author
Arthur Smith
1870–1929
Best known for bringing the game of Go to English-language readers, this early 20th-century writer introduced a Japanese classic to a new audience with clear, practical instruction. His work remains a small but memorable bridge between cultures.
1 Audiobook
The Game of Go: The National Game of Japan
by Arthur Smith
About the author
An American traveler in Japan, Arthur Smith is chiefly remembered for The Game of Go: The National Game of Japan, first published in 1908. The book was written for English-speaking readers who wanted a straightforward introduction to Go, a game that was still unfamiliar to most Western audiences at the time.
Smith explained the rules, strategy, and cultural setting of the game in a way that was accessible to beginners. Because of that, his book has had a long afterlife, and it is still noted today as an early gateway through which many readers in the West first encountered Go.
Not much biographical detail was easy to confirm beyond his dates, 1870–1929, and his connection to Japan. Even so, his surviving work gives a clear sense of his role: a curious observer and interpreter who helped carry a deeply rooted Japanese tradition into the English-speaking world.