Conquering the World on a Chessboard: Double Six and the War with Japan (Part 1)
Double Six is a model of Japan's influence from foreign cultures. The term double six can refer to two different games: pan double six is even older, and may even be derived from the ancient Egyptian game senet.
Senette's chessboard for Amenhotep III, circa 14th century BC; Collection of the Brooklyn Museum, New York
Panshuangliu was introduced to China around the Tang Dynasty, writing "Shuanglu", and became popular as gambling entertainment.
Neiren Shuanglutu, Zhou Fang, c. 8th century; Collection of the Furrell-Sackler Museum of Art, Washington
Shuanglu then passed to Japan through the Tang envoys sent by Japan at that time; One of the earliest history books in Japan, the Nihon Shoki, has the following record: "(689) In December, he had a forbidden double sixth. By the Edo period (1603-1868), the wooden chessboard of Panshuangliu had evolved into exquisite lacquerware, and the chess pieces were mostly made of rare materials such as ivory agate.
Bamboo rhododendron loose leaf double six plates, circa 1816; Collection of the Tokyo National Museum
The term "double six" refers to another kind of game, that is, the object of study in this article, which is often referred to as the painting of double six. Contemporary Japanese people generally have an impression of the term "double six" from the more recent invention of painting double six. The origin of the painting of double six is not yet clear, and different scholars have different theories. Some scholars believe that the painting double six originated from the Indian game Moksha Patam; The latter later spread to England and developed into the widely known board game "Snake Ladder".
Snake ladder game sold on Amazon
The rules of the game are very simple: the pieces go to the "ladder" and go up the ladder; When you reach the "snake", you are swallowed by the snake and retreat, which is not unlike the cycle of cause and effect in Hinduism and Buddhism. The earliest surviving painting of The Double Six in Japan has been clearly influenced by Buddhism: pure land double six, which originated at the end of the fifteenth century, depicts a journey from the secular world, through the various realms depicted in the Buddhist scriptures, and finally to the world of Elysium.
Double Six, circa 15th century; Tokyo Metropolitan Library Collection
The early painting of double six may also have been influenced by China at the same time. The layout of the Promotion Chart in the Ming Dynasty is similar to that of the Pure Land Double Six, but the content of the chessboard is to promote officials through the imperial examination.
In the Edo period, the format of the painting double six (hereinafter referred to as double six) was gradually established: all double six were multiplayer board games, starting from the starting point known as Zhen り出し, rolling the dice in turn to determine the number of squares the pieces advanced, and the player who reached the end point known as Shang り won first. Some of the double six rules are more complex and interesting, such as some grids have a punishment mechanism similar to the snake ladder game, and the player who reaches this box needs to retreat a few blocks or rest for a round. The Edo period's double six no longer conveyed the Buddhist teachings of reincarnation of cause and effect, going to bliss: reaching "Shangyu" meant gaining wealth, status, and fame.
Double Six is more than just a thrill-seeking game; At the end of the Edo period, when urban culture flourished, many double six were designed by ukiyo-e masters such as Utagawa Kunisada or Utagawa Hiroshige, so they were widely sought after as collectible crafts.
Niyo Utagawa Hiroshige, List of Edo Sights Sōroku, 1859;波士顿美术馆藏
Perhaps because of this, the double six themes of the late Edo period were similar to ukiyo-e, and were mainly travel, famous houses, kabuki actors, and so on. The most popular is to provide players with the opportunity to role-play, to experience the life of ordinary people is difficult to experience the customs of double six; Such double six themes include shopping in the capital Edo, watching famous Kabuki performances, and taking a bath in a public bath called Shōjo. The more daring Double Six shows Yoshihara Yuko, Edo's famous red light district; After experiencing the entertainment of the Spring Tower, the player finally arrives at the dream end point and meets the most advanced wandering girl, Hua Kui.
Wuyun Ting Sadahide, 游廓双六; Tokyo Gakugei University Library
The Meiji era's Double Six showed the great changes that swept the country. Shopping malls often use Double Six as advertisements to attract customers, while Double Six, which is based on the meiji period slogan "Born and Stand Up", shows how "modern citizens" in the new era should live and how to stand in society.
Meiji Stand Double Six, 1898; Princeton University Library Special Collection
Japan's foreign wars naturally became a "regular" in the Double Six, especially the Sino-Japanese War in 1894. Another feature of Double Six in this period was the transformation of group orientation: Double Six in the Edo period, as part of urban mass culture, was mainly for adults; In the Meiji period, Double Six gradually began to change to toys with children as the main consumer group.
The depiction of the Chinese and Japanese armies in War Double Six is almost the same as that of the war painting: the Qing army is lazy and scattered, while the Japanese army in European-style uniforms is well-trained and brave and good at war.
Nisshin War Double Six, 1894; Princeton University Library Special Collection
For example, in this unexplained double six, all the grids that contain punishment mechanisms such as resting a round or retreating a few squares depict only Qing dynasty troops: captured Qing soldiers, sunken Beiyang warships, and Qing soldiers smoking large cigarettes in the barracks and having no fighting spirit. The remaining thirty grids depict the battles of the Sino-Japanese War, ending the game with the capture of Beijing. Of course, as we all know, Beijing was not attacked in the Sino-Japanese War; This depiction was undoubtedly the imagination of the creators of the painting during the war.
Another major feature of Double Six during this period was that most of them were sold as a giveaway for the special issue of the first month of the journal. For example, in the January 1905 special issue of the photo pictorial produced by the Bowenkan, which is known for its nationalist publications, it was accompanied by a double six full of imaginations of the Russo-Japanese War, almost to be said to be delusional.
Zhupo Guoguan, New Case Requisition, Double Six, 1905; Princeton University Library Special Collection
The mechanics of the game are complex, requiring at least six players, each with six different units: the First Army under Kuroki' command, the Second Army under the command of Okuho Gong, the Third Army under the command of "God of War" Nogi Kitsune, the Fourth Army under the command of Nozu Michiru, the First Fleet under the command of Heihachiro Togo, and the Second Fleet under the command of Uemura Yannosuke. At the beginning of the game, the route of each player also roughly coincided with the battle situation: the First Army landed near the Yalu River, and the Dongxiang Fleet blocked the port of Lushun. But as the game continues, each player's route gradually becomes more and more absurd. In order to reach the end of the "Russian surrender", all four armies had to "capture Harbin", "invade Russia", "cross the Ural Mountains" and finally "attack Moscow" (not st. Petersburg, the capital of Russia), while the navy, after defeating the Russian fleet, had to sail all the way to the Mediterranean and finally shell St. Petersburg. Of course, this "delusion" is not unreasonable. The painting was published in January 1905, when the Japanese had just captured Lushun at a high cost. No one knows how this war will end. (To be continued)