There are 8 kinds
of pieces in Japanese Chess. “→”sign means Promotion. (Promotion is told later)
ⅰ：玉(Gyoku)=King
ⅱ：飛(Hi)=Rook →龍(Ryu)= Dragon
ⅲ：角(Kaku)=Bishop →馬(Uma)= Horse
ⅳ：金(Kin) = Gold
ⅴ：銀(Gin)= Silver →成銀(Nari-Gin)
ⅵ：桂(Kei)=Knight →成桂(Nari-Kei)
ⅶ：香(Kyo)=Lance →成香(Nari-Kyo)
ⅷ：歩(Fu)=Pawn→と(To)
At first, you should
know Promotion.
When your piece
goes into opposite area, it gets the right to promote.
ⅰ：玉(Gyoku)
“Gyoku” is
“King”. As like Chess, “Gyoku” can move
around itself freely.
ⅱ：飛(Hi)
“Hi” is “Rook”.
As like Chess, “Hi” can move horizontally and vertically. When ”Hi” promotes
“Ryu”=Dragon, it gets more movable places like king.
ⅲ：角(Kaku)
“Kaku” is
“Bishop”. As like Chess, “Kaku” can move diagonal. When ”Kaku” promotes “Uma”=Horse,
it gets more movable places like king.
ⅳ：金(Kin)
“Kin” is ”Gold”. “Kin”
is so expensive that it has many movable places.
ⅴ：銀(Gin)
“Gin” is
“Silver”. ”Gin”is less expensive than “Kin”, it has less movable places than
“Kin”. When “Gin” promotes to “Nari-Gin”, it can move as the same as “Kin”.
ⅵ：桂(Kei)
“Kei” is like “Knight”
in chess, however, Kei cannot move backward, just jump forward. This point is
different from “Knight”. When Kei promotes to Nari-Kei, it can move as “Kin”.
ⅶ：香(Kyo)
“Kyo” moves like
“Rook”, however, it cannot move backward and sides. It just goes straight like
train on the rail. When Kyo promotes to
Nari-Kyo, it can move as “Kin”.
ⅷ：歩(Fu)
“Fu” is “Pawn” in
chess, however,”Fu” always moves only one square. When Fu promotes to “To”, it
can move as “Kin”.
