Shōgi Zatsuwa (将棋雑話 or “Shogi Chatter”) is like a fun “shogi story-time” book. It’s a set of short essays by Kōda Rohan, a famous Japanese writer. Instead of teaching you exact moves, he chats about shogi’s world: why one king piece says 王 and the other says 玉, famous players from the past, wild match stories, different kinds of shogi, and even the “official” size of the board. It feels a bit like reading old-school trivia mixed with gossip from the shogi club. (more…)