Luxury "Ran" Mahjong Set with Bamboo Backs.

The "Ran" mahjong set that is - or rather was - available on my mahjong site at http://www.japanese-mahjong.com/mjgoods.html has gone out of production.

Apparently, the artisan who produces those sets is retiring.


However, the company that employed him is seeking someone to replace him and to produce a different version of the set, with hand-made bamboo backs complete with the traditional dove-tail joint that fixes the bamboo to the back of the tile.



Unfortunately, these sets are very few and far between and I am not sure that they will be able to find anybody with the skills needed to make the tiles.



Just before the artisan retired he made a few of the new style sets. I was able to obtain a very small number of them. Right now I have only one left!

I have no idea whether or not it is the last one that will be produced and I keep badgering my supplier to see if he can ferret out any more sets that may have been squirreled away somewhere, but so far without any luck.

The set also features a strikingly unusual calligraphic style most evident in the design of the Wind and Dragon tiles, as you can see in the photograph.

So, if you would like to own a hand-finished bamboo-backed Japanese mahjong set of unusual design, drop me a line at hirohurl@hotmail.com and I will send you more details, if it is still available, that is!