se523

^wrong assumptions. You're assuming he didn't know already. Why would one make a statement like that if one didn't know beforehand?

Shogi is derived from xiangqi (same with Korean chess or janggi). And note that the characters are called hanzi or kanji (literally Chinese/Han characters), not oriental characters. It may be hard because the pieces don't have distinct shapes, but it's not after you learn/recognize the characters.