Seki Shin Go Club, Tokyo, Japan

THE TRAVELING BOARD: Finding Tokyo’s Heart Of Stone
reported by Chris Garlock; photos by John Pinkerton

Saturday night in Tokyo and the city glistens in a cool May rain. The streets reflect the twinkling neon lights outside Ikebukuro station in Toshima ward, one of Toyko’s major commercial and entertainment districts. A million people pass through the station each day but EJ photographer John Pinkerton and I are looking for just one, our go-to Man in Tokyo, Jeremy Banzhaf, who’s promised to take us to a local go club. Just off the grueling 14-hour flight from DC, we’re ready for some Tokyo go adventures before we start our coverage of the World Amateur Go Championships, which begin Tuesday. Soon enough, Jeremy shows up, resplendent in his bright orange Cyprus Go Association t-shirt, and we’re off to find the Seki Shin go club. It’s just a few blocks from the station, the club’s unlit sign a beckoning dark space amidst the neon blazing through the wet night. We take a small elevator up, stopping to let the giggling Japanese schoolgirls off onto a club pulsing with Saturday night fever and step out on the sixth floor to the familiar sound of go stones rattling in their bowls. Within minutes, I’ve been matched with a 4-dan, we take our places at the board, bow, and begin playing. Rain falls on the busy streets outside, music pulses from below and all around me is the clatter of other games but soon there’s nothing but the stones on the board before me. Tokyo go clubs are notorious for being everywhere and nowhere, popping up and vanishing like mushrooms after rain, but the Seki Shin go club has been around for nearly a quarter of a century and from the looks of things this Saturday night – the most popular night at the club -- stones will continue to fly there for years to come. Owner/manager (name) has only owned the club for a few years, but has been playing go for 30 years. Strength at the club ranges from 2k to 7d and several pros give lessons there three times a week. (name) likes the creativity of the game and says that “like painting, you can only improve with practice.” Most of all, though, he says the best thing about go is “Friends. Unlike friends at work, your go friends are friends for life.” The Seki Shin club – the name means “heart of stone” -- is open 11-10 daily and closes at 9 on Sundays; daily playing fees are $10-12, as at most Tokyo clubs. Midway through the game, old friend – and popular EJ contributor – Kaz Furuyama shows up, as does (name), a friend of Jeremy’s, and after I manage to turn around a lost position in mid-game, we all head out to Jeremy’s favorite local restaurant, where Kaz analyzes the game as we feast on Japanese delicacies and beer, toasting to lifelong go friendships.
Seki Shin is located at (address); phone 03-3980-5056. The club has a website www.sekishin.biz/ in Japanese.

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12 photos | 119 views

items are from 24 May 2008.