Amazon army

[pajaro]

In the Nakamura Sumire thread, there was a message about the Amazon army (https://www.lifein19x19.com/viewtopic.p ... 65#p264565), with general Fujisawa and bugler Nakamura.

They are not the only female players doing well, of course. Xie Yimin just got in Kisei C league, and Ueno Asami, Rina Fujisawa and Sumire Nakamura are only one game away from getting a seat too. That would be big news. Not only them, there are several more new young players that could do interesting things in the near future. Actually, when it comes to veteran players, you see that there are more men than women with still things to say. Suzuki Ayumi and perhaps Mukai Chiaki are still doing well, but other than them... I guess that in today's Japan, being a father or a mother still makes a big difference. Now that Iyama has become a father, we'll see.

Just one more thought in this first message: I find it surprising how many female players are related to other pros. Daughters, grandaughters, sisters... it's like the environment plays a huge role in becoming a pro. It must be true for some men too (Hane family comes to mind), but not so many. I wonder how much talent must be hidding.

Anyway, I thought that having this thread to comment their performance might be nice.
Bets on "first 9p", "first to enter a league", "first to get a big title" are welcome too

[bogiesan]

I wonder if there is a more appropriate cultural referent to female warriors, available in any Asian mythology, besides the Amazons, daughters of Ares, led by Hippolyte?

[pajaro]

I don't know about female heroes/warriors in Japanese culture, so for the time being, Amazons it is.

Rina Fujisawa won her game against Matsumoto Takehisha 8p and won a seat in the Kisei C league. A first time for her.

[John Fairbairn]

I don't know about female heroes/warriors in Japanese culture, so for the time being, Amazons it is.

There are plenty of examples, going back even a couple of millennia almost to the onna bugeisha. But the moas famous are the females ninjas, the ku-no-ichi which relates to the three strokes in the word for female 女, so the Japanese can maybe claim to have the first company logo. This merry band were somewhat mythical, under a female Robin Hood kind of figure, Mochizuki Chiyo, but I don't regard them as a suitable outfit as they were basically sex workers.

In any case, when I introduced the analogy of Amazons, I did not have it in mind to restrict it to Japanese women, or even to Asian women. If a western female could join the band I'd be very happy.

It's just that Japanese women seem to be leading the way at the moment.

[John Fairbairn]

Ueno Asami has made a further advance for the Amazons. She has won one of Japan's six qualification places for the 8th Globis Cup, and international event for players up to age 20.

The other qualifiers are Miura Taro (vanquisher of Sumire), Otake Yu, Hirose Yuichi, Fukuoka Kotaro and I Ryo.

It might also be of interest to note that in an internet team tournament for study groups within the Nihon Ki-in, the winning team was called the AI Study Group and featured two women in its five-member team: Nyu Eiko and Ueno Risa. They both scored 2-3 and so had to be bolstered by their male colleagues, but the competition was up to 9-dan level. Furthermore, the one other woman playing, Kato Chie, was the star performer in her team, scoring 4-1.

[pajaro]

It is nice to see that there are more players picking wins here and there. I have been checking the results of the Globis Cup in the past and the result for Japanese players... are not good. Sadly, that can be said about international titles, overall. So seeing how younger players do might be useful if there is some real change. According to Ueno Asami, after the Senko Cup, "they are not too far away". We'll see.

On the other hand, Ueno lost her last qualifying game for the kisei C league. Just by half point. The game was really close, with a big yose ko and another half point ko. I thought that the more experienced player would win in the end. The winner was Fukuoka Kotaro 2p, who set a new record for younger player in the league. This record might be beaten in a few days (or even, in a few years) by Sumire.

[bogiesan]

I don't know about female heroes/warriors in Japanese culture, so for the time being, Amazons it is.

There are plenty of examples, going back even a couple of millennia almost to the onna bugeisha. But the moas,

Perfect, “The Moas”.

[John Fairbairn]

Fujisawa Rina has just (6 May 2921) won her way into the main body, the final 16, of the Agon-Kiriyama Cup. She is the first woman to get this far in this event. She beat no less than O Meien to secure her place, and so clearly does not need to fear anyone in the coming games.

