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A Moderately Brief History of Go One of the most fascinating things about the game of Go is its rich and colorful history full of amazing stories, entertaining legends, and remarkable facts. The very invention of the game begins with a fantastic tale set in the heart of China, the factual birthplace of Go. The legend describes the origin of Go as a teaching tool for Emperor Yao's son who is described as particularly dim-witted. Emperor Yao asked his wisest advisor to create a game to prepare his son for his ascension to the throne, and Go was the result. According to legend, however, the creation backfired. Emperor Yao's son dismissed the game as folly after stating his impression that whoever played first would always be the victor. The Emperor, on the other hand, was so taken with the game that he declared his successor to the throne would be his loyal advisor and not his son. There are many variants on this legend, but it emphasizes the position that Go has been part of the Asian culture for many hundreds of years. While the true origins of Go may never be known, recent theories place the creation of Go as a game at around the 14th Century B.C.E. in China, although the basic act of placing colored stones on a gridded board may predate that estimate by almost 1000 years. In fact, some recently discovered tombs in China of the Xia and Shang Dynasties, dated between the 21st and 15th Centuries B.C.E., contain piles of Go-like stones among the artifacts however these are most likely to be related to practices of which Go is eventually born and not to Go itself. Some evidence suggests that Go began as a tool for mathematical calculation, but the base 10 mathematics known to the Chinese at that time would make the 19x19 board impractical. Additional evidence suggests that Go began as a tool of Emperors and shamans used for divination. This later theory is further supported by much of the terminology surrounding Go that has survived the years right along with the game itself; the most obvious terms being 'Star Point' (more formally called 'Hoshi'), and 'Axis of Heaven' (better known as 'Tengen'). One of the earliest written references to Go as a game that survives is in the writings of Confucius in his work Analects circa the 6th Century B.C.E. wherein he states, "Are there not gamblers and Go players? It would be better to be one of them than to do nothing at all!" This and additional passing references contained in other texts of the time suggest that Go was already popular and widespread by the time of Confucius. At the dawn of the Common Era Go began to take hold in China as a cultural icon. In the 1st Century the Chinese historian Pan Ku wrote an essay dedicated to the philosophy of Go, indicating its rise in stature. Some of the biggest supporters of Go during this time were the students of another growing discipline -- Taoism. Taoists saw Go as a voyage of self-discovery. Taoist monks became the most skilled players in all of China. Taoism fell into favor with the T'ang Dynasty between the 7th Century B.C.E. and the 1st Century C.E., and Go quickly became a popular pastime for the Imperial Court. Taoist monks were frequently employed as Go tutors for the Chinese elite, and eventually Go became one of the classical cultural arts to be mastered by all noblemen along with other arts like the tea ceremony and calligraphy. China expanded its influence in Asia with an invasion into Korea around 109 B.C.E. Much of Chinese culture was exported to Korea during this time, and by this time, Go played a significant role in that culture. Little survives from ancient Korea with reference to Go, but there are texts and artifacts from the First Century C.E. that indicate the popularity of Go in Korea around that time. There is a theory that Go may have reached Korea by as early as 1122 B.C.E. when the Han clan led by Qizi (Kiji) arrived in the Korean Taedong Valley to escape fighting in China, but there is very little evidence to support the notion that they brought Go with them. Go probably arrived in Japan around the 6th Century C.E. with the arrival of Korean diplomats, merchants, emissaries, and traders. Much like the earlier Chinese cultural invasion of Korea, Japan also received a significant amount of Chinese culture. One of the disciplines to arrive from China aside from Go was Buddhism, which was to have an effect on the Japanese people much in the way Taoism affected the ancient Chinese. By the same effect, Buddhism viewed Go in much the same way that Taoism viewed the game. It was thought by Buddhist monks that there were many paths to enlightenment, and Go was one of them. Like the Taoists of ancient China, the Buddhists of early Japan quickly established themselves as masters of the game, and were frequently enlisted by the Japanese Imperial Court as tutors. One Buddhist monk named Tachibana Kanren was even commissioned by the Imperial Family to write a book of rules for Go around 913 C.E. The Buddhist influence on the development of Go in Japan continued for several hundred years. In fact, the oldest game record still in existence in Japan is of the 1253 C.E. game between the Buddhist monk Nichiren and his nine year old student Nisshomaru. The Japanese Civil Wars between the 12th and 17th Centuries did little to diminish the popularity of Go. While prior to this period Go was popular with the aristocracy as one of the classical arts, the rising warrior class lauded the game as a military training tool used to teach morality and strategy. After endless battles between competing generals, the Tokugawa Shogunate was established in 1603 under the powerful shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu ushering in an era of relative peace known as the Edo Period. Ieyasu created a popular system of bureaucratic rule which kept the country running smoothly for the next 250 years. Under this system, Ieyasu created an official office dedicated to the regulation of Go and appointed a monk named Nikkai, who was the tutor for two of Ieyasu's predecessors, to run the bureau under the title of "Meijin," or "brilliant man". Shortly after his appointment, Nikkai changed his name to Honinbo Sansa and established four official schools (also known as Houses) of Go: Honinbo, Inoue, Yasui, and Hayashi. During the Edo period, these four schools cultivated some of the greatest players of Go the game has ever seen and helped to quickly positioned Japan as the Go leader in the Asian community. Subsidized by government funds, the Godoroko and the four Houses of Go flourished under the Shogunate. High profile games were often observed by important political leaders, and around 1626 the best players in Japan played a tournament at Edo Castle in the presence of the Shogun. This later gave rise to an annual tournament played at Edo Castle called the "Castle Games." Players involved in the tournament were treated as distinguished guests of the Shogun and pampered accordingly -- a reward for the strongest competitors from each of the four Houses. This was arguably one of the most memorable periods in Go history. Because of the focus dedicated to Go