Pechin Hamahiga

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Pechin Hamahiga (or Peichin Hamahika in Gobase, or Pēchin Hamahika ) was a top Ryukyuan? (now Okinawa Prefecture) player of the late seventeenth century, who played Dosaku on four stones twice in 1682 (one win and one loss).

Pēchin is actually a title, roughly equivalent to the Samurai class in mainland Japan. A Pēchin had military duties as well as local law-keeping and administrative responsibilities. It is considered to be a higher rank than Satonushi, as per his successor as the Ryukyu Island’s leading player, Yaro no Satonushi (Satonushi of Yaro).

Hamahiga might be a reference to the small Hamahiga Island (Hamahiga-jima) in the Okinawa region, with two villages called Hama and Higa.

Taking 4 stones against Honinbo Dosaku

White is Honinbo Dosaku, Meijin. Black is Pechin Hamahiga. The game is known for a trap set up by Dosaku involving a nose tesuji against two groups. In the basic joseki dictionary of Ishida Yoshio, there is a reference to this game, which Ishida considers as the first ever official international go game.

[Diagram]

1-10

In fact in the actual game Black played B8 at a and avoided the trap. The diagram below is often mistakenly given as the actual game continuation; it is not.

[Diagram]

11-17




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