Komayō

The Princess's Game

Ōgi (王棋, romaji: ōgi) is a variant of shōgi offering shorter and more dynamic games. The term ōgi literally means the king's game, but it is also known as Hime Asobi (姫遊び, The Princess's Game), in reference to the protagonist of La Genèse de l'Enchanteresse. This dual naming reflects the game's distinctive feature where the princess, alongside the king, plays a central role in strategy.

Starting Position

Initial setup of an ōgi board, a shōgi variant on an 8x8 board. The black and white diagram shows the traditional piece arrangement with kanji characters, numbered 1 to 8 at the top and on the right side in kanji.

Differences from Traditional Shōgi

Ōgi retains the fundamental principles of traditional shōgi, including the drop of captured pieces and the promotion system. However, it differs on the following points:

Board Size
The game is played on an 8×8 grid, unlike shōgi's 9×9 board.
Piece Composition
  • The Gold General is absent.
  • A new piece, the Princess (姫), is introduced. It combines the movements of the Bishop and the Knight — the latter being able to jump in all directions, as in Western chess.
Pawn Drop
Unpromoted Pawns can never be dropped. However, a promoted Pawn captured by the King can be dropped.
The King's Privilege
When the King captures a promoted piece, the player may choose to keep it in its promoted form instead of reverting it to its original state.
Two men playing ōgi while a mysterious woman in kimono watches from the shadows