[Soul of Chess] What if

After passing the Innoshima Bridge by bus, we finally arrived at Innoshima.

This is a beautiful, peaceful and peaceful island.

Here you can see rolling green and low peaks everywhere, and the island is surrounded by turquoise sea water.At this moment, the sea surface was quiet and looked like jasper.

The buildings on the island are very simple.The empty streets, blue-gray bricks and tiles, and log-built door panels, under the sunlight, reveal a faint sense of history, as if silently telling the past.

There is no hustle and bustle here.

There is only tranquility here, as if isolated from the world.

In many places on the island, large expanses of half-meter-high white flowers can be seen swaying in the wind.It is the city flower of Innoshima City - pyrethrum.

Pyrethrum, as the name suggests, is a species of Compositae.It was originally the main raw material for mosquito coils and insecticides. Later, with the advent of a large number of insecticide chemicals, the output of pyrethrum became smaller and smaller, and now it is mainly used for ornamental purposes.

The flower heads of pyrethrum are lemon-colored, surrounded by a circle of white tongue-shaped petals, which looks elegant and chic.These flowers are all over the mountains and plains. Looking from a distance, they are all white, like a dream, and they are too beautiful to behold.

Walk along the flat street for about 15 minutes according to the signs, and you will see the torii gate with Shimenawa hanging on it.

Hikaru looked at the travel guide in his hand that he got at Onomichi Station before. It turned out that this was the Ishikiri Shrine, and Xiu Ce's former residence was not far from the shrine.

The moment he saw the shrine, Aguang's originally chaotic thoughts calmed down.

After bowing slightly and saluting, he and his grandfather entered the shrine from the left side of the torii gate.

After Zuo arrived at Indo Island, although the expression on his face didn't change much, his eyes could not help showing a feeling of nostalgia, and it seemed that there was still a little sadness.

Seeing Hikari and the others enter the shrine, Zuowei hesitated for a moment, bowed slightly, and walked through the torii with his left foot.

This shrine is not big, but it is very beautiful, with a kind of isolation and tranquility.

Perhaps because it is located in Shusaku's hometown, there is also a chessboard-shaped pedestal in the shrine, on which there is a stone tablet engraved with the words "Honinbo Shusaku Monument".

Stepping on the path paved with stone slabs, Aguang and his party came near the worship hall of the shrine.

I saw a pair of Koma dogs in the shape of stone lions standing on both sides of the hall of worship.One of them opened their mouths and the other closed their mouths, as if they were reciting the Buddhist "Ah Hum" mantra.

After completing the cleansing process at the hand water house, Ah Guang quietly put the ladle back to its original position, and then came to the worship hall.

Ah Guang respectfully put the incense money into the incense box, and then rang the bell with both hands.

Like a pious believer, he bowed deeply to the worship hall twice, then opened his hands in front of his chest, and after clapping twice, he clapped his hands together and silently made a wish:

God, please tell me how I should proceed on the road ahead...

After that, he bowed deeply again, completing the worship.

Starting from Ishikiri Shrine, about 5 minutes later, I saw the building that said "Honinbo Shusaku Memorial Hall".

Finally...here we are.

Looking at the building not far away, Ah Guang took a deep breath.

The opening hours of the memorial hall are from 10 am to 5 pm, and the entrance fee is 300 yuan per person.However, students under middle school age are free.

It's a pity that Aguang is not on this list...

Therefore, he also has to pay~≥﹏≤

After paying the fee, Ah Guang and the others entered the memorial hall from the main entrance.

They changed their indoor shoes at the entrance first, and then came to Xiu Ce's showroom.

The glass cabinets in the exhibition room display many items from Xiu Ce's lifetime.However, Aguang was attracted by a chessboard the moment he walked in here.

The chessboard looks very similar to the chessboard in the warehouse of my grandfather's house. It should be made of Torreya wood, and it has been kept in good condition. I think the users will cherish it when they use it.At the bottom of the chessboard, there are also the words "Shenshikekefinally see the clear and no doubt" written neatly.

"Is this the chessboard used by Torajiro?" Hikaru couldn't help asking while lying in front of the window.

"Torajiro?" Grandpa repeated in puzzlement.

"That's Teacher Xiu Ce's baby name." The staff who followed them to the exhibition room explained, "Yes, that's the chessboard he played against his mother."

According to the staff, Xiu Ce and his mother love to use this chessboard all their lives.

However, the owner of this chessboard was originally Xiu Ce's mother.

Xiu Ce's mother's name is Gui, and she is also a person who knows Go, and she has been using this chess board before she got married.Later, when she married Xiu Ce's father, Kuwahara Rinzo, this chessboard was brought with her as a dowry.

When Xiu Ce was in the womb, she would often write notes on this chessboard as a pastime.

In the 12th year of Wenzheng, that is, in 1829, Xiu Ce was born.

Xiu Ce's childhood name was Hu Cilang, and he was the second son in the family.

When Torajiro was three or four years old, he would cry non-stop. It is said that as long as he was given Go pieces to play, he would stop crying, and then saw him playing with the pieces on the board in a decent manner.

When he was a child, Torajiro, like most children, was a little lively and active.Sometimes he did bad things, and his father, Kuwahara Rinzo, would lock him in a small room as punishment.

