The origin of Go is lost in obscurity. Its history goes back so far that there is no literature to prove where its original home was. What has been handed down by word of mouth is fabulous. But what seems to be fairly certain is that Go was invented thousands of years in the past and somewhere in the East; but whether its cradle was in India, China or somewhere else still remains unknown. However, the ascription of its origin to China is considered to be more likely than the ascription to India. But even the former theory is supported by no knowledge as to the time of invention.
The traditional account that has won most credence ascribes the invention of Go to the Emperors Yau and Shun, the earliest in the history of China. Under their wise rule the country attained such virtue that it is said that even a valuable on the road was left intact. But unfortunately these emperors were not well favoured in their offspring. Neither Tan Chu, the son of the former, nor Shang Chun, the son of the latter, was wise. So the great emperors invented the game of Go as a means of leading their sons along the path of wisdom. Of course, this tale is of that antiquity which knew no educational institution whatsoever.
At any rate, Go passed its youthful period on the continent of Chine and the crossed the sea to Japan where it was to attain its full and vigorous growth. In Japan the game has so developed that it has been systematized under the control of a great institution in the form called the "Japan Go Association". Of which more will be mentioned later, and the professional players who purse the game as a means of livelihood may be counted by scores. On the other hand, in China where the game was introduced earlier, if not actually originated, it is perhaps more widely played than in Japan, but has never so developed in system or in technique. For this reason it seems to have been hardly possible to produce or maintain professional Go players in China.
Now in regard also to the time Go crossed to Japan, too, it is not possible to determine the date, there being divergent views on the subject. It is generally said that the game was brought back by Kibi-no-Makibi who was sent on an embassy to China in the 7th year of the Tenpyo era (735 A.D.): but, as a matter of fact, it seems to have been introduced here even earlier by way of the Tyosen (Korea) peninsula.
At any rate, once transplanted to the new soil here, the game immediately became popular among both the Court nobles and common people, and it made steady progress through the Nara (710-794) and the Heian (794-1185) periods. Under the legal rules instituted in those ages, pastimes like sugoroku or the native game of backgammon were banned, but Go and the playing of the koto or native variety of a harp, were regarded as exceptional.
It may be also noted that many emperors seem to have taken a deep interest in the game. For instance, the gaming-board used by the Emperor Syomu is still preserved at the Syoso-in of Nara as the oldest board in existence in the country. The great popularity of the game in those early ages is known on the testimony of a number of literary works of the same period such as the Konzyau-Monogatari, Makura-no-Sosi ("The Book of the Pillow"), Genzi-Monogatari (The Story of Genzi), classics well known for the pictures they give of the life of the people of those days.
However, it is a matter of regret that although Go boasts of such a long history, no games played by ancient masters have been handed down, the extant records dating from considerably later periods. The oldest games on record in the history of Go bear the date of January of the 5th year of the Kentyo era (1253). These games are ascribed to the Priest Nitiren, the founder of the still vigorous sect of Buddhism named after him, and one of his disciples named Nitiro. It should be added that there are views that these games were really played by some devotees of a leter period, and wrongly ascribed to the noted Buddhist teacher and his follower Nitiro.
As a matter of almost common knowledge, in the history of the country the regime of the Court nobility, known as the age of peace and epicurean indulgence, was followed by a period of military regency which ultimately led to the age of internecine feudal wars. Throughout all these ages the game of Go continued to grow in popularity as a favourite pastime for all classes of society. The names of those historical figures who gave much time to the game would indeed make an imposing list.
Perhaps no higher tribute could be paid to the game of Go than to say that Oda-Nobunaga, who emerged from the age of feudal and civil wars as the first military leader to win supremacy over the warring barons, and Toyotomi-Hideyosi who followed him to bring the whole country under his effective control, and next, Tokugawa-Ieyasu, who laid the foundations for the peaceful reign of three centuries - all these great men in the history of the country were devotees of the game; and they strongly encouraged it. That all these three leaders agreed in this point is particularly interesting because they are known to have been quite different in nature and outlook on life. To illustrate their characteristic attitudes of mind it is said that they were once asked what they would do with a little cuckoo which would not sing its sweet note to please its master. Their answers are said to have been as follows:-
Nobunaga: If the cuckoo will not give its note let it be killed.
Hideyosi: If the cuckoo will not give its note I will see that it does.
Ieyasu: If the cuckoo will not give its note I will wait until it does.
It happens that these three men studied the game under Hon-inbo-Sansa, the first holder of the championship, to whom reference has already been made. Sansa was originally a Buddhist monk by the name of Nikkai. When his fame as a Go player reached the ears of Oda-Nobunaga, he was sent for to prove his skill. In the game played over the board the great military leader made the preliminary placing of 5 stones. In spite of such a handicap, the visitor's victory was so easy and convincing that Nobunaga, who was known to be the last man ever to surrender, acknowledged his defeat and bestowed on the visiting master the title of champion. Hence, the system of granting the title to the masters of unchallengeable proficiency. The list of the masters who held the title after him includes only nine names, namely: Nakamura-Doseki, the first to represent the House of Nakamura; Yasui-Santi, the second in the house of Yasui; Hon-inbo-Dosaku, the 4th in the House of Hon-inbo; Inoue-Inseki, the 4th in the House of Inoue; Hon-inbo-Doti, the 5th of the same House; Hon-inbo-Sakugen, the 9th; Hon-inbo-Zyowa, the 12th; Hon-inbo-Syuei, the 17th; and lastly, Hon-inbo-Syusai, then 21st to represent the House of Hon-inbo, who is the present (1939) title holder.
