Today, several Google homepages around the world are celebrating the 185th birthday of
Honinbo Shusaku, the renowned Japanese Go player. In his short lifetime of just thirty-three years, Honinbo Shusaku became one of only two people to earn the title of
kisei, or “Go sage”. In today’s animated doodle, you can observe his famed opening moves — also known as
Shusaku fuseki.
The game of Go dates back at least 2,500 years, and is known to be the simplest and the most complex of all games at the same time. It is highly strategic, despite its relatively simple rules. It essentially has just
two rules, with the objective of winning over the most territory on the board.
The video clip below tracks the moves made by Honinbo Shusaku in the famous “ear-reddening game” which he eventually won against Go master Gennan Inseki in 1846. The story goes that in a first round, Gennan called off the game after finding that Shusaku was too strong. They played a second round, which Gennan led until Shusaku clawed his way back mid-game. At one point, Gennan’s ears reportedly turned red, a sign that he was surprised after a skilled move by Shusaku at the 2:07 mark in the clip.
Posted by Shun Ikeda, Associate Product Marketing Manager, Google Japan
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