2027 card drops in April. Get the email →

Your bag is empty

Mahjong Bags

Mahjong Leather Shoulder Bag - Teak

A cowhide shoulder bag at 34 cm, in black or brown, with a published size and enough depth to take a compact tile set.

Every dimension published, so capacity is known not guessed
12 centimetres of depth, which is what a tile set needs
Cowhide that improves with use instead of cracking at the folds
A zip that secures the contents on a train

$159.99

(0 reviews)

delivery_truck_bolt Estimated delivery: -

package_2

Flat $9.95 shipping · 30-day returns from delivery

Depth is the number to read

Bag listings lead with width and height because they describe how a bag looks. Depth describes what fits inside it, and it is the figure that decides whether a mahjong set goes in.

12 centimetres is genuinely deep for a shoulder bag. Most sit at five to seven, which is enough for a phone and a wallet and nothing with a third dimension.

Cowhide, and the year two test

Coated and bonded leathers are indistinguishable from full grain when new. The difference shows at the fold lines after a year of use: a coating cracks and lifts, and there is no repair. Cowhide creases and the creases stay.

If a bag is going to be carried regularly for years, the material is the specification that matters more than any other.

Black or brown

Both are the sensible choices, which is faint praise and also the truth: they go with a wardrobe, they hide marks, and they do not date. If the bag is going to be the one that gets used, one of these two is the right answer.

The zip

The only closure that secures a bag properly. On a bag deep enough to hold something worth carrying, it is not optional.

Care

Dry cloth, conditioner twice a year. Store upright and lightly stuffed. Away from direct heat, which dries leather and cracks it faster than any amount of use.

1 leather shoulder bag

Set weight: 1.5 lb (0.7 kg)

Dimensions	34 x 12 x 19.5 cm
Material	Cowhide leather
Closure	Zipper
Colours	Black, brown
Weight	0.7 kg (1.5 lb)

A bag is bought for one of two jobs: carrying a whole set to a game, or keeping tiles together at home.

Check the load. A full set with racks weighs 2 to 3 kg. That is more than it sounds once the strap is on your shoulder and you are walking to the car. A wide strap and a firm base last better than they look.

Match the dimensions. Measure your case, or your tiles, before you order. A bag cut for a 144 tile set will not close over a 166 tile one with racks in it.

Closure and lining. A zip keeps tiles in when the bag tips. A lining you can wipe matters more than it seems once the bag has travelled a few times.

If you only need to hold loose tiles, a drawstring pouch does that job for a fraction of the price.

Orders are processed within 1 to 2 business days, with tracking on every parcel. Delivery across the United States takes 10 to 25 days and costs $9.95, one flat rate charged once per order whatever the number of items.

Changed your mind? You have 30 days from delivery to request a return, unused and in its original packaging. Approved refunds go back to your original payment method within 3 business days.

shopping_bag

Nobody knows what's inside

Cowhide, suede, straw. Carry it to your friend’s place, then carry it to lunch.

straighten

Big enough to matter

Sizes that take a compact tile set, which handbags almost never do. Capacity is on the page, so it's a choice and not a gamble.

directions_walk

Take mahj with you

The reason your set leaves the house instead of living in a closet.

Frequently asked questions

Depth is the measurement that decides it, and it is the one most listings leave out. This bag publishes all three: 34 by 12 by 19.5 cm. 12 centimetres of depth is what lets a compact tile case stand upright inside rather than lying at an angle and sliding with every step. Compare that figure against your own case before ordering anything, whatever the material.

Cowhide wears in rather than out, which makes it one of the few gifts that looks better after 2 years than it did on the day. For a player who carries a set weekly, that matters more than a motif does. The published dimensions help here too, since a gift that turns out not to fit the recipient's case is a gift that goes into a cupboard.

Leather is priced by the hide and cut around its flaws, so a bag this size consumes more material than its finished dimensions suggest. Zips, lining and edge finishing are separate operations again. The mahjong part adds nothing to the cost; the construction does. That is worth knowing when comparing a cowhide bag against a printed synthetic one at a third of the price.

Because the game was built around annual renewal. The card that lists the current hands is reissued each year and there is no way around buying it. Around that sit tile counts higher than the Chinese game uses, larger tiles, and racks that the format effectively requires. Every one of those is a small market, and small markets do not produce cheap objects.

Play in Style with The Mahjong Section

A mahjong set is handled more than almost anything else in the house: every tile passes through four pairs of hands, several times a game.

That is what we select for. Tiles that read clearly from the far side of the table, edges that stay clean, and a case that still closes after a few seasons of being carried around.

A Set Worth Collecting

Sets differ in ways that only show at the table: the weight of a tile in the hand, how a crak reads from three seats away, whether the case survives the trip to a friend’s house.

When we have the figures, we publish them: tile count, tile size, weight and material. When we do not have one, we leave it out rather than guess.