Here's one to cheer up the oldies.

It has been revealed that Hara Setsuko, 91 this year (2011), has spent much of her late years studying go and has reached 3-dan.

She was once ultra-famous in Japan as a goddess of the silver-screen. Even if her name is probably mostly unknown here, there's a good chance people will have seen Tokyo Story, or other early fifties films by the director Ozu Yasujiro she was especially associated with. Hara quit movies at about 42 when Ozu died and has done a Greta Garbo act ever since.

But, apparently, in her lates sixties she took up go and studied with former Women's Honinbo Honda Sachiko 7-dan, who at least will be well known to American go players of a certain age. She's now 80 and has been playing Hara twice a week for over 20 years.

I have no idea what brought about this revelation, and I'm curious. It's quite at odds with the rather sad and sometimes sour image of her late years usually conveyed.

Anyway, that means a trip to the DVD shop this weekend!

Excellent. Thanks, John.

Good! There's still hope that I can reach 3 dan by that age. Only 52 more years to do it....