Word of the Day
shōgi
Shōgi
Japanese
Japanese/ʃoːɡi/English/ˈʃoʊɡi/
“Shogi — Japanese chess — means 'generals' game' (将棋: shō = general, gi = game/pieces). Captured pieces switch sides and fight for their captor — a rule with no equivalent in Western chess that changes the game's entire character.”
Japanese shō (将) meant a general or commander; gi (棋) meant a board game with pieces. Shogi means 'the game of generals.' The game descended from Indian chaturanga, the ancestor of chess, through the Silk Road transmission that produced Persian shatranj, Arabic chess, and eventually European chess. A Japanese variant appears in records from the 12th century; the modern rules with the captured-piece reuse rule were established by the 16th century.
4 stops · from India to Tokyo