Read this between dips at the beach today. It was a wonderful experience to have such a good read while taking breaks from enjoying the beach.

I enjoyed "Dandelions" by the same author and picked this up for spare change soon afterwards. I was so intrigued by the previous work that I couldn't resist getting this one as well, especially since it was so inexpensive.

Tense and beautifully written, the novel is probably best enjoyed by those who play the game of go. The way the story is crafted and the language used is truly captivating, and it would be even more special for those who have a passion for the game.

I’d watched the documentary about the AI designed to play go and understood enough to take pleasure in the narrative as well as the description of the moves. This background knowledge added an extra layer of enjoyment for me as I could follow along with the game-related details in the story.

At its end, it presents an interesting contrast between the traditional and the modern, the young and the old, and what’s due to seniors or masters in the field. This makes the novel not only an engaging read but also a thought-provoking one, making the reader reflect on these different aspects and their significance.

A lovely read indeed.

Just like most of Kawabata's novels, the essence of the story is straightforward. However, through his remarkable writing, he manages to construct a rich and vivid world around this simplicity.

This book places a great deal of emphasis on the value of traditional art, particularly the art of Go. Despite my limited knowledge of the game, I was deeply touched by the ups and downs of the Master's final match.

It is an easy read, and for those seeking a slow-paced, light, and exquisitely crafted novel, I would highly recommend Kawabata's works.

His writing has a unique charm that draws the reader in and makes them reluctant to put the book down.

Whether you are a fan of traditional art or simply enjoy a well-written story, Kawabata's novels are sure to delight and inspire.

Ada yang pernah bilang sesungguhnya hidup yang tak dipertaruhkan tidak layak untuk dimenangkan. Orang yang berkata seperti itu adalah Friedrich von Schiller.

For some people, winning a game is a serious matter. As serious as climbing the career ladder in the working world. The story in this novel revolves around the character Honinbo Shusai, a famous grandmaster in the world of Go, facing off against Minoru Kitani (whose name is changed to Otake in this book). This game is a serious one in 1938 and is taken from an actual Go match witnessed by Kawabata. After 237 moves, Otake narrowly defeats the grandmaster. The Go game between them becomes a guide on how to play Go for beginners.

At least, I note there are 3 interesting things inscribed in this book.

The first thing is the context of the Go game. Honinbo experiences a power syndrome that usually affects people at the highest echelons of power. In Japanese society in the past, Go was an aristocratic game. Reading the opponent's tactics is essential in the world of Go. Every move made when placing Go pieces must be carefully calculated. For example, during the Heian period, Go was a pastime and also a source of inspiration in military tactics until its popularity was surpassed by shogi in the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Becoming a Go master has symbolic capital. It is not uncommon for many Go masters to commit suicide when they lose to their opponents. In the case of Honinbo, being a Go master is an existential issue. He needs a life challenge. A desire to have an equal opponent. A desire that is finally fulfilled by Otake.

Is Otake an equal opponent? Since the character Otake is inspired by Minoru Kitani, it seems so. The reason is that Minoru Kitani is a young master player who struggles to climb the career ladder from the bottom of the Go world. His Go games tend to be fast, pragmatic, and rather bold. Otake is a pioneer who makes the world of Go not only sacred, rigid, but also modern. The techniques and strategies used by Otake represent a form of the restlessness of young souls against the power of the rigidity of the elderly. In Honinbo's heart, there is a form of Go game that tends to be structured, and its techniques are not dynamic. Go in Honinbo's world is not an ordinary board game, but there lies a tradition and the identity of the Japanese people. This is the second interesting thing.

The third interesting thing in this novel is that the game is a metaphor for Kawabata's disappointment in seeing the modernization brought by the West erode all traditional values in Japanese society. There is a longing for an ancient tradition that is lost and questioned by Kawabata. Kawabata dialogues in the form of writing and spirit with Honinbo. He feels the same loss when Honinbo loses to Kitani. A Go game enters a new field called dialectics. Dialectics that takes on the form of a metaphor in this novel. That is, there is a longing and admiration for the old tradition against renewal.

A Fascinating Account of a Go Game

This is a truly captivating commentary on a game of Go that spanned several months. The newspaper reporter closely followed the two competitors, the elderly Master playing his final game and his younger adversary Otaké, as they journeyed from one city to another, engaged in a game that took a staggering six months to conclude. Each chapter meticulously details the intricacies of every crucial move, elucidating how they impact the game and tip the balance in favor of one player or the other. The book is replete with diagrams illustrating the progress of each new move, although they held little meaning for me. However, a deep knowledge of Go is not necessary to have a general understanding of the proceedings.

Beyond the actual game, the book delves into the lives of the two players, both of whom are based on real individuals. The Master is a sixty-something man with a heart condition and no children, while the younger opponent is a married man with a newborn baby and his own set of health issues, predominantly stomach and digestive problems. The book commences by informing us of the Master's passing a few years after the game, a detail that holds little significance in the context of the actual story. We are even told that the Master loses, as this too is not of great importance.

