"Verbalization" is the Keyword to Convey the Charm of Go. High School Student Wishing for the Spread of the Go World Conducts an Interview with the Editor in Charge of Go Books.

On Tuesday, March 31, 2026, an interview project was conducted with Mizuki Kitamoto, a second-year high school student at Osaka International Junior and Senior High School, and Daichi Morishita, the editor in charge of Go books. Kitamoto, who has experience participating in the National High School Go Championship, is interested in the popularization of the Go world and made an offer to Morishita, the editor in charge of Go books, which led to the realization of this project. They discussed what they keep in mind when producing Go books and what elements are necessary for the popularization of the Go industry.

The Path of Go Popularization Activities Tackled by a High School Student with National Tournament Experience In her first year of high school, Kitamoto placed second in the 49th Osaka Prefectural High School Go Championship, participated in the 49th National High School Go Championship, and finished fourth in the 14th Kinki High School Go Championship. She is also scheduled to participate in the Go division of the 50th National High School General Culture Festival to be held in Akita Prefecture in July 2026.

Kitamoto started playing Go only two years ago, inspired by an elective class in junior high school. At Osaka International Junior and Senior High School, they offer classes taught by Masahiro Furya 5-dan, who is very active in student guidance. Kitamoto says that as she received guidance from Furya 5-dan, she began to feel, "I want more people to know about how interesting Go is." She is currently considering local revitalization initiatives to help young children and the younger generation discover the charm of Go.

Therefore, she requested to be taught from the perspective of an editor who delivers Go books to many people, such as "What kind of efforts can be made in local revitalization initiatives to convey the charm of Go?", leading to the realization of this project.

"Verbalization" that is Understandable to People Outside the Industry is a Step Towards Popularization. During the interview, Kitamoto asked questions such as "What measures can be taken to encourage Go beginners to continue playing the game?" and "What can be done to ensure that participants in Go events come back?"

Morishita, who is in charge of Go books, replied, "To encourage beginners to continue playing Go casually, it's important to be approachable and not too difficult. In our books, we make them easier to read by incorporating photos and illustrations." Kitamoto, who serves as the president of the Go club, explained that when instructing club members, she uses analogies to familiar things like traffic lights, saying things like, "This situation is like a yellow light because it's surrounded by two stones," as a way to convey the rules.

Furthermore, in recent years, there has been an increase in entertainment works dealing with the world of Go, such as "Hikaru no Go" (Manga: Takeshi Obata, Original: Yumi Hotta / Shueisha) and "Go and Go" (Manga: Haruna Nakasato, Original: Touto Hasuo / Kodansha). From this, an idea emerged: it would be good to explain from the unique perspective of someone who plays Go, "Why was the protagonist surprised in this scene?" or "What is so amazing about this scene?"

For those who don't play Go, it can be difficult to convey the significance of the rank system or title matches. Therefore, they expressed a desire to make efforts to clearly communicate to people who don't play Go that "this person holding this rank is amazing."

Aiming for National Tournament Victory! Expectations for Achievements Beyond School Frameworks Kitamoto currently holds an amateur 6-dan rank. Although she is studying for her next promotion, she has been struggling to make progress. Morishita advised her, "To improve your strategic overview as a high-dan player, studying old game records is effective. To become stronger in local battles, reading books on tactical sequences is recommended." Kitamoto had already been dedicating time to practice, including participating in a Go training camp held in Korea for a week with participants from Japan, China, and Korea, but she was taking notes enthusiastically, thinking, "Studying old game records might have been an oversight."

When asked about her future goals, Kitamoto stated, "I aim to win the National High School Go Championship." Furthermore, she added, "I want to continue my Go popularization activities even after entering university."

Our company will support the popularization activities and local revitalization initiatives of promising high school students.

Supporting the Challenges of the Younger Generation as a Publishing Company Mynavi Publishing Inc., guided by its management philosophy "Drawing your tomorrow together through knowledge, learning, experience, and business," goes beyond traditional books and information dissemination to provide hands-on learning experiences and opportunities for communication among readers. We strongly desire to provide new values and experiences to young people who will shape the future, and hope they will use them as a foundation. As part of this initiative, on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, we held a special lecture on "verbalization" at Osaka International Junior and Senior High School, with literary critic Kaho Miyake as the special lecturer. A video of the school's "entire library" was also released on Kaho Miyake's official YouTube channel. Through such initiatives, we continue our challenge to cultivate future "readers." Moving forward, we will continue to support the challenges of the younger generation, engaging with each reader and young person to draw a future together.

About Mynavi Publishing Inc. Mynavi Publishing Inc. is a publisher that supports each individual's work and private life, guided by its management philosophy "Drawing your tomorrow together through knowledge, learning, experience, and business." We go beyond traditional books and information dissemination to provide hands-on learning experiences and opportunities for communication among readers. [Company Overview] In October 2015, the publishing business division of Mynavi Corporation was spun off to establish Mynavi Publishing Inc. With expertise cultivated over 45 years in the publishing business since contracting with major distributors, the company aims to be a partner in enriching work and life, and solving problems in genres such as IT, Shogi, World Heritage sites, and lifestyles. Headquarters: 2-6-3 Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Representative Director, President and CEO: Terunori Kadotake Official Website: https://pub.mynavi.jp/