Hon'inbō Shūsaku
| Hon'inbō Shūsaku | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Kuwabara Torajirō |
| Kanji | 本因坊秀策 |
| Teacher | Honinbo Shuwa |
| Rank | 7 dan |
Honinbo Shusaku (本因坊秀策 Hon'inbō Shūsaku, born as Kuwabara Torajirō (桑原虎次郎 Kuwabara Torajirō), June 6, 1829 — August 10, 1862) was a professional Go player and is considered by many to be the greatest player of the golden age of Go in the mid-19th century.
Biography
He was nicknamed "Invincible Shusaku" after he earned a perfect score for 19 successive wins in the annual castle games. However, others say that he was not stronger than his teacher, Hon'inbō Shuwa, who by convention didn't play in the castle games. In addition out of respect for his teacher, Shusaku refused to play with white against his teacher thus there is no clear gauge of the difference in strength between the two. For example, Shusaku had a plus score against Ota Yuzo but still found him a tough opponent, while Shuwa beat him easily.
Shusaku is one of two Go players that are given the title of "Go Saint" (Kisei), the other one being Hon'inbō Dosaku (1645-1702). This title was initially accorded to Honinbo Jowa but his political maneuvering caused this title to be given to Shusaku.
Early Years
He was born on the island of Innoshima near the town of Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan to a merchant, Kuwahara Wazo. Lord Asano, the daimyo of the region, became his patron after playing a game with him, and allowed him to study under Lord Asano's personal trainer, the priest Hoshin, a player of professional level.
In 1837, at age 8, Shusaku was already almost a player of professional caliber. He left home to join the Hon'inbō school (the most important institute in the game of Go in Japan at the time having produced the Go Saint Dosaku and many Meijins) officially as a student of Honinbo Jowa but his study would mainly be with senior students. On January 3, 1840, he received his shodan (first dan professional) diploma.
Meteoric rise
In 1840 Shusaku left Edo and returned to his home for a period of over a year. In the following years, he made steady progress up the ranks, reaching 4 dan in 1844, after which he again returned home for a prolonged period. In April-May 1846, returning to Edo, he played against Gennan Inseki, arguably the strongest player of that time. Shusaku played with a handicap of two stones, but Gennan found that Shusaku was too strong, so he called off the game. A new game was started with Shusaku just playing black, the ear reddening game. Gennan played a new joseki (opening variation in a corner), and Shusaku erred in responding. He fought back hard, but still by the time of the middlegame, all the people watching the game thought Gennan was winning, except for one, a doctor. He admitted that he was not skilled in go, but noticed that Gennan's ears became red after a certain move by Shusaku, a sign that Gennan was surprised. In the end, Shusaku won the game by two points. This game is one of the most famous Go games ever played, and the "ear-reddening move" may be the most famous single move in the history of Go.
Returning to Edo, Shusaku not only got promoted to 5 dan, but he was also made the official heir of Honinbo Shuwa, who was to become the head of the Honinbo house. Shusaku declined at first, citing his obligations towards Lord Asano as the reason. After that issue was settled, Shusaku accepted.
As the official heir to the head of the Honinbo house, Shusaku had an eminent position. His grade also increased, he finally reached 7 dan, although it is not known exactly when—some think in 1849 while others say in 1853. After forcing his main rival and friend Ota Yuzo to take a handicap, he was generally accepted to be the strongest player with the exception of Shuwa.
In 1862, a cholera epidemic swept through Japan. Shusaku tended the patients within the Hon'inbō house, and fell ill himself, dying of it on August 10.
Shusaku's name is connected to the Shusaku fuseki, a certain method of opening the game on black, which was developed to perfection (but not invented) by him, and was the basis of the popular opening style up to the 1930s.
Sanjubango
In 1853, a group of players joined in a mansion in Edo. The players were Yasui Sanchi, Ito Showa, Sakaguchi Sentoku, Hattori Seitetsu, and Ota Yuzo. They were discussing Shusaku, to the point where they had come to the fact that Shusaku was the strongest player of the time, but Ota did not agree. He said he was in the middle of a series of games with Shusaku, tied at 3 a piece. Akai Gorosaku, who was a famous sponsor of go during the time, had heard this and decided to sponsor an unheard of sanjubango between Ota and Shusaku. The series had begun in 1853, when Ota was 46 and a 7 dan, while Shusaku was 24 years old and a 6 dan. The games were played once a week, faster than a usual jubango. Yuzo was doing well until the 11th game, when Shusaku started to fight back. Ota was behind by 4 games after the 17th game. The 21st game was played in July, but the 22nd game was not played until October of that year, a reason of which is not known. The 22nd game was played in Ota's house, which was different than the others, considering they were played in more neutral venues. Ota had lost once more, and the venue was changed to a more neutral one. It is believed, however, the 23rd game, was fixed. It had lasted almost 24 straight hours, and had resulted in a tie. It saved Ota from embarrassment. It was thought as a great achievement, having a tie after taking white, so much that it was used, along with Shusaku's calling up for the castle games, as an excuse to adjourn the match.
In Fiction
In the anime and manga Hikaru no Go, Shusaku discovered the spirit of fictional Go player Fujiwara-no-Sai as a child and because of his incredible talent realized Sai's skill and allowed Sai to play all of Shusaku's matches.
Further reading
- John Power, Invincible: The Games of Shusaku, ISBN 4-906574-01-7