Go comes to JapanGo was probably brought to Japan from
Korea by artists, scholars and former officials who migrated to
Japan to escape political turmoil in their own land. There are no
written records verifying the precise date of go's introduction into
Japan, but according to the "Records of the Sui," the chronicle of a
Chinese dynasty (597-618), go was one of the three major pastimes
enjoyed by early 7th-century Japanese (the other two were backgammon
and gambling).
In contrast to the documentary evidence from Chinese historical
records, the popular belief in Japan is that go was brought directly
from China in the year 735 by Kibi no Makibi, popularly known as
Grand Minister Kibi. He was sent to the Tang capital of Chang-an
with a commission from Emperor Shomu's daughter, who succeeded to
her father's throne as the Empress Koken, to bring the best of Tang
learning back to Japan. After 18 years in China, Kibi returned with
a cargo of artifacts representing his choice of the best of Chinese
culture. He also brought back a knowledge of go.
While go was undoubtedly one of many games enjoyed by the upper
classes of early 7th-century Japan before Kibi's return from
Chang-an, it is probable that when he informed those at the Imperial
court of go's popularity at the Tang court, go was elevated to a
special status, resulting in its establishment as a game worthy of
the Japanese nobility. It is safe to say that while Kibi did not
introduce go to Japan, he was responsible for its achieving the
great prestige it has enjoyed here.
Six basic rules of go 1. Moves are played on the
intersections. 2. The stones do not move after being played.
3. Black plays first. 4. Black and White alternate in making
their moves. 5. The object of go is to control territory. The
winner is the side that controls the more territory at the end of
the game. 6. A stone or a group of connected stones is captured
if all of its liberties are occupied.
After its introduction into Japan, go was played mainly at the
court by nobles, both male and female, by Buddhist clerics, and by
members of the military class, who are reputed to have taken their
go sets with them to battle so they could play at war after the
actual fighting was over.
In "The Tale of Genji," written in the early 11th century by
Murasaki Shikibu, an Imprerial court lady, there are passages that
show go playing was a common pastime among both male and female
aristocrats. One of the scenes from this novel, in which Prince
Genji spies on a game between Lady Utsusemi and another woman, has
been a popular subject in Japanese art.
Capturing two or more stones It is possible to capture two
or more stones if you can occupy all their liberties. Here are some
examples.
Diagram 1 shows three positions in which two stones are in
atari. Black captures these stones in Diagram 2. Diagram
3 shows the result.
Any number of stones, making up any kind of shape, can be
captured if all their liberties are occupied. In Diagram 4,
there are four different positions. Black 1 captures 12 stones in
the upper left, four stones in the lower left, three stones in the
upper right and three stones in the lower right.
When you capture
stones in a game, you remove them from the board. At the end of the
game, you place these captured stones inside your opponent's
territory. In the next installment, I will show you how this
actually works in a game.
|