When Beauty Defied the Saint
The Undisputed King Meets His Match
By 1853, Honinbo Shusaku stood unchallenged. His 19-0 Castle Games record made him the undisputed strongest player in Japan. At a gathering hosted by Akai Goro, a powerful shogunate official, the greatest players of the era—9th Yasui Sanchi, Ito Matsukaze, Sakaguchi Sentoku, and Hattori Seitetsu—unanimously declared Shusaku "invincible."
Then Oota Yuuzo, the phantom genius of Go, shattered the applause with a sneer:
"I once gave Shusaku two stones—it took him 16 games to reach even footing. 'Invincible'? Don't make me laugh."
The Beautiful Rebel Who Refused to Bow
Yuuzo was no ordinary challenger.
As the strongest of the "Tenpo Four Geniuses," his skill was 7-dan level—yet he refused promotion.
The reason? His hair. Edo-era rules forced 7-dan players to shave their heads like monks. Yuuzo, renowned for his stunning beauty, valued his flowing looks over prestige.
The Go association bent the rules, allowing him to keep his hair—but banning him from Castle Games forever.
Now, at 47, he saw his last chance to test Shusaku.
The 30-Game Death Match
What followed was Go's answer to a samurai duel:
Game 17: Shusaku finally forced a handicap reduction after a 3-point win. His letter home boasted of his "new move at White 88"—a deceptively simple play that strangled Yuuzo's hopes. Historians now call it "The Masterpiece of Positional Judgment."
Game 23: With Yuuzo demoted to half-handicap, Shusaku's "First-Move Invincibility" seemed certain to crush him. Instead, Yuuzo fought Shusaku to a draw in what even Shusaku called "Oota Yuuzo's Lifework." Fans dubbed it "Yuuzo's True Face."
A Legacy Cut Short
The duel ended tragically.
After Game 23, Yuuzo left for a trip to Echigo—and never returned, dying of illness at 48. Shusaku, who had no equal but Yuuzo, mourned deeply:
"Now, I have no one left who understands."
Their 23-game war remains Japan's "When Purity Met Fury"—a clash of:
✔ Shusaku's flawless precision
✔ Yuuzo's unshaven rebellion
✔ Beauty's last stand against perfection
Like China's "When Fan Xiping Fought Shi Xiangxia", it was the duel that defined an era—and the one challenge even the Saint couldn't fully conquer.
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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.
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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》)
