This month we start a new feature, as we look back fifty years in world Go.
by Keith Arnold, hka, with Patrick Bannister
On November 14, 1968, the Nihon Kiin celebrated Rin Kaiho’s victory as the 8th Meijin. He towers above the dignitaries in our photo , but also notable is the late Go Seigen 9 dan, fourth from the left and , at far right, Rin’s teacher, Goro Fujita 6 dan.
As was his custom, Fujisawa Shuko won the first year the Oza became a title match. He's shown here, at left, turning aside the challenge of Otake Hideo, then 8 dan, on November 12, 1968. Otake was the first of the Kitani school disciples to make his presence felt.
Go Review also heralded the “Big Three’ of the younger generation, 50 years ago this month, but these three - Ishida Yoshio “the Computer”, Kato Masao “ the Killer”, and Takemya Masaki would become better known as the “Three Crows “ of the Kitani school.
Finally, William Pinckard returned home to New York after a 6-month stay in Tokyo, with a 2 dan diploma from Iwamoto 9 dan. Pinckard is well known in the west for his writings about go history and culture, particularly his wonderful “Japanese Prints and the World of Go” available from Kiseido.
Please forward any ideas for future months to the journal, ejournal@usgo.org. Photos are borrowed from Go Review.