not be able to find anymore one piece kaya table goban at all.

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The four common board types you'll find in Japan are Kaya, Katsura, Agathis, Hiba. I've also seen some boards recently made from Ginkgo.

It sounds like your specifically looking at Kaya, so I'l focus on that

Kaya - Hyuga-Kaya specifically denotes wood that came from around Mt. Aya in Miyazaki Prefecture. Hon-Kaya will be from either other parts of Japan or Asia (most commonly China). From my simple, non-professional observation, Japanese Kaya seems to be the superior of the two , though more from grain uniformity and reddish tinge rather than wood quality. The problem with Chinese Kaya is that it's often rushed to the market by different companies before the boards are ready.

Both Mr. Kuroki and Maekawa are very reputable sellers so any boards you get from them will be properly prepared. Mr. Bozulich at Kisedo has excellent connections to companies in Tokyo and can find you an excellent native Japanese board...I purchased my own from him (it'd been a standing board for 25 years before I bought it) and have been very happy with it. I was harvested from a 400+ year old tree from Kanagawa Prefecture. If you're in Kanto, contact him, and he can guide you, in person, through the buying process.

Single piece is better if Masame (strait grain). I can't say which is better between Itame and composite. Personally I prefer a uniform grain pattern. If warping does occur in itame, (again from observation) Kiura tends to warp on the top and Kiomote on the bottom. Masame is much more durable.

I hope this helped

Thank you both so much. This is really great information to help me decide. I am not in Kanto unfortunately, but on the other side, I live near Miyazaki and I am going to visit Kurokigoishi at some point this month.

Now I feel comfortable at least, somewhat more confident, in my choices for a board. Thank you both again for your help.