… The 5th and 15th of January are "Go no hin" (Go Days) holidays in Japan to honor the place that Go plays in their culture. Although the game originated in China, (as did other aspects of Japanese culture, like the Kanji characters, for example), the Japanese, until recently, were the best players. It came to Japan in the 700's. Playing it is considered, by many, to be a type of "meditation".  In China, even during Confucius's time, it was considered one of the four things that a nobleman needed …