|
By Aria von
Elbe
August 12, 2005
Returning for his fifth
US Go Congress, Maeda Ryo 6P of Japan continues to be one of the busiest and
most popular professionals at the Congress. Born in Hyogo Prefecture on Japan's
main island Honshu, Maeda studied the traditio nal Japanese subjects like tea
ceremony, flower arranging, and calligraphy, but go was his favorite. "Tanoshikatta," he says, "It was
fun."
At the age of 13,
Maeda-sensei joined the Kansai Kiin's insei program and began studying to become
a go professional. During those years, he only went to junior high school five
times a year. After five years of study, Maeda-sensei passed the pro test and
was inducted into the Kansai Kiin at the age of 18, an impressive feat
considering that the institute only accepts one new professional each year.
Now 33, Maeda is a 6 dan
professional with aspirations of one day winning a title, though he says he
started trying "too late." Reminded that Nakayama Noriyuki 6P, a fellow Japanese
pro from the Nihon Kiin in Tokyo, started his pro career at 30, Maeda just
laughs and replies in English, "Rare case. only one."
In the meantime, the Kansai
native works on his game by replaying pro games from throughout the world and
studying tsumego (life and death) problems. Maeda also visits the Kansai Kiin
for study groups with about 30 other professionals. Asked who his main rivals
are and he jokes that "minasan wa ribaru," everyone's a rival. More seriously,
he mentions his contemporary, Fujiwara Katsuya -- who is also at this year's
Congress -- but only, he's quick to point out, because they are good friends and
Fujiwara "wouldn't get mad."
Go
isn't Maeda's only venue for competition. The Kansai Kiin also has its own
yakyuu (baseball) team, which Maeda manages. The Stones are "the weakest team in
the world," Maeda says, but they battle tirelessly anyway. Which is why he
travels all the way to the United States, to help the future of go blossom so
that we too can fight.
Back to Articles
|
|
