American Go E-Journal

by John Power, Japan correspondent for the E-Journal

A gain and a loss for women’s go
Let’s give the bad news first. The sponsors of the Women’s Meijin tournament have announced that they are terminating the tournament. The current titleholder, Fujisawa Rina, will officially hold the title until the end of March 2020. No reason was given.
The good news: The Nihon Ki-in has announced the founding of a new tournament, the Hakata Kamachi Cup Women’s Open Tournament. It will be open to all women professionals in Japan. A preliminary round will start in December to choose the 16 players to compete in the main tournament, which will be held from February to April next year. The semifinals, final, and play-off for third place will be held in Fukuoka on April 13 and 14. First prize is 7,000,000 yen (about $65,000), second 2,000,000, third 1,000,000, and fourth 600,000 yen. The main sponsor is the Medical Corporation Saitama Giant Tree Association (Kyoju no Kai); chairman of its board is Kamachi Ken’ichi, who lends his name to the tournament. As far as I can work, the association’s main business is running the New Kuki (City) General Hospital. This is the second women’s tournament with a medical sponsor, following the Hollyhock Cup, which is sponsored by the Aizu Central Hospital.

Ida defends Crown
The Crown (Okan) title is open to members of the Central Japan or Nagoya branch of the Nihon Ki-in. This year the challenger was Ogata Masaki 9P, who won this title from 1988 to 1991. In the final, played on October 20, Ida Atsushi Okan drew white and won by 1.5 points, winning the title for the fourth year in a row. First prize is 1,700,000 yen (about $15,700).

Hirata wins Young Carp
The Hiroshima Aluminum Cup Young Carp tournament is open to players 30 and under and 7-dan and under. The final of the 14th Cup was held at the Central Japan Newspaper Building in Hiroshima on November 24. Hirata Tomoya 7P (W) beat Matsuura Yuta 7P by 3.5 points. Hirata is a fitting winner, as he hails from Hiroshima. First prize is 3,000,000 yen (nearly $28,000).

Promotion
To 9-dan: Ko Iso (200 wins, as of Nov. 4.)

Obituaries
Izumitani Masanori
Died of prostate cancer on October 18, aged 77. Born on January 3, 1942 in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Became a disciple of Ito Tomoe 7P. Qualified as 1-dan in 1961, reached 7-dan in 1996. Retired in 2018 and promoted to 8-dan. His son is Hideo 8P. His disciples include Konagai Masaru 8P. Izumitani was a director of the Overseas Dep’t. of the Nihon Ki-in for a number of years and also made some instructional tours overseas, including attending the 3rd Go congress at Mt. Holyoke in 1987 as the official representative of the Nihon Kiin.

Ogawa Tomoko
Ogawa Tomoko 6P died in a Tokyo hospital of an undisclosed illness on November 15. According to the Nihon Ki-in, she had been suffering from lower back problems since October and had taken official leave of absence as of October 30. She had returned home after a hospital stay, but her condition suddenly worsened on the 14th.
She was born in Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture, on April 1, 1951, but spent her childhood in Nagoya. She learnt go from her father at the age of 6. She became well known when she won the All-Japan Amateur Women’s Championship at the age of 14; her pageboy hairstyle (okappa) or bob cut added to her fame—she was called, not quite accurately, “the okappa Honinbo.” In 1966, after finishing junior high, she became a disciple of Kitani Minoru. She made 1-dan in 1970 and was promoted to 6-dan in 1995. She won four women’s titles (in the days when there were fewer of them): the 25th Women’s Championship in 1979 and the 26th in 1980; the Women’s Honinbo in 1986; and the Women’s Kakusei Cup in 1987. She became even better known to the public when she served as assistant commentator on the NHK Cup for ten years. In 2008, she became the second woman professional (after Sugiuchi Kazuko) to win 500 games. In 1977, she married the actor Yamamoto Kei, who had taken go lessons from her. They appeared together in a number of TV commercials. She served for two years as president of the Professional Go Players Association and for six years as a Nihon Ki-in director. She published life-and-death problems continuously for 29 years in the Sports Hochi newspaper. She was the author of many books, including the Ishi Press book “The Endgame,” written with James Davies. She was one of the most popular professionals and whatever she did, she always looked serene and competent.

This post has been updated to reflect Izumitani Masanori’s attendance at the 1987 U.S. Go Congress.