Go in Japan. What makes Japan so central to the game of go

Abstract

Go is thought to be a Chinese game, as it originally originated in China but I believe that Japan actually played a much more central role in the development of the game we call go today.Go came from China and became immensely popular in the Japanese high society. Paid professional go players came into existence as a result of this, almost 400 years ago in Japan. Because it was prestigious to be a good go player in Japan these players developed and advanced the game of go, in order to become the best player in Japan. And no other country really had an opportunity to participate in the development of go, as the Japanese had closed off their borders to foreigners during this period.The game of go that we play today is heavily influenced by the changes and strategies developed by the Japanese. Some of these Japanese professionals are even known all over the world today, even if they lived over a hundred years ago. The Japanese go organization (Nihon Kiin) is also the main organization regulating and controlling go in the world today.This essay is about what makes Japan so central to the game of go that we know and play today.