The Tragedy of Mizutani Hoji
A Genius Destroyed by His Own Brilliance
The announcement came like a thunderclap through the halls of the Hoensha. Murase Shuho had declared his intention to promote Mizutani Hoji to 7-dan.
The air grew thick with tension as players exchanged uneasy glances. Hoji's undeniable skill had carried him to this precipice - his recent demolition of Iwasaki Kenzo was still fresh in everyone's memory - but the room's silence spoke volumes about what they truly thought of this promotion.
Nobody liked Hoji as a person.
A Brilliant Mind Trapped in a Failing Body
Hoji sat hunched in the corner, his skeletal frame wrapped in layers of robes despite the summer heat. The tuberculosis that had haunted him since childhood painted his pale face with a permanent flush of fever. The disease had stolen his vitality but sharpened his mind to a razor's edge, leaving behind a player of terrifying precision and little patience.
His opponents knew what to expect when facing Hoji:
The way his sunken eyes would bore into them during their turns, his fingers drumming an impatient rhythm on the board's edge
That infuriating habit of exhaling sharply through his nose when they dared consider a move for more than a few minutes
The triumphant sneer that curled his lips whenever he spotted a weakness, accompanied by a soft "Heh" that set teeth on edge
Even Shuho, normally the picture of composure, had been seen grinding his teeth during their games. Shuho advised Hoji to manage his temper and poor manners, but Hoji never did.
The Challenge That Divided the Hoensha
The protest came swiftly from an unexpected quarter - Takahashi Kinosaburo, the beloved "Professor" of the Hoensha. Though only a 5-dan, Takahashi's encyclopedic knowledge of joseki and gift for teaching made him the organization's backbone. When he slammed his fist on the council table, declaring "I cannot accept this promotion!", half the room nodded in silent agreement.
The resulting 10-game showdown became the stuff of legend. From the first stone, Hoji played with a viciousness, setting traps everywhere on the board just to humiliate Takahashi.
As Takahashi struggled to comprehend the trap he'd wandered into, Hoji leaned across the board, his breath ragged but his voice dripping with venom: "Thank you for being a stepping stone to my promotion!”
Hoji held grudges against Takahashi because he tried to prevent the promotion. Hoji executed a merciless sequence that the commentator would later describe as "a cat playing with a mortally wounded mouse." While playing mercilessly, Hoji also showed all kinds of terrible manners just to annoy Takahashi.
The Cruelty of the Crowd
When Hoji completed his fourth consecutive victory, the room's hostility became palpable. Takahashi, his pride in tatters, made a desperate appeal: "Our nine previous club games must count toward this match! You technically are only 3 games ahead-"
"That's absurd!" Hoji's retort came like a whip crack. "Those were casual games with no stakes!"
Although everyone knew Takahashi was being unreasonable, not a single voice rose in Hoji’s defense. The message was clear - the Hoensha would rather bend the rules than see Hoji elevated.
Shuho, away from establishing a branch in Nagoya, received the news with growing dread. His compromise - ordering a fifth game. Shuho thought Hoji gets to play as black in the fifth game, so it should be another easy win for Hoji.
When the letter reached Hoji, he thought nobody was on his side anymore. The prodigy locked himself in his quarters and cried for three days. But he decided to honor the order from Shuho and play one more game.
The Final Game
The fifth match became a grotesque parody of competition. Hoji moved like a sleepwalker, his once-incisive plays now dull and mechanical. Takahashi, sensing blood in the water, pressed his advantage with uncharacteristic aggression. When the final stones were counted, Hoji's loss was so complete that even his detractors looked away in discomfort.
The downward spiral came swiftly:
November 21, 1883: Hoji collapses mid-game against Nakagawa Kamesaburou, his handkerchief flecked with blood
November 23: His fever spikes dangerously high, yet he demands his board be brought to his sickbed
November 26: As dawn breaks, the Hoensha's most brilliant and troubled star burns out at just thirty-nine
The Aftermath
The memorial service saw even Takahashi in tears. Shuho, his voice breaking, announced Hoji's posthumous promotion to 7-dan - the rank he had fought so bitterly to achieve. As incense smoke curled around Hoji's portrait, the gathered players finally spoke honestly about the man they'd ostracized.
"He never cheated," admitted Kenzo, running a finger along the edge of a game record. "Just... couldn't stand weakness, least of all his own."
Shuho placed the 7-dan certificate beside the urn containing Hoji's ashes. "We punished him for the crime of being right," he murmured. "His only sin was knowing it."
In the years that followed, Hoji's innovations would become standard teaching material at the Hoensha. His famous Game 4 slaughter of Takahashi was studied as a masterpiece of tactical precision. Every November 26, an extra cup of sake would appear beside his memorial stone.
Want the next chapter of Go history?
🔸Subscribe to our email list to get occasional reminders to read new stories
🔸 Access high-quality lectures and Go equipment
🔸Join a growing community preserving the greatest drama Go has ever known
🡆 Because every legend begins with a move.
And every game tells a story.
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》)
