Go Wizardry

From Kidō, May 1975

Edo Town Go Club

Written and drawn by Tani Ikuo

Sounds of laughter: Ha! Ha! Ha! ~Snort!~ Hee! Hee! Hee! Nyuk! Nyuk! Nyuk! Nyuk!

Working man: Huh? Huh? Surrounding thaaat kind of place… My, my, my~ What kind of guy is this~

[In the dialogue balloon the working man speaks in a normal, if obnoxious, voice, while the words in bold outside the balloon indicate that he is speaking out load so that others can hear, i.e., he wants everyone in the club to know what a hassle it is to play his simpleminded opponent.]

Working man: Hey, Tomekimi! What kind of a place is this to play!

Tomekimi: A useless place.

Working man: Haaa! That’s it, that’s it! A useless place! A useless place! Nyuk! Nyuk!

FX: Thud! Thud! [Sound on feet stamped on the ground as the working man laughs uncontrollably.]

Tomekimi: Wha-? Wha-? Are you trying to run away there? That’s no good, I tell you! With a single blow…

Tomekimi: Kuma san, what do you think of this!?

Working man (Kuma): Buried in a crane’s nest! [“Tsuru no su-gomori” = a situation where three stones are surrounded on three sides with a stone in the middle a space away, so that escaping is impossible.]

FX: Spin! [Working man spins in a circle in his excitement.]

Tomekimi: Nyuk! Nyuk! That’s right, that’s right! The crane’s nest burial! Nyuk! Nyuk! Nyuk! Ended up buried in a nest, ended up buried in a nest!

Working man in background: Hee! Hee! Hee!

Working man: Oh, Oh! What is it this time? Somehow you’re gonna try to live there, is that it~~?

Working man: Hey, hey, hey! Tomekimi! What is this kind of thing, I wonder? Putting a stone in a place where it takes two moves to live, is that it…

Tomekimi: Playing in gote and still dead…

Working man: Playing in gote and still dead…

Working man: That’s it! That’s it! Right, right, right!! Playing in gote and still dead, playing in gote and still dead!! Hee! Hee! Hee! Hee! Haaaa! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Hee! Hee! Hee!

FX: Boing! [Sound of working man springing up in the air.] Bang! [Sound of working man hitting ground before springing up in the air.]

FX: Thud! Thud! Thud! [Sound of Tomekimi stamping feet on the ground.]

FX: Bang! [Sound of opponent slapping stone forcefully on the board.]

Working man: Whaaa?

FX: Swoosh! Click! [Sound of opponent darting hand out and precisely setting stone down on the board.]

Tomekimi: Oh!!

Working man: (Ugh~~ Damn it… ) [Thinking to himself.]

FX: Flap, flap… [Sound of fan being waved gently.]

Tomekimi: Caught with a shortage of liberties, there it is… [Thinking to himself.]

Working man and Tomekimi together: Nothing to do! [The Japanese word here, “Arimasen!” literally means, “Is not!” This is technically a term that is acceptable to use when resigning, but it has the feeling of avoiding to actually acknowledge defeat. One must say that sore losers use this word in these cases.]

FX: Slide! [Sound of stones being pushed in huge piles over the board.]