, also known as Shuko Fujisawa, was a Japanese professional Go

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

. A younger uncle of another professional,

Hosai Fujisawa was a professional Go player. Hideyuki Fujisawa is his uncle. Biography Hosai Fujisawa was born in Yokohama, Japan. He was among the best players of the 20th century. He became an insei at the Nihon Ki-in when he was 11 years old. He becam ...

and grandfather of professional Go player

Rina Fujisawa Rina Fujisawa (藤沢里菜 ''Fujisawa Rina'', born 18 September 1998) is a Japanese professional Go player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop g ...

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 was a professional Go player. Biography Keizo Suzuki was a promising Japanese go player – one of the " Three Crows" of the 1940s and early 1950s. He died a premature death at 18 from tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloqui ...

(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 Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three elem ...

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

, 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 The Asahi Pro Best Ten was a Go competition that lasted from 1964 until 1975. Outline The tournament consisted of 20 players. The format was a knockout. The 20 players were reduced to 10, with the place for number 1 coming down to a best-of-thre ...

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 Sober usually refers to sobriety, the state of not having any measurable levels or effects from alcohol or drugs. Sober may also refer to: Music * Sôber, Spanish rock band Songs * "Sober" (Bad Wolves song), from the 2019 album ''Nation'' * " ...

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 Cho Chikun ''25th Honinbo'' ''Honorary Meijin'' (; born June 20, 1956) is a professional Go player and a nephew of Cho Namchul. Born in Busan, South Korea, he is affiliated to Nihon Ki-in. His total title tally of 75 titles is the most in the ...

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 Professional Go players in Japan are given the title of "Honorary" (or "Lifetime") title holder if they either win the title ten times in a row, or have won the title five times in a row or ten times in total and reach the age of 60 years or retir ...

. 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 ...

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 is a Japanese professional Go player. Biography Shinji Takao is one of Japan's best Go players. He turned professional in 1991. He won the Honinbo tournament in 2005 by a half point in the last game. Cho U, Naoki Hane, Keigo Yamashit ...

Tomoyasu Mimura is a professional Go player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a vide ...

, 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 Ma Xiaochun (; born 26 August 1964) is a Chinese professional Go player. Biography Ma was born in Shengzhou, Zhejiang, China. He began playing Go at the age of nine and was awarded 7 dan rank in 1982. In 1983, Ma was promoted to 9 dan. He v ...

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 The China-Japan Supermatches (日中スーパー囲碁) was a Go competition. Outline The China-Japan Supermatches were a series of team competition between China and Japan in the board game of Go. The tournament was hosted by NEC is a Jap ...

, 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