Minoru Kitani

Minoru Kitani
Full name	Minoru Kitani
Kanji	木谷実
Born	January 25, 1909(1909-01-25) Kobe, Japan
Died	December 19, 1975(1975-12-19) (aged 66) Japan
Teacher	Tamejiro Suzuki
Pupil	List of Minoru Kitani pupils
Turned pro	1924
Rank	9 dan

Minoru Kitani (木谷 実, Kitani Minoru^?, January 25, 1909 - December 19, 1975) was one of the most celebrated professional Go players and teachers of the game of Go in the twentieth century in Japan.

Biography

He earned the nickname "the Prodigy" after winning a knockout tournament. He defeated eight opponents from the Kiseisha in a row during 1928. He played a celebrated match with then retiring Honinbō Shūsai. The Nobel Prize winning author Kawabata Yasunari used this game in his novel "The Master of Go". In 1954 he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, but soon recovered. His condition came back in 1964, in which he would practically retire. He was given the Okura Prize in 1967.

Segoe Kensaku, a friend and rival of Kitani, nicknamed him "the Great Kitani" due to his extraneous efforts relating to go.

Relationship with Go Seigen

He was a young prodigy, who quickly attracted attention after the founding in 1924 of the Nihon Ki-in. He became a great rival to, and friend of, Go Seigen, after the latter was brought to Japan from China.

Go and Kitani were the vanguard of the Shinfuseki or "New Opening" theory, a period roughly 1933-6 which saw great innovations in go opening theory.

Go Seigen and Kitani played in the Kamakura jubango, from 1939, the most celebrated jubango of the century. It ended in Go's decisive victory. Kitani's career never quite recovered; he was also hampered by bad health, in the form of a heart condition. He was later noted for a style of spectacular idiosyncrasy, with great emphasis on secure territory.

Kitani dojo

Kitani was subsequently noted as the most prolific teacher ever of future professional players. The Kitani dojo, which began to flourish after 1945 in the Kitani house in the countryside, was in practical terms run by his wife, produced a whole generation of top players who would dominate Japanese go from the early 1970s to mid-1990s. His own daughter Reiko (1939–1996) reached 6 dan and won the All-Japan Women's Championship several times,[1] and married one of his best students, Koichi Kobayashi. Their child in turn, Izumi Kobayashi, Kitani's granddaughter, is now one of Japan's current leading female players. At the time of his death, he had taught over 60 students, 40 of whom went on to become professionals. The total dan rank of all his students totalled to over 250.

Promotion Record

Rank	Year	Notes
1 dan	1924
2 dan	1926
3 dan	1926
4 dan	1927
5 dan	1929
6 dan	1933
7 dan	1935
8 dan	1942
9 dan	1956

Titles & runners-up

Title	Years Held
Current	1
NHK Cup	1960
Defunct	2
Asashi Top Position	1957, 1958

Title	Years Lost
Current	5
Honinbo	1947, 1953, 1959
NHK Cup	1958, 1961
Defunct	3
NHK Championship	1958
Asashi Top Position	1959
Igo Senshuken	1958

References

• Interview with Tsuchida
• Gobase page on Kitani Minoru
• Sensei’s Library on Kitani Minoru
• Sensei’s Library on the Kitani dojo

Persondata
Name	Kitani, Minoru
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	January 25, 1909
Place of birth	Kobe, Japan
Date of death	December 19, 1975
Place of death	Japan