Pop Japan

Pronounced as "show-gee", Shogi, also known as Japanese chess or the Generals' Game, is the traditional chess game of Japan. It is already around 500 years old. Like other forms of chess, the object of shogi is to force capture of the opposing king — to put him in checkmate.

The earliest predecessor of the game, chaturanga, originated in India in the 6th century. Shogi in its present form was played as early as the 16th century, while a direct ancestor without the drop rule was recorded from 1210 in a historical document Nichūreki, which is an edited copy of Shōchūreki and Kaichūreki from the late Heian period (c. 1120). Shogi was the earliest chess variant to allow captured pieces to be returned to the board by the capturing player.

Photo by Matt Perreault. Licensed under Creative Commons (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/).

Tags: tradition, games, Japan, Shogi, Japanese Chess, General's Game, checkmate, chaturanga, india, nichureki, heian period, shochureki, kaichureki