, also known as , was one of the most successful professional

Go players This article gives an overview of well-known professional and amateur players of the board game Go throughout the ages. The page has been divided into sections based on the era in which the Go players played and the country in which they pla ...

of the twentieth century.

Biography

Kaku Takagawa won the

Honinbō In the history of Go in Japan, the four Go houses were four major schools of Go instituted, supported, and controlled by the state, at the beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate. (There were also many minor houses.) At roughly the same time shogi ...

title nine times in a row, from 1952 to 1960, and was subsequently awarded the permanent title of

Honorary Honinbo 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 then chose Shukaku as his Honinbō name. He is one of the few Honorary Honinbos. He was known for having a healthy rivalry with

Sakata Eio was a 9-dan Japanese professional Go player. Biography Sakata became a professional Go player in 1935. His first title match was the Hon'inbō in 1951 when he challenged Hashimoto Utaro. More than usual was at stake in the match because Has ...

. This could be seen as Sakata would constantly beat Takagawa from 1959 to 1966 in the finals of major tournaments. Takagawa's books, translated from their original

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, were instrumental in educating Westerners in the ways of Go. He also wrote a series of articles from 1961 through 1977 for the

Nihon Ki-in 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 ...

which was the primary English source of information about Go during that period. These articles were later compiled into ''Improve Your Intuition'', still considered a valuable guide for Go players.

Style

Sakata Eio was known to talk about Takagawa's style of play. He included him in his book ''Killer Of Go'', saying he'd drag out his games so they'd be longer and then his opponent would lose their edge. He was so very cool and collected during games, that he would never tense up before a match. This could be seen when he strolled to many Honinbō title wins. He was also noted to having a very steady and elegant style.

Promotion record

Titles and runners-up

Books

*How to Play Go, Nihon Ki-in 195
reviewused copiescover
*Vital Points of Go, Nihon Ki-in 195

*The Power of the Star-Point () *Improve Your Intuition () Volume 1, () Volume 2, () Volume 3.

External links

GoGameWorld ProfileGoBase ProfileSensei's Library Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Takagawa, Kaku 1915 births 1986 deaths Japanese Go players Go (game) writers Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class