Richard Bozulich, a pioneering writer, editor, and publisher who played a central role in bringing the ancient game of Go to English-speaking audiences, has died. For decades, he stood at the center of Western Go publishing, helping generations of players access the depth, beauty, and discipline of the game.
His passing prompted this haiku from Go writer Keith Arnold:
eastern mist lifted
enthralling landscape revealed
farewell to our guide
Bozulich was best known as the founder of Kiseido Publishing Company and the longtime editor of Go World, the English-language magazine that connected Western readers to professional Go in Japan, Korea, and China. At a time when information was scarce, Go World offered a vital window into top-level play, with detailed commentary, tournament coverage, and insight into the culture of the game.
Born in the United States, Bozulich discovered Go when English-language resources were limited and often rudimentary. Determined to go deeper, he moved to Japan, immersing himself in the professional scene and learning not just the language, but the subtleties of Go as an art form.
That experience would shape his life’s work: translating the richness of Go for a global audience.
In the 1970s, he founded Kiseido, taking on the financial and logistical risks of publishing specialized Go books for a small but growing readership. The company would go on to produce dozens of influential titles, many written or co-authored by Bozulich, including The Second Book of Go (with Richard Davies), which became a cornerstone text for advancing players.
John Fairbairn, historian and translator of Go literature, once said that if there were a “Mt. Rushmore of Western Go publishing,” Bozulich would be an obvious choice. Fairbairn recalled first meeting him in London before Bozulich moved to Tokyo—“where the rest became go history.” Beyond his publishing achievements, Fairbairn remembered Bozulich as a generous guide to the craft itself, introducing visitors to board makers and print shops, and sharing the painstaking processes behind producing Go books in an earlier era.
That era demanded both passion and risk. As Fairbairn noted, books had to be printed in large quantities and stored somewhere—often at home. Bozulich kept his inventory in his apartment in Chigasaki, until a concerned downstairs neighbor complained that the ceiling was beginning to bow under the weight. “Heavy groups are not good in go,” Fairbairn quipped—nor, it seemed, in publishing.
Through Kiseido and Go World, Bozulich helped build the intellectual infrastructure of Western Go. His work gave players access not only to professional games, but to the ideas behind them—the patterns, judgments, and aesthetics that define mastery. He approached Go not simply as a game, but as a cultural practice worthy of careful study and preservation.
Colleagues described him as exacting, independent, and deeply committed to the integrity of the material he published. For many, his books and magazine were more than resources—they were companions in a long journey of learning.
Richard Bozulich’s legacy endures in the libraries of Go players around the world, in the pages of Go World, and in the countless minds he helped open to the possibilities of the game.