In the history of Go in Japan, the four Go houses were four major schools of Go instituted, supported, and controlled by the state, at the beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate. (There were also many minor houses.) At roughly the same time shogi was organised into three houses. Here "house" implies an institution run on the recognised lines of the iemoto system common in all Japanese traditional arts. In particular, the house head had, in three of the four cases, a name handed down: Inoue Inseki, Yasui Senkaku, Hayashi Monnyu. References to these names, therefore, mean to the contemporary head of the house.
The four houses were the Honinbo, Hayashi, Inoue, and Yasui. They were originally designed to be on a par with each other, and competed in the official castle games called oshirogo.
The houses
Hon'inbō
The Hon'inbō house (本因坊家) was easily the strongest school of Go for most of its existence. It was established in 1612 and survived until 1940.
Upon the closure of the school, the title Hon'inbō came to be used for the winner of the Honinbo Tournament, which is now an annual professional Go event in Japan. It is run under the titleholder system, meaning that at any given time there is a player who can use the title Hon'inbō. It is customary for Japanese players to take a special personal name as Hon'inbō, a unique feature of this title; for example Takagawa Kaku held the title for nine years, and during this time was referred to as Hon'inbō Shukaku. Players of other nationalities by custom do not adopt a special name but do use the Hon'inbō title.
Hon'inbō Shūsai sold his title to the Japan Go Association before retiring in 1936, effectively ending the Hon'inbō line.[1]
All three of the "Go saints" (or Kisei) came from this school— Dosaku, Shusaku, and Jowa (although Jowa is frequently reviled because of his machinations while trying to become Meijin). Most of the holders of the Meijin title (awarded to a player recognised by all as strongest) were also from this house. Another prominent member was Hon'inbō Shūsaku (秀策, 1829–1862), who was heir to become head of the school, but died of cholera before officially becoming Hon'inbō.
Hayashi
The Hayashi house (林家) was one of the four Go houses of Edo period Japan. It was in effect the junior partner in the system of Go schools, never producing a Meijin player. Always an ally of the Honinbo school, for traditional reasons, it didn't survive to the end of the period as truly independent. Its headship went to Honinbo Shuei, and when he became also Honinbo head, it was de facto merged into the Honinbos.
From the second head onwards, the head of the house when playing was known as Hayashi Monnyū.
Inoue
The Inoue house (井上家) was one of the four Go houses, the state-supported schools for the game of Go in Japan during the Edo period.
The numbering of the heads of the house is that introduced by Inoue Genan Inseki, at the start of the nineteenth century, and including Nakamura Doseki for reasons of prestige. During their playing careers all the heads, apart from Doseki, were called Inoue Inseki. For reasons of convenience the retirement or posthumous names are used, in the style Inoue Genkaku Inseki with the personal part of the name interposed. Variant names abound.
Yasui
The Yasui house (安井家) was one of the four Schools (or Houses) of Go which were officially recognized during the Edo period of Japanese history. Each of the four schools were founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1612.[2]
The house had one Meijin, in Yasui Sanchi. It has been commented that the general style of play tended to the pragmatic, rather than the artistic way.
From 1737 to the present, the current head of the Yasui house has been known as Senkaku. The retirement or posthumous names are listed here.
History
This maki-e Go board is at the temple named Ryōgen'in 龍源院 at Daitoku-ji, Kyoto, Japan. It was said to be used by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. The bowls to the left and right of the board bear their family crests.
The first of the four houses was the house Honinbo, founded by Honinbo Sansa. Honinbo Sansa was a Buddhist monk and had been appointed Godokoro (minister of Go) by Tokugawa Ieyasu after the unification of Japan in 1603.
Buddhist connections
They were also nominally Buddhist institutions, with the Honinbo and Hayashi aligned with the Nichiren sect, and the Inoue and Yasui with the Jodo Shu.[3] All players were therefore male.[clarification needed] Some outward forms only persisted of that connection, with the oshirogo games being played in Buddhist dress and with shaven heads; the stylish Ota Yuzo was given a waiver of the obligation since he was proud of his hair.[3] After Honinbo Doetsu made a representation that long sleeves were troublesome for the players, a dispensation for shorter sleeves was allowed to them.[3] At least, in theory, matters on succession in the houses were subject to the authority of the jisha bugyo, an official regulating religious establishment. Nominations as heir, typically within the iemoto system of the best disciple, who might not be a natural son but in effect adopted, were supposed to be made official.[3] Deaths at an early age particularly affected the Honinbo house, and irregular succession could occur with the potential for scandal.
