Yasunaga Hajime

Yasunaga Hajime (安永 一, 1901–1994) was a Japanese Go writer, teacher, and very strong amateur player. Amateur 7 dan in 1976.

Although he continued as an amateur, his status was of a professional 4 dan (given by Shusai) who didn't claim the pro status. When he was granted an amateur 8 dan diploma, Go Seigen quipped that it was unclear whether he was an 8 dan amateur or 8 dan professional ( source: John Fairbairn). He played in the World Amateur Go Championship at age 78 as an appointed representative.

He trained many future professionals.

Yasunaga was also active as a Go journalist. He was responsible for the name "Shin Fuseki". See Yasunaga's brilliant theory and his book Shin Fuseki-Ho published in 1934. Then he served as the Executive Editor of Igo Shunju magazine, published from 1937 to 1974.

He and Shimada Takuji were instrumental in the first codification of written rules in 1949.

Yasunaga was an avowed socialist. In 1962 he supported the visiting team from China in their matches against Japan, and introduced them to a new opening strategy he had prepared which was later called Chinese Style.

Famous for being able to give more handicap stones to amateurs than professionals with a formally higher rank. (source: Go World, issue 13) tderz

Yasunaga's Pupils

• Sakai Toshio
• Komatsu Hideki
• Yoshioka Kaoru
• Taniguchi Toshinori
• Yokoyama Koichi
• Takeuchi Kiyotaka
• Kageyama Toshiro

(Source: Igo Nenkan 1996, Two Faces of Socialist Weiqi, 1956-1966 By Zhao Yiyang