Go Personalities:
The greatest player who ever lived
The prodigy of Go:
Shusaku was one of the brightest stars to ever play the game of go. Born under the name of Torajiro on May 29, 1829 in a village near Onomichi as a merchants' son, he learned go at the age of 4, and quickly became famous as a go prodigy in his area. When he was six, the daimyo of the region, Lord Asano took note of him and became his patron, sharing his personal teacher of Go with him, who played at a professional level.
But it soon became clear that the local talent was not strong enough for Shusaku to be taught properly, so he was sent to Edo, becoming a diciple in the Honinbo school, the leading institution of Go at the time. By the age of 10, he had officially achieved the rank of 1-dan, an achievement his Lord, Asano rewarded with a yearly stipend, when he returned home shortly afterwards. But he soon moved back to Edo, was promoted to 2nd Dan in 1841 and changed his name to Shusaku. At age 14, he achieved the rank of the 4th dan.
The ear-reddening move:
In 1846, after another 18-month stay in his home town, Shusaku was travelling back to
Edo, when he stopped for an arranged match in
Osaka, where he was to play
Gennan Inseki of 8th dan, a player said to be of
Meijin strength. Their first game, in which Shusaku took a
handicap of two stones, was suspended halfway when Gennan realized Shusaku was much stronger, and didn't need the handicap, offering Shusaku the first move in the next game, an enormous
honor coming from a player of higher rank.
Early in the second game, Shusaku made a bad play that put Gennan into an advantageous position. But with his 127th move, a move of genius, he managed to turn the whole game around. But as it was played, most of the people analyzing the game in another room were still sure that Gennan would win, but a doctor watching the game as well disagreed and said Shusaku would win. When pressed for his reasoning, he answered:
"I don't know much about go, but when Shusaku played that move, Gennan's ears flushed red.
This showed that the move upset him and he was taken by surprise."
And indeed, the game turned after this play, Shusaku taking the lead and winning by 3 points in the end. After this game, one of the most famous games ever and considered a masterpiece for both players, they played three more games, one of which was also ended in the middle and the other two being won by Shusaku, whose reputation had now been firmly established.
King of the Hill:
When Shusaku arrived back in Edo, he heard that he had been promoted to 5th dan, and was asked to become the
heir of
Shuwa, the next in line for the position head of the
Honinbo School. Feeling bound by duty towards Lord Asano and his own family, he refused at first, but when his lord relinquished his claim on Shusaku, Shusaku was free to accept, becoming
Shuwa's heir, additionally marrying
Jowa's daughter.
When Honinbo Josaku died in late 1847, Shuwa became the new head of the Honinbo house, recognized as the strongest player of his time. After being promoted to 6th Dan in 1848, Shusaku was finally able to participate in the castle games, where he would play (and win) a total of 19 games in the following years. Although recognized as strongest player right after Shuwa, he accepted a challenge by Ota Yuzo, whom he had problems with, to play a sanjubango (thirty-game match). But Shusaku proved to be the stronger player once again, winning most the games, not losing once with Black, and forcing Yuzo to take a handicap after game 17.
Today, Shusaku is known for his undefeated streak in the castle games, the Shusaku fuseki and his complete mastery of the strategic principles and the practical techniques of go, every move backed by thorough analysis. His games are indispensable study material for aspiring go players. Because of his talent and achievements, he is one of the two players ever to be called Kisei or "Go saint" by later scholars and players of Go. Shusaku was probably the greatest go player who ever lived, living in an age filled with great go geniuses, forcing them all to take a handicap from him.
The brightest stars...
When a cholera epidemic devastated Edo in 1862, several disciples of the Honinbo school also fell ill. Helping care for the sick, Shusaku also caught the disease, passing away on 10 August 1862, aged only 33 years.
In the manga Hikaru no Go, Sai Fujiwara the heian ghost living inside Hikaru's mind reveals that he had lived inside Shusaku as well, teaching him all he knew, and opening up his talent in the first place.