Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on May 2009

Photos by Benjamin Parks

The most popular board game in Japan is essentially invisible. It can be found everywhere—in hotel basements, in the backs of offices, even around the corner from your local train station—yet it remains hidden behind shutters and tinted windows, out of sight to all but those who can read the characters on the signage out front: “Mahjong.”

Chances are, you’ve seen dozens of jansou (mahjong parlors) in Tokyo, but you probably couldn’t pick them out, let alone go in and play. Yet if you ever wanted to learn, look no further than mahjong pro Jenn Barr. She doesn’t just want you to play mahjong—she wants to you to dominate at it.

Blue-eyed blondes are generally the last thing you’d expect to see at the jansou tables. But Barr is out to change this as well. “Mahjong is pretty much a man’s game right now, but I think that’s such a waste,” she tells Metropolis as she sits in front of a computer playing an online match. “It’s the best game out there and I want the world to know it.”

Ever since learning how to play in 2004, Barr has become a worldwide mahjong ambassador, spreading the word from Taiwan to Denmark to Las Vegas. “I’m so busy every day with mahjong, it’s like I breathe it,” she says. “But it’s what I love, so I couldn’t be happier.”

Born in Seattle and known to friends (and foes) as the “West Coast Angel,” Barr, 28, fell in love with mahjong while a student at Tokyo’s Sophia University. “I first saw the tiles and was like, ‘What are those things? They look so complicated,’” she recalls. “But mahjong is really easy to learn, and pretty soon I was playing in jansou by myself.”

Photos by Benjamin Parks

Two years later, she passed the Japan Professional Mahjong League (JPML) test to become the first Western mahjong pro; fellow American Garthe Nelson passed at the same time. “Tons of people take the test every year, but the pass rate is really low,” she says. “You have to pass a written test and an interview, and then place high in a test tournament.”

So did being a cute foreign girl help? “Well, I dunno, but I guess it didn’t hurt!” she says with a giggle.
Western mahjong pros may be new in Japan, but the pastime itself has been popular for over a century. The game in its modern form appeared in China in the late 19th century, and took off here after famed novelist Natsume Soseki (1867-1916) described it in his travel journals. During the years leading up to World War II, the government banned it due to concerns that an excess of foreign influence would corrupt “pure” Japanese morals. Mahjong resurfaced in the postwar period to become Japan’s most popular board game—by far. According to a representative of the All Japan Mahjong Business Union, roughly a quarter of the population knows the rules, and over 8 million Japanese visited a parlor during the last year.

It’s important, Barr insists, to understand that mahjong is different from country to country. Although all major variants involve four players and are played with essentially the same tiles, Japanese rules stand out because of their emphasis on defense, which gives the game an additional strategic depth. “It is the absolute best rule set out there—no question,” she says.

Ryan Morris, who writes a column for the biweekly manga serial Kindai Mahjong, agrees.
“Mahjong in China is a family game: think of gin rummy or poker with grandma,” he says. “Mahjong in Japan is a full-fledged industry. There are professional players, strategy experts, commentators and countless high-level amateurs. They are connected by dedicated mahjong magazines, television, DVDs, strategy books and online communities. None of this is found in any other country. As the saying goes, ‘Mahjong was born in China, but raised in Japan.’”

Barr is no stranger to mahjong-related media, having been featured in a host of TV specials and even a couple of manga. Certainly, the appearance of a cute American with model-caliber features made a splash in the gaming world. Yet Barr is more than just looks—she’s already up to 2nd grade pro, and she recently finished first runner-up in the inaugural tournament of the new JPML North Kanto league.

Barr’s counterpart, Nelson, grew up in California and teaches English to famous J-Pop stars as a sideline. The 38-year-old has also done quite well for himself in mahjong, beating hundreds of players to take third place in this year’s prestigious JPML Masters Tournament. Various senior pros, initially skeptical of the ability of foreign players, are grudgingly beginning to admit that the two show talent.

“At first, I didn’t think much of Jenn, but after seeing how hard she works, I have to say I’m impressed,” says one JPML director. “We’re counting on her and Garthe to bring mahjong to an international audience.”

What’s Barr’s secret? “Hard work,” she says with a grin. Besides running the biggest English-language website about Japanese mahjong (www.reachmahjong.com), she also travels across Japan as a “guest pro,” appearing at special events that allow customers to share a table with her at their local jansou. Additionally, she’s finishing up a book on mahjong in English, the first publication of its kind.

“It’ll tell you everything you need to know—well, except how to cheat,” she says. “But if you read it, you’ll get so good that you’ll never need to”.

Barr’s biggest time commitment, however, is running her new mahjong parlor, Fairy, which opened in Hachioji in February. “I essentially get paid to play, but I have to do it in a way that keeps customers happy,” she says. “Striking that balance is pretty tough.”

So, how exactly does one become a pro and get paid to play mahjong?

“I think anyone can do it if they apply themselves. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. I spend so many hours creating web pages and clicking on tiles, I hardly have any time to do anything else.”

Does that mean she’d ever think of switching careers?

“You’ve got to be kidding!” she exclaims. “I love what I do because I love mahjong—and so should everyone else. Come and play, it’ll be the best decision you ever make.”

• For more info about Jenn Barr, check out www.reachmahjong.com.
• Fairy: 6F Rodan Bldg. No. 1, 2-6 Asahi-machi, Hachioji-shi. Tel 042-622-3584. Open daily 10am-midnight. Nearest stn: Hachioji, north exit. http://mahjongfairy.jp
• The author can be contacted via the comments section of his blog: www.mahjongfulbright.blogspot.com.