I like to think I am careful in my judgments, and, therefore, rarely wrong - at least away from the go board. But one of my greatest misjudgments was Yoshi Sawada.

When I ran the US Go Congress in 2001, I was vigilant in keeping costs down and trying to pass those savings on to my guests. I was particularly frugal with comps - fighting the AGA to limit them, and even charging myself for room and board.

And so when the powers that be insisted that Yoshi Sawada be comped, I balked. I mean, he was just a translator, I had several Japanese speaking people on my team, I disagreed strongly with the expense.

Fortunately, this was a battle I lost. By the end of the Congress, I came to realize that Yoshi was so much more than a Japanese translator, he was a tireless worker who spent every waking hour (and I am not quite sure there were any sleeping hours) making sure my Congress was the best that he could make it.

What made him so special? Any of us who attended his lectures know. Note I said his lectures. To call them Nakayama's, or Maeda's or Takemiya's is really unfair. It was the Yoshi Show, and I wish I could watch them in reruns forever.

Quite frankly, I am not sure how strong a go player he was. He was always reaching out to strong players in the room to make sure he was getting things right. I would even jokingly say I am not sure how strong his Japanese was - because clearly the length and breadth of what he said bore little resemblence to the amount of words that seemed to come out of the pro's mouth - when Yoshi gave them a chance to speak.

No, I would say that Yoshi did not speak Go, he did not speak Japanese.

Yoshi spoke Pro.

He knew what a pro wanted to say, even if he did not say it. He knew how to take the most reserved pro, and bring him out of himself and make everything so entertaining and accessable - not just to the strong, not just to the weak, but to everyone, spouses and nonplayers included.

And he took care of them, made sure they were happy and entertained. If a pro had an issue with the way things were being done, we would never know if it were not for Yoshi. He knew, and he let us know. He lived his life like he played poker - he always made sure there was action.

The Congress gets harder every year for many of us, whose eyes glaze over new faces, looking for the old friends who will never return. In 2005, we lost the future in Greg Lefler. In 2009 we lost so much promise in Jin Chen and Landon Brownell. Last year we lost the personification of the soul of the Congress in Nakayama.

And now we have lost the laughter.

winter's last cruel chill
shadows a most joyous light
august's laughter dies

_________________
My days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle

It's very sad. He was indeed a very fun person to be around and from what I've seen at Go Congresses, he was a key part in making possible for Japanese pros, amateurs, and non-players to continue to come to the U.S. and have fun. RIP, Yoshi. (BTW, it's the least relevant thing, but I'm pretty sure he said he used to play AGA 5d even at one point. Time and tide wait for no man.)

I remember how impressed I was with his handling of the visiting professional players. He was even comfortable assisting them with lectures in front of the assembled crowd. More than that, he seemed to me like a really nice, kind, amusing, and genuine person, I'm sure he'll be missed.

I will certainly miss him. I did not know Yoshi personally and only saw him a few times, but I was a fan. He was much more than a translator, he was an important part of the lecture. He was able to bring high concept Go subjects down to where the lowest amateur could understand them all the while making the audience and the pro he was working with laugh. I am very sad that the "Yoshi Show" has come to an end.

I've never met, seen, or heard of Yoshi but the tribute sure makes we wish I had.

Yoshi was one of my favorite people at congress, and certainly the best person to have speaking at any pro lecture. He would add so much into what the pro was saying. Maeda would talk for a second or two, and Yoshi would translate it as a 5 minute speach. He had so much personality and was one of those people who was fun all of the time. He was extremely humble, and respectful of everyone.

I had a particularly awesome relationship with him because I got the opportunity to transcribe many of his lecture translations with pro commentary and variations of live games at the last four us go congresses.



The photo above was taken in Portland, Oregon at the 2008 US Go Congress. You can see in the photo two games on the screen in the background, one of which is the live game going on, and the other is the same as the board you see Yoshi and Maeda standing by. I would type in everything Yoshi would say, which often led to some funny situations. I was typing to a live group of people on KGS, and would often relay the jokes Yoshi made, sometimes too quickly, before he had a chance to edit the words he used. This photo is showing one of the times Yoshi said something that he didn't want retyped onto the internet, and was telling me not to write what he had just said. If someone could find that particular game with commentary and post it here, it would be great. Maybe on USGO10 on kgs, or one of the other USGO accounts.

He loved to tell stories, stay up very late, and loved to laugh. Aside from hanging out with him late at night, and during lectures, yoshi was often in the e-journal room hanging out with vash3g, me, akane, chris, and the other todd. He would help with interviews of the pros, and just be so much fun to hang around. Maeda's workshops were particularly awesome because of the envorinment created by Yoshi. He added so much to any conversation, workshop or event. Go congress will not be the same without him.

Yoshi Sawada, you will be missed.

I was stunned by the announcement in the EJ. Yoshi seemed in perfect health this past summer. He was always so full of life, and brought joy and laughter to everyone. I can't imagine what a Maeda lecture will even be like without Yoshi, no one could possibly take his place. Deaths like this remind me of the fragility of life, we never know when we will be taken. Some people last into their hundreds, and others are snatched away in their prime. What a loss this must be for Yoshi's family, and of course, for all of us too.

I didn't get the opportunity to talk to Yoshi too much in my go congresses but it's almost impossible not to notice his presence and participation in the go community. I particularly remember him translating Maeda's commentary for I believe it was one of the Ing Cup matches during the Lightning night and he was definitely very interesting to listen to.

I missed my flight during this particular congress but I had to pleasure of talking to Yoshi at the airport while I was waiting for (an entire day...) my flight. Very nice person... It's really sad that we've lost some great people in the go community including some of my personal friends in recent years. Rest in peace Yoshi and thanks for making this post Keith.

Thanks for posting your words Keith. Yoshi was a great friend to the Congress and the AGA and will be dearly missed.

Paul Celmer
Co-Director 2006 Go Congress in Black Mountain, North Carolina.

I also have to add that I will miss Yoshi very much. He was one of my favorite people at the Congress for many years. He was a great showman, and he used his talent to express his love for go, and for the people who play go. He was a tennis pro, but I never saw him on the courts. He was busy with the game he loved even more.