One thing I like to stress whenever asked about go - as for example in a recent BBC interview - is that for go players the game really is a game of coexistence.

Every so often we hear of the outrage of the Chinese government when a Japanese politician visits the Yasukuni Shrine, or of an incident between the forces of North and South Korea. Without in any way belittling the genuine justification for the outrage or the dangers involved, it does seem to me (as someone who used to be involved professionally) that such disputes are acerbated by politicians, diplomats, soldiers and journalists for selfish motives. What we hear little of are the very many cases when ordinary people of the countries concerned come together and respect each other.

In almost every year that the Yasukuni Shrine controversy blows up, for example, there are barely reported go Japan-China exchanges between schoolchildren, college students, amateurs or pros, or even groups such as writers. The same applies with old foes Japan and Korea. And how often has it registered that South Korea pros have played in North Korea? I am also struck by the fact that the Chinese in particular regularly report the current go Japanese scene in a respectful way that certain western readers might usefully ponder.

There is now another excellent example of the way go can spread friendship. A "Fujisawa Hideyuki Room" was opened on 24 April 2010 in Beijing to mark the first anniversary of the death of the great Japanese pro who, despite great criticism from some quarters in Japan, spent a lot of time helping the Chinese pros to reach the level of the Japanese. He has long been revered in Chinese go circles and the new room is no gimmick, but a logical step from that. It is a small step, perhaps. In fact it appears to be a room just in the headquarters of the magazine "Weiqi Tiandi", but the Chinese Weiqi Association has extremely close links with senior government figures, so we may safely assume it is imbued with genuine, and positive, significance.

Also marking the anniversary, Fujisawa's widow Moto, who is the real Go Saint, has just appeared on NHK radio in Japan, and so mercifully seems to have overcome her recent illness.

(Some newer readers may wish to look at the New In Go piece marking Fujisawa's death last year - http://www.gogod.co.uk/NewInGo/NewInGo.htm Item #72)

Incredible, it just seemed like yesterday I heard of the news. Would you or any readers have pictures of the Fujisawa Hideyuki room in Beijing by any chance?

If it is indeed in the Weiqi Tiandi magazine club, then it is likely the room in my photos below (those are just thumbnails, click to see the whole photo), since this was the only other room in the club besides the main playing area and a little store room. It seems to have the Japanese aesthetic



These photos were taken last summer. (I know the room was only opened on April 24, 2010, but my guess is they just renamed and repurposed one of the existing rooms, because the Wei'qi Tian'di is located in the second floor of a department-store-esque building. Not really much room for full-on expansion...)

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The road to wisdom? Well, it's plain, and simple to express: Err, and err, and err again; but less, and less, and less!