The Fall of the Honinbo
Fire, Madness, and the Death of an Era
When the Castle Games were abolished, the golden age of Japanese Go collapsed with it.
The Four Great Houses—once pillars of the shogunate’s cultural elite—were now relics of a dying regime. By 1867, the Meiji Restoration had begun, toppling the Tokugawa shogunate and plunging the Go world into chaos.
For the Honinbo, the fall was catastrophic.
The Death of the Old Order
The new Meiji government slashed stipends. The 50 koku(1650 lbs) of rice that once sustained the Honinbo dwindled to 13 koku(429 lbs)—barely enough to feed a school of disciples.
Worse, the government seized the Honinbo estate, ordering the clan to vacate their ancestral home for "national heroes" of the Restoration. Desperate, Shuwa (then head of the Honinbo) scrambled to negotiate, renting out rooms to travelers to survive.
Then came the fire.
One night, a careless lodger knocked over an oil lamp. The wooden Honinbo compound burned to the ground. Centuries of archives and treasures, all gone.
Shuwa and his disciples slept in the ashes, surviving on scraps from their untouched storehouse. The proud Honinbo name was now synonymous with beggary.
By 1871, the government had abolished all stipends entirely. The Four Houses were left to starve.
Shuwa, broken in spirit, died two years later at 54.
The Madness of Shuetsu
Shuwa’s eldest son, Shuetsu, inherited the ruins at 22. A 6-dan prodigy, he was stronger than the other house heads—but utterly unprepared for leadership.
Raised in privilege, he knew nothing of hardship. The pressure destroyed him.
One evening, Shuetsu burst into a friend’s home, wild-eyed, clutching a dagger.
"They’re coming for me!" he screamed. "Men with swords—help me!"
When his hosts found no attackers, Shuetsu began slashing at the air, howling about invisible enemies. They wrestled the blade away, but his mind was gone.
Soon, he was stealing kitchen knives, chasing disciples through the ruins of the Honinbo compound. His family tied him down, but the damage was done.
The Honinbo House, already a shadow of its former self, now had a madman as its head.
The Vultures Circle
With Shuetsu incapacitated, the question of succession loomed.
Shuho, the exiled genius, seemed the obvious choice. But Nakagawa Kamesaburou—a scheming 6-dan and son of the legendary Jowa—had other plans.
"Shuho is a drunkard, a gambler!" he hissed to Shuei (Shuwa’s second son, now head of the Hayashi school). "Let Shuetsu recover—or appoint Shugen (Shuwa’s youngest) instead!"
Privately, Kamesaburou dreamed of taking power himself.
But when Shuho returned to Edo, Kamesaburou saw a new opportunity. He invited Shuho to his home, flattering him:
"The Honinbo throne is yours by right! I’ll convince Shuei to name you heir!"
Shuho, desperate for legitimacy, believed him.
But Shuei saw through the ruse.
"The succession is decided," he coldly informed Kamesaburou. "Shugen will inherit. Tell Shuho to stop dreaming."
The Beggar Princes
Humiliated, Shuho fled Edo with Shuei, now equally disillusioned with the Hayashi school.
The two former rivals became vagabonds, wandering through Kyoto and Osaka, hustling games for food.
At one inn, they ran out of money. The owner locked them inside, demanding payment.
They scribbled a plea to a local nobleman:
"We are Honinbo and Hayashi heirs. Please lend us a coin."
The nobleman laughed, assuming it was a scam—until he saw them.
The sight of Japan’s greatest Go talents, filthy and starving, shocked him into pity.
Years later, after regaining power, Shuei refused to return to Kyoto.
"I was a beggar there," he muttered. "I can’t face those memories."
The Seeds of Rebellion
This was the state of Japanese Go in 1871:
Honinbo: A mad heir, a ruined estate, and a boy (Shugen) as its last hope.
Inoue: Barely surviving, thanks to Kobayashi Tetsujiro’s shrewd planning.
Hayashi: Shuei, disillusioned and adrift.
Yasui: The only house with savings, but fading fast.
And Shuho.
He had nothing left to lose.
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Copyright Notice
This English adaptation is based on Japanese Go Stories (《日本围棋故事》, 2016) by Xue Zhicheng (薛至诚).
For non-commercial use only: Shared for educational purposes under fair use.
Rights retained: All copyrights belong to the original author and cited sources.
Modifications: Minor narrative adjustments were made for readability; all historical content remains accurate.
No affiliation or endorsement: This work is independent and unaffiliated with the original author or publishers.
Contact: For verification or takedown requests, please email help@zeejyan.com.
References
Adapted from:
Xue Zhicheng (薛至诚), Japanese Go Stories (《日本围棋故事》), 2016.
Cited in original work:
Watanabe Hideo (渡辺英夫), Shin Zaigin Dansō (《新坐隱談叢》)
Watanabe Yoshimichi (渡部義通), Kodai Igo no Sekai (《古代囲碁の世界》)
Lin Yu (林裕), Weiqi Encyclopedia (《围棋百科辞典》)
