Honinbo Shusaku
| Honinbo Shusaku | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Full name | Hon′inbō Shūsaku |
| Kanji | 本因坊秀策 |
| Born |
June 6, 1829 Innoshima, Bingo Province, Japan |
| Died | September 3, 1862 (aged 33) Edo, Japan |
| Teacher | Honinbo Shuwa |
| Rank | 7 dan pro |
Shusaku (本因坊秀策, Yasuda Eisai, Kuwahara Shusaku, Invincible Shusaku, born as Kuwabara Torajiro (桑原虎次郎); June 6, 1829 – September 3, 1862) was a Japanese professional Go player from the 19th century. He is known for his undefeated streak of 19-games during the annual castle games; thirty-game match with Ota Yuzo; lead innovator of the eponymous Shusaku opening for Black; post-death ascension to one of the Go Sages; and next to his teacher, Hon'inbō Shūwa, 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.
He was nicknamed "Invincible" after he earned a perfect score for 19 straight wins in the annual castle games. Some say that he was not stronger than his teacher, Honinbō Shuwa. Out of respect for his teacher, Shusaku refused to play with white against his teacher thus there is no clear gauge of the difference in strength between them. Shusaku, for example, had a plus score against Ōta Yūzo but still found him a tough opponent, while Shuwa beat him easily.
Only two other people have been given the title "Go Sage" (Kisei) in addition to Shusaku, the others being Honinbō Dosaku (1645–1702) and Honinbo Jowa (1787–1847). However, Jowa's title was posthumously revoked due to a biased account of his machinations (in the Zain Danso) towards obtaining the post of Meijin Godokoro. Today, Shusaku's reputation is more balanced in Japan, where a wide number of texts on Shusaku and Jowa have since been published, but remains somewhat inflated in the West where the sources are more sparse.
He was born on the island of Innoshima near the town of Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan to a merchant, Kuwabara Wazo. Asano Tadahiro, lord of Mihara Castle, became his patron after playing a game with him, and allowed him to study under Lord Asano's personal trainer, the priest Hoshin, a player of professional level.
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