Igo no sei (囲碁の精)
Igo no sei is a spirit of Igo which is described in old books and so on from the Edo Period. According to the book written by a researcher of specters, Katsumi TADA, it is considered as a Tsukumo-gami (gods to a variety of things), and according to the conjecture of an author named Kenji MURAKAMI, it appears in front of igo lovers.
Igo no sei in "Tamabataki"
It is a story written in "Tamabataki", a book of kaidan (ghost stories) from Edo Period. A man named Sakuan SHIMIZU who loved playing igo lived in Ushigome, Edo.
One day when Sakuwan was taking a walk around a temple nearby, a pair of fair complexioned man and a dark complexioned man accosted him. When the two men asked Sakuan if he liked playing Igo, he answered in a humble manner saying he is crazy about it though he is no good, and gradually became familiar with them as he conversed with them. When Sakuan asked what their names were, the dark complexioned man answered 'I am Chigen living in the mountain' and the fair complexioned man answered 'I am Chihaku living near the ocean', and they had disappeared since.
These two men are said to be Igo no sei.
In "Rankadokiwa" written by Motomi HAYASHI, this temple was Enshoji temple, Kashiwagi village, and Sakuan became a master of igo since then, having no opponents in the entire Edo town.
Igo no sei in "Etsusa no densetsu" (The legend of Etsusa)
It is a story written in "Etsusa no densetsu", a book written by Naotsugu OGAWA. A Shoya (village headman) who lived in Sekiya, Iwafune County in Nigata Prefecture was stranded due to snow while taking a trip, and had to take up a lodging in a town.
Thinking that he ought to kill time enjoying his igo that he liked, he played igo with an old man who was staying in the same inn, and as he did so, his skill remarkably progressed for some reason.
It is thought that this old man was the Igo no sei named Gorojin.