, also known as Shuko Fujisawa, was a Japanese professional
Go player
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Role or adjective
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. A younger uncle of another professional,
Hosai Fujisawa and grandfather of professional Go player
Rina Fujisawa.
Biography
Hideyuki Fujisawa was born in
Yokohama
is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. He was one of the best players during his era. One of the "
Three Crows" along with
Yamabe Toshiro and
Keizo Suzuki (and later
Takeo Kajiwara). Even though he was known more for his controversial acts, such as having a bad drinking habit, the most important thing that shone through about Fujisawa was his
Go skill. Besides Go, he was known to
gamble and was a successful
real estate dealer. He was also known for his
calligraphy
Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...
and had several exhibits of his works. He also stated in his autobiography, although he did not mind being called Shuko, he preferred to be called Hideyuki.
He is the father of Kazunari Fujisawa, an 8-dan Go professional, and the grandfather of
Rina Fujisawa, a 7-dan Go professional who has won multiple female titles.
Early go life
Fujisawa turned pro in 1940 and reached 9 dan in 1963. He won his first major title in 1962, the
Meijin
is one of the eight titles in Japanese professional shogi player, professional shogi, and is the most prestigious title, along with Ryūō. The word ( "excellent, artful", "person") refers to a highly skilled master of a certain field (the ...
. He then won two
Asahi Pro Best Ten titles in 1965 and 1968. He won his second major title, the
Oza, which he held for three consecutive years from 1967 to 1969. The same year that he lost the Oza, he won the
NHK Cup. He didn't win the NHK Cup again until 1981. The Meijin title was Fujisawa's again when he won it in 1970. He then went on a dry streak of titles. By 1976, he won his first title since the Meijin in 1970, the
Tengen.
Height of career
Fujisawa went on to surprise critics as he won the
Kisei title six straight years from 1976 to 1982. It has been said that during these Kisei runs in the 1970s and 1980s, Fujisawa would drink for nine months straight, then
sober up for his title defense late in the year.
By 1980, nobody thought anyone else but Fujisawa would win the Kisei, but that was silenced when he finally lost it to
Cho Chikun in 1982. He won the first three games, controlling each move Cho made. It looked like Fujisawa would hold the Kisei for the seventh year in a row, but Cho fought back and won the last four games, as Fujisawa made a blunder in a winning position in the seventh game. After his run of consecutive Kisei titles, the Japanese
Nihon-Kiin
The Nihon Ki-in (), also known as the Japan Go Association, is the main organizational body for Go in Japan, overseeing Japan's professional system and issuing diplomas for amateur dan rankings. It is based in Tokyo. The other major Go associat ...
awarded him
Honorary Kisei. He was known to play a very flexible
fuseki
''Fuseki'' (Japanese: ; ) is the whole board Go opening theory, opening in the go (game), game of Go.
Characteristics Less systematic
Since each move is typically isolated and unforced (i.e., not a Go strategy and tactics#Sente and gote, sent ...
but was infamous for making blunders (''poka'') later in the game. The saying was that Fujisawa Shuko plays the best first 50 moves.
Later life
Fujisawa would not win another title until ten years later. He again won the Oza and held it for two years at the age of 67. He thus set a record for the oldest player to defend a title, a record which holds to this day. In October 1998, he decided to retire from the Go world at the age of 74. The following year Fujisawa was expelled from the Nihon Ki-in for selling unsanctioned rank diplomas to amateurs in protest against what he considered improper Ki-in policies. In June 2003, the dispute was resolved and Fujisawa was reinstated to the Ki-in.
He died of
aspiration pneumonia
Aspiration pneumonia is a type of lung infection that is due to a relatively large amount of material from the stomach or mouth entering the lungs. Signs and symptoms often include fever and cough of relatively rapid onset. Complications may incl ...
in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
at 7:16 a.m on May 8, 2009, at St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo.
Students
Fujisawa was the teacher of some of today's leading professionals in Japan, including
Shinji Takao,
Tomoyasu Mimura, and his own son
Kazunari Fujisawa.
Moreover, he also contributed hugely to Go outside Japan. He put enormous effort into Chinese Go despite his own economic hardship. Many of the greatest China players including
Nie Weiping
Nie Weiping (; born 17 August 1952) is a Chinese professional Go (board game), Go Go players, player.
Biography
Nie was born in Shenzhou City, Shenzhou. He was a childhood friend of future Paramount leader, Chinese leader Xi Jinping. His bro ...
,
Chen Zude,
Chang Hao,
Ma Xiaochun were deeply influenced by Fujisawa. The help he gave to Chinese Go even bolstered China in its rivalry with Japan: China won most (9 out of 13) of
China-Japan Supermatches, and many of its winners were Fujisawa's students.
Titles and runners-up
Ranks 11 in
total number of titles in Japan.
Bibliography
*Fujisawa, Shuko (Hideyuki Fujisawa). ''Dictionary of Basic Tesuji.'' 4 vols. Richmond, VA: Slate and Shell, 2004.
References
External links
Nihon Ki-in profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fujisawa, Hideyuki
1925 births
2009 deaths
Japanese Go players
Go (game) writers
Sportspeople from Yokohama
Deaths from pneumonia in Japan
Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon
Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class