Original title：趙治勲 私の履歴書（6）挫折と改心
Original article: The Nikkei
Author: Cho Chikun, Honorary Meijin
There was a time when life felt so difficult that I even contemplated "jumping into a waterfall." This was when I failed to achieve the goal of becoming a professional player at the age of 10 after losing in the preliminaries of the insei (apprentice professional) tournament.
Those around me, including my brother Chang-yeon, believed that continuing to stay in Japan would be futile. The phrase "becoming a pro at 10" was something Kitani Minoru-sensei had personally stated, and I think he was concerned about my lack of effort.
After understanding Sensei's intentions, Miharu Kitani also gave me some harsh criticism. Her usual phrase when scolding the children was, "Go back home." Of course, this was meant to encourage me, but at the time, I couldn't grasp that. Being overtaken by Koichi Kobayashi was also a heavy blow, and I must admit that reading novels by Ryunosuke Akutagawa and Osamu Dazai contributed to my despair.
Later, I went to the Kegon Falls in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture. I don't remember exactly where I went, but as darkness fell, I suddenly became frightened and abandoned the idea. This "incident" ended just like that.
However, a few years later, when I was about to publish a book on Go, I shared this story with the Go writer in charge, who exaggerated it quite a bit.
When Miharu Kitani read this book, she was deeply saddened and furious. She had taken on the responsibility of caring for someone else's child with great determination, and to find out that the child had done something so foolish was indeed humiliating for her.
Since then, the incident at Kegon Falls has been treated as something that "never happened," but it’s not something that needs to be hidden forever. In any case, it was an incident caused by my own immaturity and inadequacy, and I feel deeply apologetic for it.
Regarding my promotion to professional status, it was decided to observe my progress for another year. However, this incident became a turning point, marking the first time I genuinely took Go seriously. I strongly realized, "Why did I come to Japan? I can't just return to Korea in disgrace."
I began reviewing my game records with my brother and devoted myself to studying Go as if I were a different person. In terms of technique, the greatest influence on me came from reading books by Go Seigen-sensei.
Go Seigen-sensei was a player born in Fujian Province, China, who revolutionized the Japanese Go world before and after World War II. In the "jubango" matches organized by newspapers, he consistently defeated his opponents, causing them to be demoted.
In fact, at the Kitani Dojo, The Complete Honinbo was our Bible. The Honinbo title, established during the Edo period, was one of the Go houses that produced famous players like Dosaku, Shuwa, and Shusaku. At the dojo, it was a daily task to repeatedly review these game records. Although each player's style varied, most of them pursued the orthodox way. Even today, many senior and younger players alike continue to follow this style.
However, I always felt somewhat constrained by this method of study. While Go Seigen-sensei's books were like textbooks, they didn’t prescribe rigid moves for specific situations but rather advocated that "Go can be played more freely."
Go Seigen-sensei, together with my teacher Kitani-sensei, created the "new opening" that revolutionized Go strategy. Encountering this fresh way of thinking felt liberating to me.
Saying this might give the impression that I didn’t learn anything from Kitani-sensei, but that’s not the case. Kitani-sensei silently observed from the background, and just by doing so, he made my younger self realize that "Go is a beautiful thing."
With the passion for Go nurtured by Kitani-sensei and the "free thinking" inspired by Go Seigen-sensei, this "prodigy" was finally about to start blossoming.
תגובות