Probably because they have Shogi, which is also fun to play. They also like Go, which I hate. Absolutely love Mahjong, though. (Thanks Yakuza series!)
My son says the same -- he played through some of the Yakuza games and now he wants a mahjong set.
Why isn't chess popular in Japan?
31–40 of 119 posts
Re: Why isn't chess popular in Japan?
#32It's because Go is a much better game. Shogi is inferior though to Chess because it takes too long to play with the pieces being returnable.
It is painful to spend long time chasing in chess after a few pieces in the endgame.
By that logic Xiangqi would be the best because the king is least mobile and so there's basically no chasing.
Re: Why isn't chess popular in Japan?
#33It's because Go is a much better game. Shogi is inferior though to Chess because it takes too long to play with the pieces being returnable.
Drops increase the complexity of the game.
Re: Why isn't chess popular in Japan?
#34For those interested in playing and learning Shogi, take a look over at the great site https://lishogi.org -- a fork of LiChess for Shogi that includes real-time and correspondence play, AI opponents, analysis, puzzles and more. One of my favorite variants, Kyoto Shogi, is also available. The website https://pychess.org also has a ton of interesting and unique variants both traditional (Makruk) and modern (Chennis!).
81dojo and Shogi club 24 are where most people play.
Re: Why isn't chess popular in Japan?
#35One thing that kinda sucks in Tokyo in particular is a dearth of just chill public spaces. I think Go and Shogi both benefit from incumbent status, with club spaces and the like existing. Chess meetups right now seem to be relegated to city community spaces (glad they exist!). But I was real jealous when I was in Brisbane for a bit and visisted a chess meetup that was just happening in a cafe. Also saw some kids play…
There's an abundance of chill public spaces in Tokyo! So many cool parks, public rooftop spaces, and so on. I think it's just cause chess isn't popular.
The emphasis here is on chill, those are all outdoor spaces and Tokyo gets quite cold during the winter
Re: Why isn't chess popular in Japan?
#36Chess Shogi Go Board Size 8x8 9x9 19x19 Branching Factor 35 92 250 Complexity 10^123 10^226 10^360
How were these numbers arrived at?
Re: Why isn't chess popular in Japan?
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's an abundance of chill public spaces in Tokyo! So many cool parks, public rooftop spaces, and so on. I think it's just cause chess isn't popular.
The emphasis here is on chill, those are all outdoor spaces and Tokyo gets quite cold during the winter
Is that true? According to Wikipedia:
> The coolest month is January, averaging 5.4 °C
Doesn’t sound very cold to me. If anything, I’ve only heard complaints about how hot it often is in Tokyo (and most of Japan, except Hokkaido).
Re: Why isn't chess popular in Japan?
#38cos shogi
Re: Why isn't chess popular in Japan?
#39They play shogi, go, and riichi mahjong
Is riichi mahjong even that popular?
At least in my circles it is common that people play or have played, especially males. I myself play on average two tables or so per day online. Although I certainly should force myself to read up a bit more on strategy.
Re: Why isn't chess popular in Japan?
#40One thing that kinda sucks in Tokyo in particular is a dearth of just chill public spaces. I think Go and Shogi both benefit from incumbent status, with club spaces and the like existing. Chess meetups right now seem to be relegated to city community spaces (glad they exist!). But I was real jealous when I was in Brisbane for a bit and visisted a chess meetup that was just happening in a cafe. Also saw some kids play…
The concept is called third place and I think it's super beneficial to any city https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_place