[pajaro]

Let's hope she can win games for many years, but in 2921... we don't want to ask for so much!
This Agon-Kiriyama Cup was unknown to me. Other than the winner of the tournament is the winner of the cup, and not the challenger to the current champion, it is like Oza. So a great achivement, all opponents are heavy weights.

Sumire Nakamura won today her last game in the qualifying tournament for the Kisei, so she will join Xie Yimin and Fujisawa Rina in the C league.

[pajaro]

Female Honinbo goes on. Today, Sumire Nakamura 2p beat Eiko Nyu 3p (I think Eiko is first name) by 1.5 points in the second round, so she makes it to the third round. Next, is the winner between Ueno Risa 1p and Koyama Terumi 6p.

The game was close, and I think Eiko had a pretty good chance to win it. Sumire is doing very well, of course. But according to gotoeveryone, Eiko's record this year was 18 wins/8 loses before today, which is the 3rd best record. She is not making so much fuss, but she is worth keeping an eye too.

Momentum is important, and perhaps Sumire's winning streak played a big role today.

[John Fairbairn]

Eiko Nyu 3p (I think Eiko is first name)

No, Nyu is her first name, her surname. And it is now official policy in Japan to put the surname first even when writing the name in our letters. Americans please, note. She is Michael Redmond's niece, incidentally, and despite her Chinese heritage she was born in Japan. She's 22 in three days' time, on 12 May, if you want to send birthday greetings. She will then be 22. She's been a pro since 2015. Despite not quite hitting the headlines she has had a couple of runner-up places in major women's events. And so, yes, it's certainly worth keeping an eye on her. A lieutenant stiil but not quite a captain in our Army? Sumire may be training for Special Forces?

[pajaro]

Eiko Nyu 3p (I think Eiko is first name)

No, Nyu is her first name, her surname. And it is now official policy in Japan to put the surname first even when writing the name in our letters.

Perhaps this was a bit confusing from my side. So just to make things clear:
I am Spanish. We don't say the expressions "first name/second name/family name". We use name + 2 surnames. So when I said "first name", I meant the name given to her, not the family name (surname).
I read her name in Japanese is 牛栄子 (Nyu Eiko). They write Nyu first and Eiko second. That's what I meant with "Eiko is first name". Maybe I didn't choose the proper words. That said, it is good to know that even when using the alphabet, names will be written the Japanese way. Some players are known by the whole name, or name, or surname, and sometimes I get lost about what is it.

Back to Nyu and Sumire: they are going to play again in the Tachioi Cup. I bet it will be a close game again.

[pajaro]

In the female Honinbo, Suzuki Ayumi 7p beat Yashiro Kumiko 6p. An internal affair in the army...

The tournament has a few more games at sight. Soon, Ueno Risa 1p vs. Koyama Terumi 6p.

[pajaro]

Last news (I might have missed some, of course):

- Sumire ended her winning streak, in the Meijin, after 13 wins.
- Ueno Asami advanced another round in the ShinJin O. Now she is going to play the semifinal against Nishi Takenobu 5p. That's one game. The final is a best of three match.
- Worse luck for the other Ueno, Risa, who lost in the female Honinbo against Koyama Terumi 6p. Koyama will be Sumire's next rival.
- And last but not least... I am not sure because I can't find the twit now, but the army might have a new powerful member. Hibiki Mishima 1p from the Kansai Kiin made her debut, beating a 9p. I read it but I can't find it

[John Fairbairn]

Hibiki Mishima 1p from the Kansai Kiin made her debut, beating a 9p. I read it but I can't find it

Mishima Hibiki became a new 1-DAN at age 18 in April. She beat Ota Seido 9-DAN in the Tengen Prelims on 19 May. Ota is 73.

Hibiki is from Okayama Prefecture, which is known for producing very few pros - mainly because it has a small population, of course. She may even be the first female pro from that Prefecture. We can at least give her a medal for that. On the other hand, if she hadn't made it as go pro, her aim would have been to become a perfumier. Does that work well in the army?