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Go is perhaps the Japanese board game best known in the
West. It has been featured in books and films—most recently
in the 2001 film A Beautiful Mind. Known less widely is
the fact that go is the Japanese version of the Chinese
game weiqi, with rules that vary only slightly from those
of its Chinese relative. Essentially, they are the same game. The
history of go in Japan, aside from its derivation from
a Chinese game, is one of great interest, as go (even more
than shogi) was seen as the game of the superior mind.
Moreover, it has been the subject of literature, including a famous
passage in the Tale of Genji, a work from the early-eleventh
century often considered the world’s first novel, and The
Master of Go, by the Nobel laureate Yasunari Kawabata.
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Go board with container and pieces
Japan; Edo period (1615–1868), early 18th century
Wood, with gold maki-e on lacquer ground; 27.0 x 45.4 x 42.0 cm;
container height: 10.0 cm, diameter: 11.0 cm
Kozu Kobunka Kaikan Museum, 6A-8 |