''Oshirogo'' (御城碁 "castle Go") or castle games were official matches of high-level Go played 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 ...

during the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, usually in the castles of the ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

''. Players were mostly from the four go houses. Matches were played in the ''shōguns presence. With the passage of the years, this became a formality: the players would replay a game that had already been played, and the ''shōgun'' would often be represented by an official, rather than attend himself. The games themselves were, though, bitterly contested, since the castle games had a major effect on the prestige of the four houses. Throughout the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

there was an ongoing struggle to take control of the official positions of ''

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 ...

'' and ''

godokoro {{Nihongo, Godokoro, 碁所, ''godokoro'' is a title that was given in Japan from the beginning of the Edo period until the Meiji Restoration. In that period it was the highest official standing that could be attained by a go player. Literally it i ...

''. Hundreds of game records of the castle games survive; a large collection was edited by Kensaku Segoe. The game series was suspended in 1862 as the political situation became tense. Apart from one 1863 game between Hayashi Hakuei and Yasui Sanei, it was never resumed.

References

External links

Sensei's Library page
{{Go (game) History of Go