Notes from the Tigers Cave

Japanese chess – or “shogi” as it is called in Japanese – is played with wedge shaped pieces on a 9×9 board. Each player has a total of twenty pieces at the start of the game. One of the striking features of shogi is that when you capture a piece from your opponent, you can keep it, and in one of your later moves you have the option of placing it on the board as one of your own pieces. The pieces are wedge shaped so that you can easily tell which way the piece is pointing and know at a glance whose piece it is.

Part of the process of learning how to play shogi involves remembering the kanji characters for each piece. That’s because shogi pieces have the piece-name on their face to distinguish them from each other. If you want to play shogi well you have to learn to read the kanji at a glance and know immediately which piece is which.

The Kumon “Study Shogi” Set

Kumon Shogi Training Pieces

That can be a difficult job for foreign players who have not studied kanji, but it can be almost as difficult for Japanese children, who often begin playing shogi before they are familiar with more than a handful of Japanese characters. Consequently, a Japanese company called Kumon, which is well known for its good quality educational products, produces a shogi set that is designed to help Japanese children learn how to play shogi.

The shogi pieces in the Kumon set are flat, square, wooden tiles. Each piece has a 3×3 grid printed on the top surface to represent the squares immediately surrounding the shogi piece. The kanji character for the piece is in the middle square of the grid with red arrows to show where the piece can move. The name of the piece is also given in hiragana underneath the traditional kanji character.

The Kumon set is made to their typically high production standards, and everything is made of wood. Another nice feature of the set is that the wooden box for the pieces, and the wooden lid, can also be used as trays for the shogi pieces during play. Because captured pieces can be reintroduced to the game as your own pieces, it is important to keep all the pieces you capture on display so that both your opponent and you can see what has been captured. That is why it is common to see little wooden trays next to a shogi board during play.

The “Master Shogi” Training Set

The Master Shogi Set

More recently, another shogi training set, called “Master Shogi” was released by Japanese game company, Beverly Enterprises Inc. It is a slickly packaged set designed more like a board game, with a cardboard board overlaid with a plastic grid into which the plastic pieces sit very snugly. The squares where the pieces go at the set up stage are marked with the kanji character of the respective pieces.

As you get better at reading the pieces and understanding how they move, you can replace the stickers that cover the plastic pieces with new ones with standard shogi kanji designs on them and no movement styles.

The Master Shogi set includes a couple of illustrated Japanese instruction pamphlets. One of the pamphlets is a in “manga” format, with the instructions explained in popular comic strip style.

If you have some knowledge of Japanese and can read hiragana you will be able to read the Japanese version of the rules that come with the Master Shogi set. If you can’t read Japanese, the diagrams show you clearly how the pieces move.

Comparing The Two Shogi Training Sets

Both shogi training sets offer the learner a good way to get to know how the pieces move. The Kumon set is better quality, being made of wood and has a solid feel to it, but the Master set is cheaper, lighter, and has some nice features that youngsters will enjoy such as the option to “upgrade” pieces with new stickers as they master their movements.

Shogi training sets offer a fast and easy way for anybody to learn the basics of Japanese chess without having to struggle to remember which piece is which and how they move.

If you would like to learn to play shogi with a Japanese chess training set or find out more about shogi sets, check out David Hurley‘s website:

Japanese-Games-Shop.com

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Japanese bathtubs  (“ofuro” in Japanese) provide an unsurpassed experience when it comes to tranquil bathing. These tubs are designed as deep soaking bathtubs to give the bather a setting of peaceful tranquility. The ancient Japanese developed traditions which focus on inner peace and calm, and have a whole body ritual for reaching a deep state of tranquility. A bath in a Japanese bathtub is a prime component of the focusing process. Today the Japanese bathtub is still able to accomplish the same task even though it’s a modern update and that’s to promote peace and tranquility.

Bathing Style: Deep and Warm

One of the reasons a Japanese bathtub provides tranquility is because of the “deep soak” bathing method. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of conventional tubs that allow for complete submersion. However, Japanese bathtubs were designed to permit submersion all the way up to the neck while seated. Another aspect of the deep soak concept is to use hotter water temperatures than jetted hot tubs which allows for deeper muscle relaxation. For the ultimate in tranquility, being immersed in a deep soaking Japanese bath and resting is truly it.

Bathing Technique: Posture and Peace

With outstanding health benefits, Japanese bathtubs are definitely worth exploring. Scientists have long understood the benefits of hot water therapy and its ability to relax the muscles. Relaxation is a whole lot more than merely making one’s muscles feel better, though. There are mental benefits to relaxation as well. Having relaxed muscles mean that your mind and body are both more tranquil. Since Japanese soaking bathtubs allow the user to be seated, the entire design of the bath creates a more relaxing environment for mind and body.

Bathing Beauty: Pretty Relaxing

The overall aesthetic of a Japanese bathtub is another reason why it provides such a tranquil experience. Japanese bathtubs are not merely a utilitarian, functional tool for getting clean. As a matter of fact, the main purpose of a Japanese bathtub is for spiritual, emotional and physical rejuvenation. Today’s Japanese baths are places of beauty, inspiration, and serenity. The very design of a Japanese bath with its clean lines and minimal footprint is perfectly suited for a pleasing experience. As a relaxation factor, a beautiful appearance is just as important as how hot the water is or how it feels on your skin.

Whether you design a bathroom area yourself, or call upon a team of professional interior designers to do the job, you will most likely end up with an area that coheres with the tranquil experience of a Japanese soaking bath. Since most of us do live hectic and stressful lives, it’s important for us to find ways to keep our bodies healthy, tranquil and relaxed. Having a Japanese bathtub is a great way to make it happen.