Minoru Kitani (木谷 実,Kitani Minoru; January 25, 1909 – December 19, 1975) was one of the most celebrated professionalGo players and teachers of thegame of Go in the twentieth century inJapan.

He earned the nickname "the Prodigy" after winning a knockout tournament. He defeated eight opponents from the Kiseisha in a row during 1928. He played a celebrated match with then retiringHoninbō Shūsai. TheNobel Prize winning authorKawabata Yasunari used this game in his novel "The Master of Go". In 1954 he suffered acerebral hemorrhage, but soon recovered. His condition came back in 1964, after which he retired from professional play. He was given the Okura Prize in 1967.

Segoe Kensaku, a friend and rival of Kitani, nicknamed him "the Great Kitani" due to his extraneous efforts relating to Go.

Kitani was a young prodigy who quickly attracted attention after the founding, in 1924, of theNihon Ki-in. He became a great rival and friend ofGo Seigen after the latter was brought toJapan fromChina.

Go and Kitani were the vanguard of theShinfuseki or "New Opening" theory, a period roughly 1933-6 which saw great innovations inGo opening theory.

In 1939, Go Seigen and Kitani played in theKamakura jubango, the most celebrated jubango of the century. It ended in Go Seigen's decisive victory. Kitani's career never quite recovered; he was also hampered by bad health, in the form of a heart condition. He was later noted for a style of spectacular idiosyncrasy, with great emphasis on secure territory.

Go and Kitani later lived only few minutes apart by walk, and Go Seigen's daughters studied Go in Kitani Dojo's amateur branch for children. Kitani had his stroke when he was chatting with Go. Kitani died six months after.

Izumi Kobayashi, Kitani's granddaughter and a top female Go player, marriedCho U, the student of Go's studentRin Kaiho.

Kitani was subsequently noted as the most prolific teacher ever of future professional players. TheKitani dojo, which began to flourish after 1945 in the Kitani house in the countryside, was in practical terms run by his wife, produced a whole generation of top players who would dominate Japanese go from the early 1970s to mid-1990s. His own daughterReiko (1939–1996) reached 6 dan and won the All-Japan Women's Championship several times,^[1] and married one of his best students,Koichi Kobayashi. Their child,Izumi Kobayashi, Kitani's granddaughter, is now one of Japan's current leading female players. At the time of his death, he had taught over 60 students, 40 of whom went on to become professionals. The totaldan rank of all his students add up to over 250.^{[citation needed]}

Title	Years Held
Current	1
NHK Cup	1960
Defunct	2
Asashi Top Position	1957, 1958

Title	Years Lost
Current	5
Honinbo	1947, 1953, 1959
NHK Cup	1958, 1961
Defunct	3
NHK Championship	1958
Asashi Top Position	1959
Igo Senshuken	1958

• Broken Link:Interview with Tsuchida
• alternative location Tsuchida/Kitani article
• Gobase page on Kitani Minoru
• Sensei’s Library on Kitani Minoru
• Sensei’s Library on the Kitani dojo

• 1909 births
• 1975 deaths
• Sportspeople from Kobe
• Japanese Go players

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