The Nihon Ki-in (), also known as the Japan Go Association, is the main organizational body for Go in

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 ...

, overseeing Japan's professional system and issuing diplomas for amateur

dan rank The ranking system is used by many Japanese, Okinawan, Korean, and other martial arts organizations to indicate the level of a person's ability within a given system. Used as a ranking system to quantify skill level in a specific domain, it w ...

ings. It is based in Tokyo. The other major Go association in Japan is Kansai Ki-in. Its innovations include the

Oteai The was a tournament used in Japan, by the Nihon Ki-in and Kansai Ki-in, to determine the ranking of its go professionals on the dan scale. It was instituted in the 1920s soon after the Ki-in was set up in 1924. Initially it was run in Spring ...

system of promotion, time limits in professional games, and the introduction of issuing diplomas to strong amateur players, to affirm their ranks.

History

The Nihon Ki-in was established in July 1924. The first president of the Nihon Ki-in was

Makino Nobuaki Count , was a Japanese politician and imperial court official. As Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan, Makino served as Emperor Hirohito's chief counselor on the monarch's position in Japanese society and policymaking. After victory in W ...

, a great Go patron himself, with Okura Kishichiro serving as vice president. The vast majority of pros at the time joined the fledgling organization, excepting the Inoue faction in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

and Nozawa Chikucho. A brief splinter group called Kiseisha was created soon after the Nihon Ki-in was formed, but most of the players involved had returned to the Nihon Ki-in within a couple of years. Then in 1950, its western branch split away to form the Kansai Ki-in.

Tournaments

The Nihon Ki-in organizes many tournaments for professional players. The major title tournaments include the Kisei, Meijin, Honinbo, Judan, Tengen, Gosei, and the Oza. There are also separate Honinbo, Meijin, and Kisei titles for women.

Major title winners by year

(*): Kansai Ki-in player

Organization

* Tokyo Headquarters (Ichigaya): 7-2 Goban-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo * Tokyo Yurakucho Igo Center: 9F Tokyo Kotsu-Kaikan, 2-10-1 Yuraku-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo * Osaka Headquarters: 10F Applause Tower, 19-19 Sayamachi, Osaka * Osaka Umeda Igo Salon: 6F Hankyu Five Annex Building, 1-23 Sumidacho, Kita-ku, Osaka * Chubu Headquarters: 1-19 Syumoku-cho, Higashi-ku, Nagoya * The Nihon Ki-in European Go Cultural Centre: Schokland14,1181 HV Amstelveen, Netherlands * Nihon Ki-in Do Brasil: R. Dr Fabricio Vampre No116, Ana Rosa - São Paulo - Brazil * Nihon Ki-in Go Institute of The West U.S.A.: 700 N.E., 45th Street, Seattle WA

References

External links