, also known as Murase Shūho (村瀬秀甫), was the first Japanese professional go player to have a reputation in the Western world.

Biography

A disciple in the

Hon'inbō house 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 ...

, he founded the Hoensha institution and taught the game of Go to a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

visitor by the name of

Oskar Korschelt Oskar Korschelt (September 18, 1853 in Berthelsdorf – July 4, 1940 in Leipzig; some sources erroneously give him the name Oscar or Otto) was a German chemist and engineer who introduced the Asian strategy board game of Go to Europe, especially ...

. Korschelt later was the first person to spread or popularize Go to a notable degree in a non-

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

n country. Shūho became the 18th Hon'inbō in 1886. Shūho became a student in the Hon'inbō house at the age of seven and was awarded a 1-dan rank in 1848, reaching 6-dan in 1861. He was the strongest Hon'inbō disciple after Shūsaku, and Shūwa wanted to make him his heir when Shūsaku died, but Jōwa's widow blocked this plan. He became head of the Hoensha in 1879. Shūho published the famous book ''Hoen Shinpo'' in 1882, which outlined the

Meiji era The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization b ...

fuseki. After a rapprochement between the Hoensha and the Honinbo house in 1886, Shūei promoted Shūho to 8-dan and stepped aside to allow him to become head of the Hon'inbō house. Shūho died only three months after becoming Hon'inbō. In the last few years of his life he was the strongest player in Japan. 1838 births 1886 deaths Japanese Go players 19th-century Go players {{Japan-Go-bio-stub