After being locked in the small room, Torajiro was still crying at first.However, it didn't take long for his crying to stop.My father was very surprised by this, so he went to the small room to take a look, and found that Torajiro was holding chess pieces and making notes on the chessboard.

Toranojiro's mother began to formally teach him Go when he was five years old, and the board he uses is the one currently on display.

It was also from then on that Torajiro has been using this chessboard.Even if he went to Edo after the age of nine, every time he returned to his hometown, he would definitely arrange the game records on this board again, or play games with his mother on this board.

"Then, are these words on the chessboard also written by Xiu Ce?" Even though he already had the answer in his heart, Ah Guang still pointed to the beautifully written words on the chessboard and asked.

"Yes. The words on it were written by Teacher Xiu Ce when he returned home for the last time."

"Homecoming for the last time?" Ah Guang opened his eyes wide in doubt.

"Since Mr. Xiu Ce went to Edo and entered Honinbo's house at the age of nine, he has only returned home four times. The characters on the chessboard were left on the chessboard when Mr. Xiu Ce returned home for the fourth time in the fourth year of Ansei, that is, in 4." The staff explained patiently.

Hikaru calculated in his heart, and when he left his handwriting on the chessboard, Hu Cirong was 29 years old.I remember hearing Zuowei say that Torari died at the age of 34.During this period of five years, why didn't Torano go back to his hometown?

And why did Torajiro only return home four times in the 20-odd years since he went to Edo at the age of nine until his death?

He then asked the question in his heart.

Seeing Aguang's bewildered expression, the gentle staff couldn't help laughing: "At that time, it was not easy to go back to my hometown."

It turns out that although the construction of road traffic in the Edo period was relatively complete, the whole journey from Innoshima to Edo was more than 900 kilometers after all.

Even for a strong man, it would take more than a month to travel day and night, not to mention that Xiu Ce is just a child.

And when you go out, you must carry your ID card with you.If you are a samurai, you can apply to the daimyo you belong to, and ordinary people usually ask the abbot of the temple or a local civil servant to issue it.In addition to the identity card, you must also apply for a "office" visa.

In addition, accommodation, transportation, and food on the way are also a lot of expenses.Although Xiu Ce's father, Kuwahara Renzo, was a grocer, and Xiu Ce's family was relatively well-off, they couldn't afford to spend at least ten taels of travel expenses each time.

In fact, all the expenses of Xiu Ce in Edo were not provided by his father, but paid by Tadaka Asano.

Who is Tadaka Asano?And why would he pay for Xiu Ce?

Tadaka Asano, the lord of Mihara Castle during the Edo period, was a powerful figure in Shusaku's hometown.The reason why he paid all of Xiu Ce's expenses was because he wanted to train Xiu Ce with the talents of the Asano family.

After Toranojiro started learning Go from his mother at the age of five, he once played a game against his father's chess friend, Takeshita Hashimoto, a wealthy businessman from Onomichi Port in the first stage.

Hashimoto discovered Toranojiro's ability to play Go during the game, so he began to instruct him on Go.

When Tiger Jiro was six years old, no one in the whole village could be his opponent, so he was called a child prodigy.

After hearing about the boy's deeds, the lord of Mihara Castle, Tadaka Asano, asked him to come and play chess in the 6th year of Tenpo (1835).

Mr. Asano invited a local Go player, Master Baozhen, the abbot of Hosenji Temple in Takehara, to play against the boy.

There is no way to verify the outcome of that round, but during the period, Baozhen frequently took a long test, and finally Toranojiro couldn't bear it anymore, so he went to the courtyard to play...

After that game, Toranojiro was summoned by Princess Asano of Mihara Gongjo, and given the surname Yasuda, and changed his name to Yasuda Eizai.

The Yasuda family has been the head of Miura Village for generations, so after changing his name, Toranojiro was treated as the son of the village head when he went to various occasions.

After entering Asano's home, he began to learn chess, Chinese and Confucian culture from Master Baozhen, the abbot of Baoquan Temple in Zhuyuan, and developed a gentle and refined character, respecting teachers and respecting morality.

In the 7th year of Tenpo (1836), Toranojiro visited Ito Matsujiro Godan at Onomichi Port.After Ito Matsujiro played against Toranojiro, he was shocked as a genius, and recommended Toranojiro to Motoinbo Jokazu in Edo the following year.

In the winter of the 8th year of Tempo (1837), nine-year-old Torajiro went to Edo on the recommendation of Mr. Asano, and entered the house of Honinbo to become the apprentice of the No.12 Honinbo Jokazu.

Thus, Toranojiro began his study at the Honinbo Dojo.

I didn't expect it to be so hard to travel far in the past.

Moreover, since it is used as the object of training, it must be the pursuit of art that is the most important thing.Even if the other party is willing to pay all the expenses, they can't just go back home... Aguang couldn't help feeling a little sympathetic to Torajiro.

The author has something to say:

Checked a lot of information, I hope there are not too many bugs...

In addition, Toranojiro in history is really a good man! (T▽T)

Zuowei: Mmmmm!Yes, yes, Toranojiro is very nice! (*^_^*)

Ah Guang (furious): Am I not good? !