Hon'inbō Dōetsu
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Hon'inbō Dōetsu (本因坊道悦, 1636–1727) was a
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...
go
player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...
, who became the third head of the Honinbo house. His surname was Niwa, and he used a Buddhist name Nissho.


Biography

He was born in Matsuzaka, currently in
Mie Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture an ...
. He was adopted as Hon'inbō heir in 1658. He was promoted to 7 ''dan'' in 1666. His final ranking was as 8 ''dan''. Dōetsu challenged
Yasui Sanchi Yasui Sanchi (安井算知, 1617–1703) was a Japanese professional Go player, and second head of the Yasui house. He became ''Meijin''-''godokoro'' in 1668. It has always been said''Go Monthly Review'' 1963/5 p.54 that this promotion was achi ...
to a long match. In the end 20 games were played, out of a theoretical 60, over seven years starting in 1668. Under the beating-down rules (see ''
jubango Jūbango (十番碁) is a Japanese term for a Go match consisting of ten games which might be ended earlier if agreed by both players. A decisive victory would result in the opponent being ' beaten down' to a lower rank. A player would be beaten d ...
'') he forced Yasui down from '' sen'' (Black in each game, for a theoretical difference of two levels) to '' sen-ai-sen'' (Black-White-Black). He was also active in ''
oshirogo ''Oshirogo'' (御城碁 "castle Go") 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. Matches were played in th ...
'' from 1660, for 15 years. In 1677 he stepped down as Honinbo head, handing over to Dōsaku. He did however still meet an official requirement to play ''oshirogo''; he was given a personal allowance of 20 ''
koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. One koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about of rice. It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1,000 gō. One ''gō'' is the traditional volume of a single serving of rice (before co ...
'' of rice.''Go Monthly Review'' 1963/5, p.55 He is given the credit for establishing standard dimensions for
go equipment Go equipment refers to the board, stones (playing pieces), and bowls for the stones required to play the game of Go (game), Go. The quality and materials used in making Go equipment varies considerably, and the cost varies accordingly from econo ...
.


Sources

* GoGod Encyclopedia


Notes

1636 births 1727 deaths Japanese Go players 17th-century Go players {{Japan-Go-bio-stub