Yamagata Prefecture

[Tendo City, Yamagata Prefecture] The sacred place of the unprecedented shogi boom “March Comes in Like a Lion”! Enjoy the Shogi Museum and Human Shogi

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  • Last updated: 2022.03.15

The world of shogi has been extremely hot lately. Popular figures such as Kato Hifumi and Fujii 4-dan have emerged, and it's truly a shogi fever. The manga "March Comes in Like a Lion," which is based on shogi, has also been made into a live-action film and has become a huge hit

Tendo City in Yamagata Prefecture is known as a shogi town. Tendo City is the number one producer of shogi pieces in Japan. It is also famous as the sacred place for the aforementioned March Comes in Like a Lion

Tendo City Shogi Museum: Full of the charm of shogi

The Tendo City Shogi Museum is located next to the station. Look for the blue sign in the shape of a shogi piece. Inside the museum, you can see exhibits on the history of shogi, the manufacturing process of pieces, and various pieces

Chaturanga, the prototype of shogi

Also on display is Chaturanga, the original form of Shogi. Chaturanga is a board game that was popular in ancient India around 300 BC. Chaturanga is played by rolling dice. It is a four-player game

However, when four people played the game by rolling the dice, the outcome was often decided by chance rather than skill, so the game gradually changed to the current one-on-one format

From small to large

You can also see shogi from the Heian period. It is almost the same as modern shogi. If you look closely, you will notice that there are no rooks or bishops

It is surprising that Chu Shogi from the Kamakura period had more pieces than we have today. It is interesting to note that a Nakanin piece was placed in front of the Phoenix, Kirin, and pawns

The number of pieces in the great shogi games of the Muromachi period is even greater, at a whopping 130. You can see pieces such as cat demons and evil wolves. It makes you wonder what kind of tricky moves they would make

The largest and most numerous is "Tai Shogi." It has 25 x 25 squares and a total of 354 pieces. There are 93 different types of pieces. The pieces are lined up so tightly that there is no space left. There are also many pieces with interesting names, such as Jizai-oh and Yasha

There are also items that children will enjoy, such as Ultraman Shogi, Gegege no Kitaro Shogi, and Star Wars Shogi

Human shogi: A special feature of the Tendo Cherry Blossom Festival

The Shogi Museum also displays a model of a human shogi player. Human shogi is an event held at the Tendo Cherry Blossom Festival, Tendo City's signature spring festival. It is held every April at the summit plaza of Mt. Maizuru, where approximately 2,000 cherry trees are in full bloom

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Warriors and ladies-in-waiting dressed in armor and kimonos are the shogi pieces. They move around the board according to the moves of professional players. It is truly realistic and powerful to see actual people facing off against each other and taking or being taken by them

Special guests at the 2017 Human Shogi event included Kamiki Ryunosuke, who starred in the live-action adaptation of March Comes in Like a Lion, and director Otomo Keishi

Summary of Tendo City, the city of shogi

An unprecedented shogi boom is sweeping the world right now, and many people have become interested in the game. Especially during the Tendo Cherry Blossom Festival, the whole town is enveloped in a shogi mood, so be sure to come and experience that unique atmosphere

There is also a wide selection of locally produced delicacies, such as Osho Monaka and Osho Senbei (a confectionery shop in Yamagata Prefecture http://www.yamagata-kasi.com/kashi/data/0049.html

INFORMATION

name Tendo City Shogi Museum
location 1-1-2 Honmachi, Tendo City, Yamagata Prefecture Tendo Station 1F
telephone number 023-653-1690
Official URL http://bussan-tendo.gr.jp/db/?d=2528
GOOGLE MAP

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