This book explores themes of old and new, the past and the future. It depicts one generation being gradually replaced by another. There is also an evident connection to the war and the transformation of Japan from the one that entered it to the one that emerged on the other side. But for me, at least, it is primarily about traditions and the inherent desire of each new generation, often misdirected, to tear them down. There is something undeniably romantic about the Master, something that deeply moves the reporter in what he represents. As the Master himself puts it: 'and yet the retreating figure of the Master somehow brought tears to my eyes. I was profoundly moved, for reasons I do not myself understand. In that figure walking absently from the game there was the still sadness of another world.'

Japanese Culture à Go-go

In 1938, an epic go match took place in Japan. It spanned over six months and was held in 14 sessions at various locations. The contestants were the grand master, Shusai, and Otake, a younger and more ambitious professional challenger. Kawabata, a 39-year-old newspaper reporter at that time, covered the match for the Tokyo and Osaka newspapers. After the war, he transformed his reportage into a novel that still preserves much of the essence of the original reports.

If you are unfamiliar with the game of go, which is played with white and black stones on a board, or if you have little knowledge of Japanese culture, this book might not be the best starting point for reading Japanese literature. However, if you have an understanding of these aspects, Kawabata's nuanced portrayal of numerous themes in Japanese culture and human life can bring you great pleasure. He frequently made comparisons between the "old Japan" and the "Westernized Japan" in his novels. Here, we encounter human themes such as the contrast between the sick old man and the young one, or the concept of Life versus Death. The author also wrote, "From the way of Go, the beauty of Japan and the Orient had fled. Everything had become science and regulation." (p.52) The players were more concerned about points rather than elegance or dignity. Otake represents the new, the ambitious, and the unrefined, while the old master symbolizes all that was disappearing and all that Kawabata mourned.

As a novel about an arcane contest that can still elicit all these important and even universal themes, THE MASTER OF GO is an astonishing achievement. If this sounds interesting to you, give it a try. You will definitely not find another novel quite like it! Kawabata truly deserved the Nobel Prize.

Maybe 3.5?

Parts of this I really enjoyed. The moments when it was good were truly outstanding. It soared to great heights, captivating my attention and making me fully engaged.

However, there were also some parts that were quite tedious. They seemed to drag on and on, making it a bit of a struggle to get through.

Overall, it was a bit of a mixed bag. The highs were really high, but the lows could have been better. I'm not sure if I would rate it a full 4, but it definitely had its redeeming qualities.

Maybe with a bit more polish and refinement, it could have been an even better experience. But as it stands, it's a solid 3.5.

The spare prose initially left me in a state of wonder. However, by page 124, I was completely won over by its unique lyricism.

Surprisingly, this is a book about gaming addiction even before the existence of video games. Oh, but apparently, it's not just a game. Go is an art that might just represent an essential component of the Japanese sensibility.

He couldn't play an easy, nonchalant match, leaving well enough alone. It was as if he was not playing to dispel gloom or beguile tedium but rather giving himself up to the fangs of gaming devils.

He had to have games to divert him. To me, it was as if he were suffering the torments of hell.

One always found a competitive urge in a Japanese, no matter how inept he might be at the game.

But the foreigner is portrayed quite differently. He was cheerfully indestructible, not in the least upset however many times he lost. And it seemed likely that he would have the better of me because of this very indifference. In the face of such honest fecklessness, I thought myself rather perverse and cruel. Go with a foreigner was very different from playing Go with a Japanese.

For Maestro Shusai, go is not a game aimed at victory, but a path to mystical contemplation, a sublime form of art that requires detachment from material existence to reach a dimension of perfection foreign to the sensible reality. His opponent embodies the advancing new: the ideals of purity and sacrality are supplanted by those of productivity and efficiency; the purpose of the game is no longer the creation of a work of art, but the defeat of the enemy, even by taking advantage of the loopholes in the rules to one's own benefit. With his tragic defeat, magnificently presented by Kawabata, traditional Japan dies, irremediably stained by the contamination with the West.

Go, in the eyes of Shusai, is a profound and spiritual pursuit. It is a means to explore the inner self and connect with a higher realm. However, the changing times bring new challenges and values. The modern concept of winning at all costs overshadows the true essence of go. The traditional ideals are being eroded, and the game is losing its artistic and spiritual significance. Shusai's defeat symbolizes the decline of traditional Japan in the face of Western influence. It is a poignant reminder of the loss of cultural identity and the struggle to preserve the old ways in a rapidly changing world.

Kawabata's portrayal of this conflict is both beautiful and tragic. He shows the reader the complexity of human nature and the power of change. Through Shusai's story, we can see the importance of holding onto our values and traditions, even in the face of adversity. At the same time, we must also be open to new ideas and adapt to the changing times. Only by finding a balance between the old and the new can we hope to create a better future.

The game of Go is a fascinating and complex one. The board, with its grid of lines, awaits the placement of the black and white stones. As the players make their moves,

"The sound of the stones on the board seemed to echo vastly through another world." (88)

This simple act of placing a stone can have far-reaching consequences, as the patterns and strategies unfold. The players must think carefully about each move, anticipating their opponent's responses and planning their own attacks and defenses. The game can last for hours, with the players deeply engaged in the battle of wits. It is a game that requires not only skill and strategy but also patience and concentration. The sound of the stones on the board serves as a reminder of the intensity and drama that is taking place. It is a sound that can transport the players and the spectators alike to another world, a world of logic and beauty.

