Ketsurui Ju Ban Shobu (P+D)

[Machine Translation] This is a unique diary of Hitomi Yamaguchi, who was one of the most popular chess players in the literary world, in 1972, when she challenged to a serious game "Juban-sho" with leading chess players such as Yasuharu Oyama, a giant star in the world of chess, Makoto Nakahara, Kunio Yonenaga, and others. The book is written in a witty and stylish style, but it is also a good read even if you are not familiar with Shogi, as it describes the charm of professionals and the joys and sorrows of men in the world of Shogi. The "tears of blood" is not an exaggeration, but a "serious game" in which he had to eat steak, call a masseuse, drink alcohol, take stomach medicine and anti-diarrhea medicine, and so on, all in order to win. It was truly a tearful "serious battle. The book also includes an afterword by Akihiro Miyata, the editor in charge of the book.

文壇きっての愛棋家であった山口瞳が、斯界の巨星・大山康晴から中原誠、米長邦雄ら第一線棋士との真剣対局“十番勝負”に挑んだ1972年のユニークな自戦記。軽妙洒脱な文章で綴られながらも、将棋の世に観る棋士の魅力と、男の哀歓を描いて将棋を知らずとも読み応え充分。「血涙」は大げさではなく、総ては勝つためと、ステーキは食うは、マッサージ師を呼ぶは、酒は飲むは、挙げ句胃腸薬を飲んで下痢止めを飲んで身体は七転八倒―のまさに涙ぐましいほどの“真剣勝負”であった。担当編集・宮田昭宏氏のあとがきも収録。