It’s time for another Japanese game today. This time we will introduce you to the Japanese version of chess, called Shōgi. The game Shōgi is a two-player strategy board game just like chess and Go but in contrast to Go, Shōgi has a broader variety of different playing stones but on the other hand, it’s not as complex as Go. Still, Shōgi has a lot of active players in and outside of Japan and it’s one of the most famous and popular board games coming from the islands.

Two players play on a board composed of rectangles in a grid of 9 rows by 9 columns. The rectangles are undifferentiated by marking or color. The board is nearly always rectangular, square boards are uncommon. Pairs of dots mark the players’ promotion zones. Each player has a set of 20 wedge-shaped pieces of slightly different sizes. Except for the kings, opposing pieces are undifferentiated by marking or color. Pieces face toward the opponent’s side, this shows who controls the piece during play. The pieces from largest (most important) to smallest (least important) are: king (1), rook (1), bishop (1), gold general (2), silver general (2), knight (2), lances (2) and pawns (9). 

Each piece has its name written on its surface in the form of two Kanji, usually in black ink. On the reverse side of each piece, other than the king and gold general, are one or two other characters, in amateur sets often in a different color (usually red); this side is turned face up during play to indicate that the piece has been promoted. Promotion of pieces and the possibility of returning pieces to the board which have been “stolen” from the enemy are points that make Shōgi different from western chess. 
When the game begins, each turn, a player may either move a piece that is currently on the board (and potentially promote it, capture an opposing piece, or both) or else drop a piece that has been previously captured onto a square of the board. 

Most shogi pieces can move only to an adjacent square. A few may move across the board, and one jumps over intervening pieces.
The lance, bishop, and rook are ranging pieces: They can move any number of squares along a straight line limited only by intervening pieces and the edge of the board. If an opposing piece intervenes, it may be captured by removing it from the board and replacing it with the moving piece. If a friendly piece intervenes, the moving piece must stop short of that square; if the friendly piece is adjacent, the moving piece may not move in that direction at all.
Shōgi is, like chess, a pretty complex game in its setup so explaining every rule in a short article would break the borders. If you’re interested in trying it, make sure you look into the Kanji necessary to understand which pieces are meant and to read up on the characters movements.
 Good luck and be patient !