William Pinckard (1927-89) had a life-long association with Asia, having spent his childhood there. He began collecting ukiyo-e (woodblock prints) while serving in Japan with the US occupation army in 1946. Upon completing his tour of duty he entered the University of California. After graduating he became interested in Buddhism and returned to Japan in 1959 to perform the 88-temple pilgrimage in Shikoku. Nine months of weary slogging on foot found him sick and hospitalized in a remote country clinic for several weeks. The only reading material available was back issues of the go magazine Kido. This began his life-long fascination with go.

In 1965 he became an art dealer, specializing in nishiki-e (brocade print, meaning full-color printing), and began to assemble a private collection of go prints. He made a deep study of the history and legends of go and the social background that vivifies this history. His research is introduced elsewhere in the Kiseido site: Japanese Prints and the World of Go.