Ningen Shogi or Human Chess | Interpreter and tour guide of Yamagata

Ningen Shogi or Human Chess

Ningen Shogi

Tendo is a quiet city located in Yamagata, in the northern part of Honshu, Japan. It takes about 3 hours from Tokyo Station by the Yamagata Shinkansen Line.

In this city, an event called "Ningen Shogi" is held at the top of Mt. Maizuru, which is located in the middle of the city. In Japanese, "ningen" means human and "shogi" is the word for Japanese chess.

A giant board is set on the top of the mountain. Forty people, who are volunteers and local high school students, play the role of chess pieces dressed in samurai costumes. The life sized shogi pieces move on the board according to the command of the professional shogi players.

Several professional shogi players are invited for this event. Two players play the shogi game, directing the pieces which way to move, while three commentators discuss the move, using a smaller shogi board.

Most of the audience watches the human chess game, but some ardent shogi fans watch the smaller shogi board and listen to the commentary. There is a unique rule in ningen shogi, where the players have to move every piece at least once. This rule makes the match difficult, even for professional players.

This event is held on Saturday and Sunday in late April every year. There are about 2000 cherry trees in Mt Maizuru, making it a wonderful event as the cherry blossoms are in full bloom during this time.


Ningen Shogi

Ningen Shogi

Ningen Shogi

Ningen Shogi