Go in Popular Culture

Go has been mentioned in many novels and short stories published in the Orient, and occasionally turns up in Western media as well. The game of Go plays a part in the American TV miniseries, 'Wild Palms' which references a piece of computer technology called a "Go chip."

Go figures prominently in the introduction of Nikita to the mysterious character of Jurgen during an important character arc in the television series 'La Femme Nikita'.

The game also appeared, unexpectedly, in an episode of 'Star Trek: Enterprise' entitled "The Cogenitor" in which it was revealed that Charles Tucker plays the game. In another Gene Roddenberry show, 'Andromeda', Dylan Hunt and Gaheris Rhade both play a futuristic version of the game, apparently on three boards at once.

During episode 15 of season 3 of the television show '24', several scenes took place in an underground Chinese go club uncharacteristically populated by beautiful women. The characters even called it a "go club".

The film 'Pi' had a running go game between Max Cohen and his math mentor.

'Hikaru no Go' is a manga and anime series, in which a boy is taught to play Go by the spirit of an ancient Go player. At the end of each episode in the original anime, there is a short segment of approximately three minutes where a simple concept of Go is taught. Through the first few episodes, a new player can be taught the concepts of the game in a very simple and easy to understand format. This segment appears to be mainly geared towards children.

In 1951, Nobel prize-winning author Yasunari Kawabata published 'The Master of Go', a short novel based upon an epic game that took place over the course of several months in 1938. An English translation appeared in 1972, around the time of Kawabata's death. Go also features (as "Wei-ch'i") as a favourite pastime of and philosophical inspiration for the archvillan Howard Devore in the 'Chung Kuo' novels by David Wingrove.

Go is featured in the cold war thriller, 'Shibumi' by Trevanian. The central character spends his adolescence studying the game under a master, and the major chapters of the book reflect Go strategies.

One popular Chinese/Japanese movie is 'Mikan no taikyoku' (1982) aka 'The Go Masters'. The film depicts the time period when the Japanese army invaded China. The story begins when a Japanese Army Captain forces a famous Chinese Go player to play at a Go match. Due to resentment of the invasion, the Chinese player cuts off the finger that is used to hold Go stones. The story ends at a post-war time, where both the Japanese Captain and the Chinese Go player meet and play a peaceful game.

Shan Sa, a Chinese writer who lives in France, wrote 'La Joueuse de Go', where a Chinese girl plays Go with a Japanese soldier and wins, although they are both extremely strong players.

Go was depicted in the films 'Heaven Knows', 'Mr. Allison', 'A Beautiful Mind', 'Pi', 'Rest...