Chapter Six: Akashi
"Ah... Murasaki...san. I wanted to talk..." At once the patient's head bobbed upwards, sending a shower of black hair cascading over his back. Over normal clothing he wore a very simple yukata with the seal of the hospital printed where a family crest would have been. The doctor entered the room, noticing the papers that Murasaki held clutched to his chest. "What are those?" he asked.
"Kifu." The patient had become much more animated recently, or at least whenever Go was mentioned. The doctor had been on his college Go team, so he knew how to read game records. Taking them from Murasaki, he scanned them quickly. The kifu were improvised on hospital stationary instead of the usual form, but seemed to be in order.
"You've won all of these? Against whom?" The play was impressive - an eleven and a half moku win over the former insei, despite playing against the five and a half moku penalty. But it was the shape of the arrangements of stones that convinced the doctor of Murasaki's skill. Such elegance of form, like a true artist...
"Ahhh... Akiyoshi-san, and Ooyama-san from the lunchroom, and Nurse Kimura... the last two were handicap games, though."
"Akiyoshi was an insei." Murasaki looked stricken, twisting the loose ends of his hair into a thick rope.
"I didn't know he would lock himself in the closet! I'm so sorry! I didn't know! Please forgive me!" The doctor merely waited for the long- haired man to finish a string of "gomen nasai."
"Do you think you could win against me?" Murasaki inclined his head slightly, his embarrassment forgotten.
"I don't know. Are you strong?"
"Amateur level, but my college team placed first a few years back." The patient became almost excited. The doctor was more than a little proud of his past success - he was still fairly young, and hadn't been out of school that long.
"Is that so?! But... I don't have a goban, or stones, or anything..."
"I took the liberty of bringing one up. An even game?" Murasaki nodded, his normally childish face taking on a shade of intensity. The doctor set the board on Murasaki's bed, since there wasn't anywhere else big enough. "Nigiri." They decided stone color, with the doctor taking white. For the next hour, there was only the sound of the plastic stones clicking on the plastic board, and the doctor's quickened breathing.
"I have nothing." The doctor looked up from studying his position on the board and shook his head. "You've won by at least six moku."
"Seven." Murasaki smiled gently. "It was a good game, doctor."
"It was more than good. It was like playing a Meijin. Now, I don't know who you are or where you learned to play Go like that, but I've made my decision." Murasaki paused in the act of drawing his improvised kifu on another sheet of hospital stationary.
"Decision?" The feminine face suddenly appeared distressed. "Did I do something wrong?" The doctor almost laughed.
"One of my friends from the old KyoDai Go team is overseeing an amateur match next week. It's a little sudden, but for someone with your skill... More importantly, as Nurse Kurumae mentioned to me, you were obviously a Go player of some strength. If you appeared again, someone might recognize you. This could be the link to returning your memories." Murasaki looked down at the plastic goban, allowing the shorter pieces of hair in the front to fall over his forehead. Suddenly, he looked up.
"Really? A Go tournament? Are the players very strong? What should I wear? Am I even allowed to go?" His fingers were twisted in the sheets, upsetting the goban in his anxiety. The doctor waved his hands quickly.
"I've long since determined that you are quite sane. There's no reason to keep you here other than the amnesia... which is itself a disturbing mystery, and one that I hope to solve." The doctor took off his glasses and cleaned them with the edge of his coat. "As for what you should wear, I don't know. I suppose I'll ask Ogata."
"Ogata?"
"Yes, my old college roommate and Go club friend. He's 10-Dan, now - quit school halfway through to devote himself to Go. I'm almost certain he'll make an exception to the registration date for a player like you. Is there a problem?"
"No, no! Nothing at all...!" Murasaki leapt up and began to flurry around the room in excitement. "Please thank Nurse Kurumae for me!"
"I will, I will."
Useful Japanese Section!
Akashi: title of Chapter 13 in "The Tale of Genji", literally translating to "light/realization" and "stone" Yukata: A lightweight cotton kimono Moku penalty: White gets 5 1/2 extra moku (territory points) as a penalty against back for going first. Gomen nasai: "Forgive me." Nigiri: literally "squeeze", a term for holding go stones in one hand and having the other person guess whether it is an odd or even number, as a way of deciding who gets Black and goes first. KyoDai: Kyoto Daigaku, or Kyoto University. A very prestigious school. Do they have a Go club? I don't know... but I think TouDai (Tokyo) does...
