Page 442 - Edo: Art in Japan, 1615–1868

244a Hikone Screen (cat. 233). In Chóshun's Sugoroku, or "double sixes," is a close
Go game set masterwork of a courtesan enjoying equivalent of backgammon or the
incense, the sugoroku board is pro- Indian game of pachisi.The type of
Early nineteenth century
Lacquer on wood with makie vocatively used as a bench, but its sugoroku shown here is played by
very presence suggests that she has
45.5 x 42.2 x 28.2 (18 x 16 Vs x ii Vs) two or more people using dice and
Tokyo National Museum tested her skills with a male client counters. Players advance their pieces
(cat. 245). (fifteen each) across the board, accord-
ing to the roll of the dice, until some-
2440 Go (also known as igo; Chinese: weiqi) one manages to get all of her or his
Shógi game set is an ancient game of Chinese or pieces into the opponent's territory.
Indian origin that remains popular
Early nineteenth century Another popular type of sugoroku
Lacquer on wood with makie even today in Japan. The game is during the Edo period was played on
played by two people. The black side
3
37-3 x 34-3 x 23 (14 /4 x 1372 x 9) starts with 181 stones, the white side a woodblock printed sheet showing 441
Tokyo National Museum stations of the Tókaidó highway.
with 180; the total of 361 matches the
number of intersections on the board. These three sets of game boards and
244C The opponents attempt to surround pieces were part of the bridal trousseau
Sugoroku game set
and capture each other's territory. belonging to the daughter of a daimyo
Early nineteenth century As in chess, the basic moves are ex- of the Wakayama fief, Kii province,
Lacquer on wood with makie tremely simple but allow for compli- who in 1816 married a son of the
l
7
29.1 x 40.3 x 22.7 (n /2 x 15 /s x 9) cated anticipatory strategies, which eleventh Tokugawa shogun, lenari
Tokyo National Museum have made the game popular with (1773 -1841). The crest with three aoi
the court, priestly, and samurai intel- leaves in a roundel was the exclusive
• Together, go, shógi, and sugoroku ligentsia through the ages. Officials of preserve of the Tokugawa family.
are called the "three board games" in the Tokugawa shogunate considered During the Edo period, when the Toku-
recognition of their popularity through the game so important that the gov- gawa shogun ruled the land, a mar-
early modern times. Mastery of board ernment subsidized four go training riage between a daimyo's daughter
games was considered one of the academies, and annual go champion- and a shogun's son was fraught with
Four Accomplishments of a Chinese ships were held in Edo Castle with political significance and was often
gentleman, and scenes of people test- the shogun in audience. viewed as a means to cement political
ing their skills at go were frequently Shógi, often likened to chess, traces alliances. It was therefore imperative
depicted in Chinese-style paintings its origins to India, which is also the for the daimyo bride to bring furnish-
created by the Kano school. Go is also ings that adequately bespoke the
source of the western version of
the game of choice for the men passing chess. Shógi is played on a board with prestige of the provincial chieftain. JTC
time in a pleasure boat in Moronobu's nine by nine squares. Each side has
Scenes of Daily Life in Edo (cat. 240).
twenty pentagonal pieces inscribed
As the culture of the bordello evolved, with a name — for instance, osho
the speedier and less mind-straining (king), feinsho (gold general), or ginshô
games of shógi and sugoroku became (silver general). The object of the game
increasingly popular. Scenes of courte- is to checkmate the opponent's king;
sans and their clients playing sugoroku failing complete victory, the player
appear frequently in genre paintings who captures the most enemy pieces
of the Edo period, for example in the
wins. As testimony to the prestige
accorded board games, in 1607 the
Tokugawa shogunate began to award
an annual stipend to a commissioner
of shógi and go, and the nation's best
shógi masters competed for the post
in annual tournaments sponsored
by the shogun.

243 (front view)