From: Takako Noda JA2 SO-NET OR JP> Date: 18 mar 1997 Subject: THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE "Chrysanthemum and Sward" is, thankfully, long gone, labeled outmoded. And yet, the present age may not be any different from those days. Rumor has it that Makoto Nakahara may resign if he is relegated to the lower class? Interesting. If one of the honorary eternal meijin holders should play in the B-class or lower, it would be a disgrace to the title, they say? If memory serves, one Igarashi 9-dan was, literally tearfully, forced into retirement. Reason: A 9-dan holder playing in the C-class is a disgrace to the highest dan. Obviously he still had plenty of enthusiasm as an active tournament pro. So who are they who voice their two cents' worth, not knowing their say is just an annoying noise? Which reminds me. We, too, have PC-minded students in Japanese universities, who occasionally protest against their teacher's "incorrect" phrasing. It's okay, but an annoying part is that they go to a dean's or the president's office without first talking to the teacher in question. Oddly enough, what is common to those teachers' stories is that they cannot think of any student in the class who is likely to resort to this kind of action. Likewise, I cannot think of any pro player who would want to offer an unsolicited piece of advice like that. But there's no denying that a certain atmosphere exists, and someone is susceptible to it. Another thing: when Habu was on his way to the meijin title, a sudden Habu- bashing arose. Habu took the "upper" seat when playing with his seniors in Jun-i-sen, which infuriated older players in the shogi world. In a traditional tatami-matted room, the upper seat means a place right in front of the decorated alcove(tokonoma). This is where a house-guest is invited to sit if he is duly respected. Anyway, Habu seated himself before being asked to, or came in first and took the place, against those star players like Tanigawa and Nakahara, former meijins. They were reported to be visibly upset, but didn't dare to protest. Those who voiced their frustration were other senior players. Very interesting. The shogi world is, as I understand it, conceived as the world of power, in which winning means power and power decides rank. So, stronger players, no matter how young and inexperienced they may be, will go higher in the rank. But they seem to have another logic that goes something like: even if he is higher, he is lower. In this case, Habu had already 3 or 4 titles, which should obviously have guaranteed him a higher rank than a single-title holder, Tanigawa, or non-title holder, Nakahara. And yet, they wouldn't let him, but claim Habu should place himself in the lower seat. The argument didn't, however, develop into a feud between Habu and the older generation, but died down when Habu became meijin himself. Tanaka 9-dan, known to be very outspoken, once criticized Habu's behavior deploring as," Justice is lost in the shogi world." But he is also a very quick person to read the seeds of time, and readily adjusted himself to be one of Habu's lauders, writing a book titled "A man loved by gods" . True salesmanship. I remember a comic strip from those days, in which Tanigawa walks in with a hammer and pieces of wood, putting up a make-shift tokonoma on the wall behind him. Sitting down before the board, he declares, "Now I'm in the upper seat!" while Habu innocently looks on with the real tokonoma behind his back. Note that this appeared on the Shukan Shogi, a weekly paper accredited by the Renmei. So there exists a spirit of relativism in a cheek-by-jowl society like the pro shogi world. And there is Maruta 9dan, who persisted even after coming far down to the C-2 from the top class. The late Oyama was his close friend, and Maruta himself acted as chairman of the Renmei for some time. He savored every bit of his remnant games and retired at the age of 70, presumably turning a deaf ear, in the meantime, to a suggestion of earlier retirement. All in all, the pro shogi world may not be so paranoiac or dogmatic or fanatic. It is, first of all, a society of solipsists. It may even be a rather healthy community, in which an individual's decision is respected more than in an average corporate society in Japan. So, let's see if Nakahara quits or not when he loses the survival race in the A-class, which may indicate in which direction this unique organization is going.