during the Tokugawa Shogunate, Japanese players even through the early 20th Century routinely had to give two to four stones handicap to the strongest players from neighboring China and Korea for international competitions. The Tokugawa Shogunate fell in 1863 as a result of political unrest and ongoing public riots. With the loss of government stipends, the Godoroko closed along with the four Houses, and the game of Go suffered one of the greatest drops in popularity in its entire history. Several interim societies formed attempting to fill the void of official administration of Go rankings and tournaments. Finally, in 1924 the Nihon-Kiin was established as the national Go association of Japan responsible for official rank and pro circuit administration. With national support and recognition, Go began to grow again in popularity. Newspapers began to report on Go tournaments, the professional circuit developed, and Go was again embraced by Japan as the national game. By 1950, the professional circuit had developed enough for the need of a secondary authority called the Kansai-Kiin. Professional circuits developed in China and Korea shortly afterward. In modern times, Go has a tremendous following in most Asian countries. It has been estimated in Korea, for example, that at least 10 percent of the population play Go at an amateur level. Universities in Korea even offer a Masters degree in Go for students wishing to pursue an administrative or educational role in the Korean Go Association. In Asia, professional Go players are treated with the same star-struck awe and reverence as many Hollywood celebrities and professional athletes are in the United States. On the professional Go circuit, the major tournaments can offer top prizes into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The total prize money offered for the six major international tournaments alone totals around $1.3 million, which excludes all of the prestigious Japanese titles such as the Meijin (borrowed from the name of the head of the Godoroko), the Honinbo (borrowed from the name of one of the original Houses of Go), and the Judan. Local newspapers in Asia publish the results from major Go tournaments alongside sports scores, and Asian newspapers publish Go problems like Occidental papers publish chess problems. In the western world, Go is still relatively unknown. While many countries have their own national Go associations, very few countries outside of the Orient have professional circuits. To be fair, however, Go has only been seriously studied by western players for about 150 years. Go was probably introduced to western culture around the 16th Century, but it was scarcely mentioned in western literature until the early 20th Century. This was partly due to the strict isolationist policies the Tokugawa Shogunate enforced on the borders of Japan until shortly before its collapse. Despite the late introduction to the game, the development of Go in western culture has advanced rapidly and there has been almost a collaborative effort between Europe and the Americas toward the promotion of Go in western culture. As evidence of this effort, many national Go associations were established around the same time in the early 1930's, including the United States. American Go Association, the British Go Association, and the German Go Association. Western nations now routinely have strong showings at international competitions, and a handful of western players have joined the ranks of the Japanese professional circuit. The popularity of Go in America specifically is probably best attributed to Edward Lasker, a German engineer and chess master (cousin to the more prominent chess master Emanual Lasker). While studying engineering in Berlin, Dr. Lasker stumbled upon some Japanese students playing Go, and watched the game briefly with only moderate interest for his true passion was chess. Some time later, Dr. Lasker was in a cafe he frequented to play chess, and a Japanese gentleman left his newspaper. The newspaper contained a Go column and recently played professional game record, and Dr. Lasker began to truly appreciate Go's complexity. Dr. Lasker moved to New York in 1925, and began to visit a quaint bohemian speakeasy called Chumley's along with fellow colleagues including Lee Hartmann (then editor of Harper's magazine) and Karl Davis Robinson (nationally recognized authority on photography, lithography, and graphic arts). This was the origin of the New York Go Club. In 1934, Lasker wrote the popular book "Go and Go-Moku." After its publication, Lasker began receiving inquiries about the game from all over the country. Shortly after this he, Hartmann, and Robinson formed the American Go Association in 1935. Of course, the East coast was not the only bastion of Go in America at this time. During the gold rush of the late 1800's, the trans-continental railroad was busily building the unifying transportation line between the East and West on the backs of Asian and African-American workers. The Asian culture was prominent in San Francisco due (in part) to this influx of workers, and Go was probably played frequently in the alleys of Chinatown. A bit later, one of the frequent visitors to the port of San Francisco was the captain of a merchant ship sailing between Yokohama and San Francisco named Mr. Yokotta. He had little interest in Go, but he facilitated the San Francisco Go Club's need for Go equipment and promotion. Because of his efforts to help the members of the SFGC, the Nihon-Kiin Board officially recognized the San Francisco Go Club as an international branch in 1936. Meijin Honinbo Shusai (last hereditary Honinbo) actually produced a large-scale calligraphy for the club which hangs there today. In recent years, it was believed that while Go was followed intently by the older generations in Asia, the upcoming generations growing up with computers and video games were losing interest in a board game requiring a great deal of patience and concentration. In 1998, a comic book (manga) was released in Japan called "Hikaru no Go," or "The Go of Hikaru," about a young boy who becomes inhabited by the ghost of an ancient Go master. The manga became so popular in Japan that children began flocking to the game in droves, and an animated version of the original story quickly followed. As the word spread of the entertaining storyline, fans in other countries started translating the manga and the animated series into their native languages. As a result, Go has had a micro-renaissance in Asia and has been introduced to countless others, worldwide. Although the storyline for "Hikaru no Go" has ended, it still maintains an amazing popularity. Throughout its long and distinguished history, Go has continually captured the hearts and minds of people across all cultures. Not only has Go survived imperial conquest, civil wars, isolation, and most importantly the test of time, Go has expanded its popularity to that of one of the world's most popular games.
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| Last Modified: Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 PST | ||||
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