The narrator tells us that he's brought his nephew to see the big match at the shrine. He's excited to see that it's going to be a "harada sensei" match, not a "queen match." The narrator thinks that the queen matches have been declining in popularity, but he doesn't believe that's true. He thinks that there's still a lot of interest in the big matches because they're streaming them on the web. The narrator also thinks that old guys like Gomori can play the same game as the new generation of players. He says that even the old guys are getting better at the game, and that the master is going to get a new card for the new year. He asks the audience to take their seats, and the narrator begins by explaining that the first half of the poem is a poem and the second half is a "ki no ta," or poem and card. The first half is the poem, while the second part is the card. He compares the two, saying that even an amateur can make sense of the first and second halves of a poem, whereas a professional can't. He also compares Gomori to a "wakamiya," or commanding, gentle man. He wonders why Gomori isn't interested in winning the match.