At Twilight in the Country

At Twilight in the Country - Memoirs of a Canadian Nationalist by Mel Hurtig, Stoddart Publishing 1996

An autobiography of Mel Hurtig

Chapter 4 starts with a section called Go, Geishas, Martinis, and Mount Fuji which starts:

It is not exaggeration to say that the Japanese game of GO and martinis helped launch my publishing career. Soon after I became a bookseller, I was attracted to the fascinating and beautiful Orientalia published by Charles Tuttle, a firm based in Rutland, Vermont, and Tokyo. Tuttle books on Japanese and Chinese art, haiku, martial arts, Oriental cooking, and origami soon became staples in my bookstore.

There were also several books about the Japanese board game GO, and after reading one I resolved to learn how to play.

From there he describes some aspects of the game, but doesn't go into any great detail.

In the summer of 1962 Ralph and I headed for Japan. We had four goals: to see the country, to play GO, to climb Mount Fuji, and to learn as much as we could about Japanese culture. I had a fifth goal: I wanted to acquire the Canadian rights for Tuttle books since there was not Canadian agent for the line and I was convinced I could sell great quantities to my fellow booksellers to libraries acros the country.

He then describes how he got the Canadian distribution rights for Tuttle books from Charles Tuttle, and among other adventures, goes to a go parlour and "lost every single game."