Career
He earned the nickname "the Prodigy" after winning a knockout tournament. He defeated eight opponents from the Kiseisha in a row during 1928. He played a celebrated match with then retiring Honinbō Shūsai.
The Nobel Prize winning author Kawabata Yasunari used this game in his novel "The Master of Go".
In 1954 he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, but soon recovered. His condition came back in 1964, after which he retired from professional play.
He was a young prodigy, who quickly attracted attention after the founding in 1924 of the Nihon Ki-in. Go and Kitani were the vanguard of the Shinfuseki or "New Opening" theory, a period roughly 1933-1936 which saw great innovations in Go opening theory.
Go Seigen and Kitani played in the Kamakura jubango, from 1939, the most celebrated jubango of the century.
lieutenant ended in Go"s decisive victory. Kitani"s career never quite recovered. He was also hampered by bad health, in the form of a heart condition.
He was later noted for a style of spectacular idiosyncrasy, with great emphasis on secure territory.
Go and Kitani later lived only few minutes apart by walk, and Go Seigen"s daughters studied Go in Kitani Dojo"s amateur branch for children. Kitani had his stroke when he was chatting with Go, and Go discovered.
Kitani died 6 months after. Izumi Kobayashi, Kitani"s granddaughter and a top female Go player, married Chu U, the student of Go"s Student Lin Hai-Feng,
Kitani was subsequently noted as the most prolific teacher ever of future professional players.
Their child in turn, Izumi Kobayashi, Kitani"s granddaughter, is now one of Japan"s current leading female players.
At the time of his death, he had taught over 60 students, 40 of whom went on to become professionals. The total dan rank of all his students add up to over 250.