Yasunari Kawabata was a Nobel Prize winner in 1968, and his work has always intrigued me. Given the numerous positive reviews his "The Master of Go" received, I decided to give it a try as a relatively short introduction to this writer. I will surely explore other titles of his, but I'm not entirely certain how much of this book I truly understood.

On the surface, this book seems like a near-hour-by-hour dry account of how a great classic master of the Chinese game of Go played and lost his final match to a new and innovative style player. Clearly, a detailed knowledge of the game, which I lack, would have been beneficial for understanding that part of the story. However, if the target audience is more diverse than just Go enthusiasts, then excessive detail might become overwhelming.

There are those who, being familiar with the game, might dismiss this book as a thinly fictionalized retelling of a real and significant game. While that game may have served as the inspiration for the book, it is important to remember that this is fiction, and the history serves as background rather than a limitation on the writer. In fact, knowledge of the history can sometimes detract from the fictional aspect of the story. I suggest that the game in the book is more of a framework for the narrative rather than the main point.

Through the first-person narrator, we gain a fairly detailed overview of the struggle between the previously undefeated master of the simple yet highly sophisticated game of Go and the upstart challenger. Much of the novella's 182 pages are dedicated to the playing style, the behind-the-scenes politics, and the changes in how the game is played, scored, and negotiated.

The game of Go is Chinese in origin, but this match takes place between Japanese players. We are repeatedly reminded that, despite its Chinese roots, by the time of the novel, the game has become almost entirely a part of Japanese culture. The background of the novel is set against Japan's recent victory over Russia and its emergence as a recognized world power. Even simple decisions like whether to wear western or Japanese dress carry implied significance. Japan is in the midst of a modernization process, striving to maintain its respect for the past while simultaneously pushing forward into a new, brasher, and more militarized national identity.

Our narrator is vaguely aware of these changes and is unsure of their meaning or how they will impact Japan in the near future. This uncertainty applies not only to the Game of Go but also, by extension, to the nation of Japan as a whole.

There is something indirect, delicate, and unemotional about Kawabata's writing that makes me think in terms of Japanese stereotypes. Everything is there, presented in so many words, yet the term "inscrutable" seems fitting. It may be that "The Master of Go" is not the best introduction to this clearly subtle and sophisticated author. In this case, my failure to fully appreciate this short book is my own, and further exposure to his work is likely to be more rewarding.

Kawabata's 41st news report in constructing the truth story that I didn't enjoy it as it should be, perhaps because I'm not familiar with the rules of the game "Go", but it's a remarkable work by all standards.

Kawabata, who belongs to the heirs of the old school, loves everything related to the past. What the teacher represents in this story simply can no longer face the new systems. So he loses after a long battle against one of their representatives. He sees in this situation Japan during World War II, where he remembers that he used to call China, Japan, and East Asia the sick man of Asia because they tend to live in the past and have an excessive appreciation for their heritage. There is nothing wrong with that at all.

I don't know which one is right or which one is wrong. Whether we live only on memories and hold on to heritage, or whether we are the heirs of renewal and have no interest in heritage or the past. In fact, I don't know on which side I am.

But imagining this battle in the form of a Go match, which represents one of the manifestations of heritage in Japan, and the teacher's defeat because of an untraditional or unexpected move, but it is legitimate, it is just beyond the traditions. And after the match ends, a year later, the teacher dies because he realizes that he no longer has anything to offer, so he leaves the field to his competitor for renewal. This is exactly what happened in Japan after the war. Simply, this is a remarkable imagination.

This last match would be history...

"This last match would be history..."

I was truly immersed in the drama of this novella. Most of the drama unfolded in quiet rooms, with people sitting on tatami mats, all eyes fixed on a game board filled with black and white stones.

Kawabata's shōsetsu can be better described as a chronicle-novel. As Edward G. Seidensticker, his prolific translator, described in the book's introduction, it is a gathered reportage and memoir of a 1938 Go match that Kawabata covered for the twin Osaka/Tokyo newspaper Mainichi. It is a true story, with only the characters' names changed.

The aging Master's last round, a young opponent who recognizes the significance of the match but also desires to claim his place. There is so much agonizing thought about where to place these numbered stones. The match proceeds intermittently over several months, with generous breaks in between for the players to rest, recover, and prepare for the next "battle". On game days, the players actually make themselves ill with the anxiety of stone placement, suffering from stomachaches, sweats, and nervous bladders.

We are informed of the match results early in the story, but this does not detract from the drama of the gameplay. We have visual diagrams of the moves and placements. And, goodness, am I (sort of) understanding why the placement of White 130 was such a dangerous move? There is also play-by-play analysis by the amateur Go player/journalist, as well as critiques from the fellow observers and apprentices.

Yes, it is about Go, but it is also about dualism, shifting tides, traditions, and modernity.

4.5 / 5*