Hon'inbō Dōsaku (本因坊道策, 1645–1702) was a professional Go

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Biography

Dōsaku was one of the greatest Go players in history. He was born in the Iwami Province of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and studied Go in the Hon'inbō school, becoming

Meijin is one of the eight titles in Japanese professional shogi player, professional shogi, and is the most prestigious title, along with Ryūō. The word ( "excellent, artful", "person") refers to a highly skilled master of a certain field (the ...

at a very young age. Dōsaku was the fourth Hon'inbō by the time he was 32, and the fourth

by the time he was 33. He started to learn Go at 7. Dōsaku was so strong by the time he was in his early 20s that even if someone played the first move, he would always win. Rumors were that he was two stones stronger than any other Go player. This was due to his deep thinking and next-level

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. He laid the foundation for opening strategy in the Golden Period.

Becoming Meijin by fiat

Only a short time after receiving the Head of the Hon'inbō school he was given the post of Meijin in recognition of his unrivaled strength. On one account, this controversial appointment (which deprived Yasui Sanchi of his official positions) was handled by the ''

Jisha-bugyō was a position within the system for the administration of religion that existed from the Muromachi period to the Edo period in Japan. Appointments to this prominent office were always ''fudai daimyōs'', the lowest-ranking of the shogunate office ...

'' by summoning a meeting of all concerned parties, including the shogidokoro Ōhashi Sōkei. Sanchi did not attend, and the change of ''Meijin-godokoro'' was agreed on unanimously. The ground for this decision was the match of 20 games played between Hon'inbō Dōetsu and Sanchi, for which Dōsaku probably acted as Dōetsu's second on adjournments.

Games

By the time he was 32, he was already head of the Hon'inbō school and placed at the top of the official hierarchy. It has been suggested that the true level of his playing strength was never really tested, given the distance between him and his nearest rivals. The evidence of his contributions is in the legacy of games, known to us by the kifu records. Two of his famous games are the Jan. 5th, 1684 defeat by one point in a two-stone game (his "life-time masterpiece") and the 1670 castle go game when his opponent opened at '' tengen'', the central point, which was a victory. These were both against members of the Yasui house. Over 150 games of his are known.

Theoretician

Dōsaku is also well remembered for his contributions to Go theory. He took advantage of overconcentration also known as '' korigatachi'', making that henceforth one of the key theoretical errors that players avoided. ''Tewari'' analysis, a systematic if rather tricky tool of analysis of efficiency of sequences, is also attributed to him; as is the strategy of '' amashi''. In playing Peichin Hamahika from the

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, in 1682, he gave a practical demonstration of his theories, winning easily when giving a four-stone handicap. This game is a textbook piece and is still frequently cited. (The first game he won by 14; the second game on the same day was also recorded and he lost by a small margin, which may naturally mean that he had nothing to prove and was being diplomatic.) In the field of '' joseki'', he innovated with the three-point low pincer, a more strategic play than the two-point low pincer favoured in particular by the players of the Yasui house.

Pupils

He taught Ogawa Dōteki, Sayama Sakugen, Hoshiai Hasseki, Kumagaya Honseki, and Kuwabara Dōsetsu. All but one died young, in their early twenties, and the Honinbo house faced a period of rebuilding.''Go Monthly Review'' 1963/8, p.48 Dōsetsu became the Inoue house head. The young Hon'inbō Dōchi carried on the tradition.

External links

The story of Dosaku (including games)

Sensei's Library article

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Honinbo, Dosaku 1645 births 1702 deaths Japanese Go players 17th-century Go players