Rigged Game: The Prearranged Draw
The Match That Split the House
Shortly after Karigane Junichi joined the Honinbo household, a momentous match was scheduled. Tamura Yasuhisa was about to be promoted to 7-dan, and the Jiji Shinpō newspaper invited the two to play a commemorative game, to be reviewed and published with commentary by Honinbo Shuei himself.
After the game, Shuei reviewed the kifu carefully. Something troubled him: the result was a jigo (draw), but by his count, black had clearly won by a point. He summoned Karigane and pressed him.
Karigane, unable to deceive his teacher, confessed. Tamura, concerned about the optics of losing just before his 7-dan promotion ceremony, had asked him to agree to a draw. Tamura even sent Takeuchi to plead with him. Karigane eventually relented.
Furious, Shuei called Tamura a "cowardly man." His contempt deepened, for this confirmed a growing suspicion: Tamura was becoming a threat in both skill and ego. Despite Tamura's strength, Shuei's bitterness toward him only intensified.
A Celebration, A Betrayal
In August 1905, a month after Tamura's promotion, the long-awaited Nihon Ki-in precursor, the "Japan Go Association," was founded with Shuei as its president. Distinguished political figures such as Inukai Tsuyoshi were named honorary members.
To commemorate the occasion, Jiji Shinpō proposed a public game between Tamura and Shuei. Shuei hesitated. The journalist Yano cleverly suggested a double-match, one win apiece, so no one lost face. Both agreed.
But the prearranged draw proved elusive. Attempts to engineer a draw led to a one-point black win. With time short, the parties changed plans: two games, with Tamura losing the first and winning the second. Or so Tamura believed.
Shuei, however, took both games seriously. He crushed Tamura in the first game, and in the second, instead of throwing the match, launched an unrelenting attack. At move 160, Tamura resigned.
Tamura, humiliated and furious, could say nothing. Shuei, holding the earlier "fixed draw" as leverage, had won not only on the board but politically. Yano, guilt-ridden, would later confess the affair in a tell-all article.
The Rift Widens
This betrayal marked a permanent rupture. When Shuei fell ill soon after becoming Meijin, Tamura never visited. On his deathbed, Shuei told his wife Shinko: "Tamura is rebellious and unfit to lead the Honinbo house. Karigane lacks his skill but has a future and a loyal heart. He should inherit."
But Shuei died before making formal arrangements.
The Succession War Begins
A fierce succession dispute erupted. On one side was Shinko, backed by Kan Genkichi and Kobayashi Kentarō, favoring Karigane. On the other side were Nozawa Takechō and Takabe Dōhei, demanding that Tamura succeed.
Kan Genkichi, a wise strategist with a warrior's build, held the Honinbo seal and ensured Karigane's faction had the advantage. But Tamura's supporters counterattacked in the press. Nozawa published scathing articles and questioned the legitimacy of Shinko's "deathbed declaration."
Shinko fired back, denouncing Tamura as a "traitor to his master." A public media war broke out.
Honor, Legacy, and the Breaking Point
Though Shinko's side had the moral high ground, tradition weighed against them. The Honinbo legacy required the strongest to inherit. Tamura clearly outplayed Karigane. The public, swayed by Nozawa's arguments, began to shift.
Sensing opportunity, Hoensha president Iwasaki Kenzo promoted himself to 8-dan and published a "neutral" editorial proposing that Hoensha assume control of Honinbo House.
The Honinbo legacy hung by a thread.
Desperate, Tamura's faction called on the retired 16th Honinbo Shugen to intervene. Shugen, who had long hated in-fighting, reluctantly agreed to act as a stopgap.
On March 27, 1907, Shugen was installed as the 20th Honinbo. Though he was only officially 4-dan, his allies insisted on referring to him as 6-dan for that one day to maintain dignity. Afterward, the fiction was dropped.
A Fragile Peace
Though the succession dispute was "resolved," everyone knew it was temporary. The real battle loomed: who would be the 21st Honinbo?
Karigane's faction founded the Gyokukai, a training and strategy society. Tamura's side responded with the Igo Kenkyūkai, or Go Research Society.
The Go world braced for a confrontation that would define its next century...
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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》)
