Transition

The Master of Go takes place in Japan in 1938, at a time when Japan is at war with China and on the eve of World War II. It is becoming a strong and modern nation. Otake, a man of 30 who is among a new generation of strong professional go players, is of this modern generation. Shusai, the Master, is of an earlier era.

The Master is born in the late-19th century in what is known as the Meiji period, named after the Japanese emperor who brought sweeping changes to the Japanese government at that time. Kawabata portrays the Master as a kind of living fossil from this earlier time when there was still great deference paid to the noble class. In Chapter 14, Uragami describes watching the Master leave the go table during a break in play. "In that figure walking absently from the game there was the...