by Keith L. Arnold, hka, with Patrick Bannister
Humbled by drafting this column in the midst of John Power’s latest excellent reports from Japan, we bring you a slightly less up-to-date view of the Honinbo and Meijin leagues. Fifty years ago, Fujisawa Shuko 9 dan and Kajiwara Takeo 9 dan led the Meijin league and Sakata Eio 9 dan led the Honinbo League.
In this photo (right) of the competition in the Honinbo league from February 4, we see Kato Masao 6 dan in the foreground against Kano Yoshinori 9 dan. Kato, of course, is well-known in the West, and Kano has a place as well, as author of the 4-volume graded go problems for beginners. Behind in the center we see the first tournament 9 dan, Fujisawa Hosai, taking on Hisai Keishi 6 dan. Finally, in the game on the right, Takagawa Kaku 9 dan takes on Fujisawa Shuko 9 dan. Takagawa had already held the title for nine straight years and published two English texts – How to Play Go, and Vital Points of Go. Game records can be found here: Katō v Kano; Takagawa v Shuzo; Hōsai v Hisai.
We can’t leave my favorite player Shuko without comment. In the photo at left, we see him winning by half a point in the first game of the first All Japan First Place Tournament, which would later become the Gosei. Shuko had a penchant for making the finals of tournaments in their first year, and usually won them. His opponent is Otake Hideo, who, as the current Judan, we will call 10 dan. The game record is here.
photos courtesy Igo Club
