Well, it would be very easy for westerners and Japanese alike to see whether the traditional glyphs for chess pieces are printed upside down, so there is just as little need for drawing tiles around them as it is for the Japanes to draw them around ther kanji. And space is more cramped on a computer (or telephone!) display than on a newspaper page, so that would be another important reason for not drawing them.
Simulating the experience of playing across the board helps??? To chase people away, most likely! Playing Shogi across the board is an absolutely horrible experience. It is the main reason why the Dutch Chess Association has about 150,000 members, and the Dutch Shogi Association only 56...
Well, it would be very easy for westerners and Japanese alike to see whether the traditional glyphs for chess pieces are printed upside down, so there is just as little need for drawing tiles around them as it is for the Japanes to draw them around ther kanji. And space is more cramped on a computer (or telephone!) display than on a newspaper page, so that would be another important reason for not drawing them.
Simulating the experience of playing across the board helps??? To chase people away, most likely! Playing Shogi across the board is an absolutely horrible experience. It is the main reason why the Dutch Chess Association has about 150,000 members, and the Dutch Shogi Association only 56...