Toyotomi-Hideyosi, who became the military regent after Oda-Nobunaga, also studied Go under the direction of Hon-inbo-Sansa by placing 5 stones as his predecessor had done. In the 13th year of the Tensyo era (1585) he held grand tournaments at Kyoto by inviting Go masters of high renown from all parts of the country.
Tokugawa-Ieyasu is also understood to have become a pupil under the same master, his preliminary placing being also 5 pieces. It is even said that Ieyasu held his Go master in high esteem as a military strategist and tactician. As a matter of historical fact, this Go master Sansa, who had been living at a Buddhist monastery in Kyoto, was later asked by Ieyasu to come to his new capital Edo (now Tokyo), where the Go Institute was established and placed under his direction.
The Go Institute was set up as a place where the Syogun was given schooling in the game. In addition, the Institute was charged with the matter of arranging tournaments and directing or otherwise keeping contact with players throughout the country. It was also its duty to hold once a year a grand tournament in the presence of the Syogun. With the inauguration of this establishment, the Tokugawa Syogunate began to grant fiefs not only to the Institute itself but also to principal Go players in the country.
It is usual that wherever degrees of skill are contested or studies made for various accomplishments, different schools and many masters are brought forth. The game of Go is no exception to this rule. About the time the game was placed under official patronage, as mentioned above, different schools began to develop in the country. Fostered by the Tokugawa Syogunate, the game began to become so popular that in the 8th year of the Keityo era (1603) grand tournaments were held in the presence of the Emperor. In addition to the House of Hon-inbo, the House of Yasui was founded by its first master, Santetu; next, the House of Inoue by its first master, Inseki; and lastly, the House of Hayasi by its first master, Monnyu. Thus, the field was shared among the four different houses or schools of Go.
Throughout the peaceful three centuries under the Tokugawa Syogunate, these four houses of Go masters made it a rule to meet once each year at the Syogunate court and hold tournaments in the presence of the Grand Master himself, the occasion being observed with pomp and ceremony. By these annual matches the houses determined their positions in rank. As a consequence, many battles were fought over the board in the same spirit as the honour of the field was disputed by famous generals, the results being not seldom as deadly.
Of these contests an account may be given of what is known as "The Contest of the Tempo Era," the most famous and perhaps the most dramatic in the history of the game. This game was played in the 6th year of the Tempo era (1835) between Hon-inbo-Zyowa, the 12th Master of the same House, and Akabosi-Intetu. The contest was to be keenly fought because it was really an argument between the House of Hon-inbo and the House of Inoue, then represented by its first master Inseki. The House of Inoue had schemed so that should he win this game he would force Hon-inbo to retire altogether from the Go Institute. Inseki himself would have fought over the board but for the fact that on the eve of this fight one of his pupils, Akabosi-Intetu, by mere chance came back from his extensive trip in the country and proved that he had so profited himself by playing games with many masters, while going from one town to another, that he was even stronger than his master. Therefore the younger man became the challenger. This was quite an unusual case; there were personal grievances and old scores to be settled between the two houses, and this was to be done by the decision of the game. And both players knew it.
At such a serious game as this the players generally take all the time they can, and consequently consume some days for the settlement of their argument. In such a case it is a rule to sit at the board in the morning and play till the close of the day when the game is suspended, to be resumed the next morning. It is not seldom that the game goes on for days on end in this manner.
It is told how the young player Akabosi-Intetu, whenever the game turned against him, became as pale as death; and how at such times he would go out on the water in a boat and lie in dim lantern light and pore over the board as he had left it standing; and how he would thus stay at his study until daybreak. It is also told, on the other hand, how Hon-inbo's wife went to some sacred place of worship to offer her prayer that her master might win, and how on such devout errands she punished herself by going barefoot on the cold ground as a token of her earnest supplication.
On the last day when the decision of the game became clear, the young challenger, it is said, fell over the Go-board with a heavy haemorrhage. His life was lost with the game. He was only 26 years old. This game is preserved to this day [SGF record] and shows how the two players put their heart and soul into every move, their fighting spirit often attaining white heat intensity.
It is a rule today that the professional players freely announce their new theories and novelties, which are studied for mutual benefit. But when the four houses of Go masters were at war with one another under the regime of the Tokugawa Syogunate, they jealously guarded their theories and discoveries with almost absolute secrecy. Akiyama-Senboku, one of the pupils under Hon-inbo-Dosaku, was expelled by his master for the simple reason that he had the indiscretion to publish a small textbook on the art of playing Go. What is more, the Tokugawa Syogunate, in order to protect the master and his secrets, went to the length of forcing the book out of print and punished the publisher by keeping his place closed for ten days.
Such secret policy only shows how seriously those four masters' houses fought with the other. At any rate, it was very fortunate that under these unusual circumstances the game, as far as the common players were concerned, failed to make progress.
The consequence was that the history of Go through the Edo period (1600-1867) down to the Restoration (1868) was represented only by the continuous struggles among the four masters' houses against the background of the Go Institute. When this official organization broke down with the downfall of the Syogunate regime, and the professional Go players could no longer be dependent upon fiefs, they were thrown upon their own resources to make their living as best they might.
There proceeded a new era of great change. In the earlier part of this new age, when the flood of Western civilization swept the whole country, the professional Go players had to pass the hardest sort of ordeal, from the economic point of view. Of the four masters' houses those of Hayasi and Yasui fell into complete decay, only the Hon-inbo and Inoue tiding over these difficult times.
The darkness, however, was not to last so long. Go was never to be neglected overlong. It was to trim its sail to favourable wind before long. The new movement began when the game was taken up by an increasing number of men in positions to lead others in office and in business. The movement gathered force when the newspapers began to spare increasing amounts of space for new games and discoveries of Go. Its popularity is now national.