Nihon Ki-in
Table of contents |
History
The Nihon Ki-in (literally "Japan Go Association") is the principal Japanese go association. It is based in Tokyo and was formed in July 1924. The main driver was the Kanto earthquake, which caused great financial hardship among the existing Go groups of the time. Baron Okura Kishichiro was a primary patron of the new organization, investing ¥100,000 in a newly built hall in Tameike, Akasaka, completed in April 1926, and further supporting it with ¥1,000 a month through 1937. This hall, pictured at this site (
http://www.gobooks.info/pics/p47.jpg )
, was destroyed during World War II by the USAF strategic air campaign against the Japanese home islands.
The first president of the Nihon Ki-in was Makino Nobuaki, a great Go patron himself, with Okura Kishichiro serving as vice president. The vast majority of pros at the time joined the fledgling organization, excepting the Inoue faction in Osaka and Nozawa Chikucho. A brief splinter group called Kiseisha was created soon after the Nihon Ki-in was formed, but most of the players involved had returned to the Nihon Ki-in within a couple of years. There have been many other such groups over the years (see Outside the Ki-ins for a list). By far the most important is the Kansai Ki-in in Osaka, formed in 1950 and still active today.
Among the innovations of the Nihon Ki-in were the organization of the Oteai promotion system, the introduction of time limits, and the introduction of amateur rank diplomas.
Locations
Ichigaya, Tokyo
There are two branches of the Nihon Ki-in in Tokyo. The main branch is in Ichigaya; if you have watched Hikaru no Go, you will have seen it often. Here is a picture of the Ichigaya branch in Google Street View. (Street View doesn't cover the exact street the Ki-in is on, but if you look down the Street View picture at the indicated angle, you will be able to see it.)
maruseru I've taken some pictures in and around the Ichigaya branch during my trip to Tokyo in May 2008.
The Yugen no ma is in this branch.
Address: 7-2 Gobancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0076
Phone: +81-3-3288-8727
Nearest subway: Ichigaya
Yaesu, Tokyo
The other Tokyo branch is in Yaesu, just opposite Tokyo station. It is more modern than the Ichigaya branch, but not as spacious. To play there you had to pay a fee of about 1200 Yen. There are some pictures of the Yaesu branch as well.
Web Site
- Japanese language -
http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp
- English language -
http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/index-e.htm
Current Japanese Go news is posted to the English language site every week or two, and there is an archive of older news going back to 1998. It pays particular attention to news of Western professionals at the Nihon Ki-in. This section has recently been titled the "Redmond Report" for detailing the activities of Michael Redmond 9-dan.
Related Pages
- Insei
- Oteai (old promotion system)
- Yugen no Ma
- Nihon Ki-in new promotion system
- Nihon Ki-in new tournament system
- Nihon Ki-in Hall of Fame
- Nihon Ki-in Offices
- Nihon Ki-in Championship (defunct tournament)
- Professional Go Associations
- International Go Federation
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Page with contact information for the Nihon Kiin (Imagist: I didn't copy the contact information here because I'm afraid people will unwisely inundate them with emails. If there is a general feeling of disagreement, someone else can copy it over)
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MindZine article on the early Oteai
Book Series
First page of Nihon Ki-in book list on their web site.
- Yearbooks?
- Nihon Ki-in brown cover series
- Nihon Ki-in red cover series
- MagicOfGoSeries
- Go, The World's Most Fascinating Game
- Dan level problem book series
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Heart of Go series, English translations The Heart Of Go Discovery series
- Nihon Ki-in Small Encyclopedias
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Pocket 200 series (Appears to be different from the English language Nihon Ki-in Pocket Series.)
- Selected readings for dan-level players. One translated to English as Takao's astute use of brute force.
- Tsugi no itte
- Igo Bessatsu (series of at least 42 'additional' magazines 別冊; tderz it is not clear to me whether this counts as Nihon Kiin Book Series?)