Official status
The official posts of Meijin and godokoro were awarded, somewhat sporadically, and brought great prestige to the house. In practice, backstairs intrigue was often brought to bear on the appointments. More creditably, since the Meijin title could only be awarded to the undisputed master player of the time, there were occasions when it was withheld from two candidates whose merit was very close (an example was Genjo and Chitoku, around 1810–1820).
Teaching
The mode of teaching, by apprenticeship, brought a consistent and high level of play (though some say the standard sagged in the eighteenth century). Esoteric teaching was normal, with collections of very difficult tsumego being compiled, one of which, the Igo Hatsuyōron, is still used for professional training. Prepared variations were used in top games (notably in the blood-vomiting game of Jowa and Akaboshi). Go secrets were state secrets, in effect; since the country was closed to foreigners, in the main, the only international competition was against players from the Ryukyu Islands, but those games are still cited as examples of the difference between strong amateurs and extremely strong players.
Dissolution
After a while, the Honinbo house (of Dosaku) emerged as the most prestigious, and the Hayashi house ran into difficulties, eventually being taken over by the Honinbo. The Meiji Restoration threw the system into disarray, but three houses survived some hard times to 1900. Honinbo Shusai arranged that the Honinbo title should become a tournament of the Nihon Kiin after his death (1939). The Yasui house died out; it is not certain as of 2004[update] whether the Inoue house theoretically continues or not, though it dropped out of the mainstream from the 1920s.
Shusaku was a Japanese professional Go player during the 19th century. He is known for his undefeated streak of 19 games during the annual castle games; his thirty-game match with Ota Yuzo; the eponymous Shusaku opening; and his posthumous veneration as a "Go sage". Next to his teacher, Hon'inbō Shūwa, he is considered to have been the strongest player from 1847/8 to his death in 1862. He was nicknamed Invincible Shusaku because of his castle games performance.
Hon'inbō Sansa was the assumed name of Kanō Yosaburō , one of the strongest Japanese Go players of the Edo period (1603–1867), and founder of the house of Hon'inbō, first among the four great schools of Go in Japan. He was a Buddhist priest of the Nichiren sect, and his original dharma name was Nikkai (日海).
Meijin (名人) means "Expert or Master". It is the name of the second most prestigious Japanese Go Tournament. It also refers to a traditional Japanese title given to the strongest player of the day during the Edo period.
Hon'inbō Shūsai is the professional name of Hoju Tamura, also known as Yasuhisa Tamura, who was a Japanese professional Go player.
Oshirogo or castle games were official matches of high-level Go played in Japan during the Edo period, usually in the castles of the shōgun. Players were mostly from the four go houses.
Honinbo Jowa served as 12th Hon'inbō from 1827 and Meijin Godokoro from 1831 until 1839, when he was forced into retirement.
Hon'inbō Shūei was a Japanese professional Go player.
Iemoto is a Japanese term used to refer to the founder or current Grand Master of a certain school of traditional Japanese art. It is used synonymously with the term sōke (宗家) when it refers to the family or house that the iemoto is head of and represents.
Hon'inbō Dōchi was a professional Go player.
Hon'inbō San'etsu was a professional Go player, and second head of the Hon'inbō house.
Akaboshi Intetsu was a Japanese professional 7 dan Go player.
Hon'inbō Dōetsu was a Japanese professional go player, who became the third head of the Honinbo house. His surname was Niwa, and he used a Buddhist name Nissho.
Nakamura Dōseki was a Japanese professional Go player. Tradition counts him as the founder of the Inoue house. This was in fact a retrospective inclusion, essentially a fabrication of the early nineteenth century by Inoue Gennan Inseki. It accounts for the name Inoue Nakamura Dōseki sometimes given.
Hon'inbō Shūwa was a Japanese professional Go player, and also the fourteenth head of the Hon'inbō house from 1847 to 1873.
Yasui Sanchi was a Japanese professional Go player, and second head of the Yasui house.
The Nihon Ki-in Hall of Fame was created in 2004 as part of the Nihon Ki-in's 80th anniversary celebrations, and housed in the basement of its headquarters in Ichigaya.
The blood-vomiting game is a famous game of Go of the Edo period of Japan, played on June 27, 1835, between Hon'inbō Jōwa (white) and Akaboshi Intetsu (black). It is noted for the premature death of the go prodigy Akaboshi Intetsu who coughed up blood after the game and died a few months later. Selected moves of the game are shown in diagrams.
Honinbo is a title used by the head of the Honinbo house or the winner of the Honinbo tournament.
Igo Hatsuyōron is a collection of 183 go problems, compiled in 1713 by the Japanese go master Inoue Dōsetsu Inseki.
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