“That play of black upon white, white upon black, has the intent and takes the form of creative art. It has in it a flow of the spirit and a harmony of music.”

—  Yasunari Kawabata, book The Master of Go

Source: The Master of Go (1951), Ch. 38, p. 164.
Context: That play of black upon white, white upon black, has the intent and takes the form of creative art. It has in it a flow of the spirit and a harmony of music. Everything is lost when suddenly a false note is struck, or one party in a duet suddenly launches forth on an eccentric flight of his own. A masterpiece of a game can be ruined by insensitivity to the feelings of an adversary.

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Yasunari Kawabata photo
Yasunari Kawabata44
Japanese author, Nobel Prize winner 1899–1972

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