"Ah... Murasaki...san. I wanted to talk..." At once the patient's head bobbed upwards, sending a shower of black hair cascading over his back. Over normal clothing he wore a very simple yukata with the seal of the hospital printed where a family crest would have been. The doctor entered the room, noticing the papers that Murasaki held clutched to his chest. "What are those?" he asked.
"Kifu." The patient had become much more animated recently, or at least whenever Go was mentioned. The doctor had been on his college Go team, so he knew how to read game records. Taking them from Murasaki, he scanned them quickly. The kifu were improvised on hospital stationary instead of the usual form, but seemed to be in order.
"You've won all of these? Against whom?" The play was impressive - an eleven and a half moku win over the former insei, despite playing against the five and a half moku penalty. But it was the shape of the arrangements of stones that convinced the doctor of Murasaki's skill. Such elegance of form, like a true artist...
"Ahhh... Akiyoshi-san, and Ooyama-san from the lunchroom, and Nurse Kimura... the last two were handicap games, though."
"Akiyoshi was an insei." Murasaki looked stricken, twisting the loose ends of his hair into a thick rope.
"I didn't know he would lock himself in the closet! I'm so sorry! I didn't know! Please forgive me!" The doctor merely waited for the long- haired man to finish a string of "gomen nasai."
"Do you think you could win against me?" Murasaki inclined his head slightly, his embarrassment forgotten.
"I don't know. Are you strong?"
"Amateur level, but my college team placed first a few years back." The patient became almost excited. The doctor was more than a little proud of his past success - he was still fairly young, and hadn't been out of school that long.
"Is that so?! But... I don't have a goban, or stones, or anything..."
"I took the liberty of bringing one up. An even game?" Murasaki nodded, his normally childish face taking on a shade of intensity. The doctor set the board on Murasaki's bed, since there wasn't anywhere else big enough. "Nigiri." They decided stone color, with the doctor taking white. For the next hour, there was only the sound of the plastic stones clicking on the plastic board, and the doctor's quickened breathing.
"I have nothing." The doctor looked up from studying his position on the board and shook his head. "You've won by at least six moku."
"Seven." Murasaki smiled gently. "It was a good game, doctor."
"It was more than good. It was like playing a Meijin. Now, I don't know who you are or where you learned to play Go like that, but I've made my decision." Murasaki paused in the act of drawing his improvised kifu on another sheet of hospital stationary.
"Decision?" The feminine face suddenly appeared distressed. "Did I do something wrong?" The doctor almost laughed.
"One of my friends from the old KyoDai Go team is overseeing an amateur match next week. It's a little sudden, but for someone with your skill... More importantly, as Nurse Kurumae mentioned to me, you were obviously a Go player of some strength. If you appeared again, someone might recognize you. This could be the link to returning your memories." Murasaki looked down at the plastic goban, allowing the shorter pieces of hair in the front to fall over his forehead. Suddenly, he looked up.
"Really? A Go tournament? Are the players very strong? What should I wear? Am I even allowed to go?" His fingers were twisted in the sheets, upsetting the goban in his anxiety. The doctor waved his hands quickly.
"I've long since determined that you are quite sane. There's no reason to keep you here other than the amnesia... which is itself a disturbing mystery, and one that I hope to solve." The doctor took off his glasses and cleaned them with the edge of his coat. "As for what you should wear, I don't know. I suppose I'll ask Ogata."
"Ogata?"
"Yes, my old college roommate and Go club friend. He's 10-Dan, now - quit school halfway through to devote himself to Go. I'm almost certain he'll make an exception to the registration date for a player like you. Is there a problem?"
"No, no! Nothing at all...!" Murasaki leapt up and began to flurry around the room in excitement. "Please thank Nurse Kurumae for me!"
"I will, I will."
Useful Japanese Section!
Akashi: title of Chapter 13 in "The Tale of Genji", literally translating to "light/realization" and "stone" Yukata: A lightweight cotton kimono Moku penalty: White gets 5 1/2 extra moku (territory points) as a penalty against back for going first. Gomen nasai: "Forgive me." Nigiri: literally "squeeze", a term for holding go stones in one hand and having the other person guess whether it is an odd or even number, as a way of deciding who gets Black and goes first. KyoDai: Kyoto Daigaku, or Kyoto University. A very prestigious school. Do they have a Go club? I don't know... but I think TouDai (Tokyo) does...