Young Minds Classroom Resources
A printable shogi learning kit
Everything you need for a paper set: board, full piece faces for glue assembly, and an English moves booklet. The pack was designed for classrooms and works equally well for adults and families. It gives learners a hands-on way to practise moves, planning and turn-taking. Captions are English; piece faces use original Gothic (sans-serif) kanji drawn for this project.
Quick checklist
Per pair (classroom)
- 1 × board PDF
- 1 × pieces PDF (cut / glue)
- Optional: 1 × moves guide for the table or projector
- Scissors, glue stick, baggie
One full set = 40 pieces from 74 printed faces.
Board & pieces: A3 · 100% / Actual size.
Moves guide: A4 · 4 pages · 100%.
Assembly: Kings (Ou/Gyoku) and Golds are front only — do not put the same character on the reverse; flipping them in play is illegal.
Moves guide: A4 · 4 pages · 100%.
Assembly: Kings (Ou/Gyoku) and Golds are front only — do not put the same character on the reverse; flipping them in play is illegal.
Size relationship (A3 @ 100%)
| Item | On paper |
|---|---|
| Board face | ≈ 281 × 306 mm (procedural grid) |
| One square | ≈ 29.8 × 32.5 mm (slightly taller than wide) |
| King 王・玉 | ≈ 25.1 × 28.3 mm (~84%×87% of square) |
| Rook/Bishop 飛・角 (= 龍・馬) | ≈ 23.7 × 26.4 mm |
| Gold/Silver 金・銀 (= 全) | ≈ 22.4 × 25.1 mm |
| Knight/Lance 桂・香 (= 圭・杏) | ≈ 20.5 × 23.2 mm |
| Pawn 歩 (= と) | ≈ 18.6 × 20.8 mm |
| Hierarchy | King > major > gold class > minor > pawn · promoted = same size as base |
What to print (74 faces → 40 pieces)
| Face | Count | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 王 (King Ou) | 1 | Front only — does not promote |
| 玉 (King Gyoku) | 1 | Front only |
| 金 (Gold) | 4 | Front only |
| 飛 + 龍 | 2 + 2 | Glue pairs ×2 (Rook / Dragon) |
| 角 + 馬 | 2 + 2 | Glue pairs ×2 (Bishop / Horse) |
| 銀 + 全 | 4 + 4 | Glue pairs ×4 |
| 桂 + 圭 | 4 + 4 | Glue pairs ×4 |
| 香 + 杏（成香） | 4 + 4 | Glue pairs ×4 |
| 歩 + と | 18 + 18 | Glue pairs ×18 (Pawn / Tokin) |
| Total | 74 faces | 40 assembled pieces |
Assembly
- Print board + piece sheet on A3 at 100%. Print moves guide on A4 if you want a handout.
- Cut each face on its box.
- Promoting pieces: glue paper backs together, tips aligned, print facing out (front unpromoted / back promoted). The promoted Lance is 杏, the short form of 成香.
- Kings and Golds: single face only. Optional blank card for stiffness — never the same character on both sides.
- In play, tip faces the opponent. Promote only by flipping pieces that have a promoted back.
Starting setup (from your seat)
Back rank: Lance · Knight · Silver · Gold · King · Gold · Silver · Knight · Lance
Middle: Bishop on your left · Rook on your right
Front: nine Pawns
Absolute diagram: Sente (Black, first player) has Bishop on file 8 and Rook on file 2; Gote is mirrored so each player still has Bishop left / Rook right from their own seat.