Rise of Honinbo Dosaku: When Go Turned Political
When Go Turned Cold
The Castle Games—Oshirogo (御城碁)—were once a stage of prestige. Winning brought honor. Losing was no shame.
But after Honinbo Sanetsu died and Yasui Sanchi was suddenly named Meijin, something shifted. Go became political. Grudges fermented like old tea. Players stopped seeing each other as rivals. They saw enemies.
And in the Honinbo house, the sting ran deep.
Sanchi, smooth-talking and shrewd, had seized his moment. Most of the old court allies who once supported the Honinbo line had died or retired. Sanchi filled the void with flattery, careful alliances, and charm. When he was appointed Meijin—the top rank in Go—few saw it coming.
Honinbo Doetsu, the third-generation successor, only found out three days before the next Castle Game.
He was stunned. Numb. Furious.
The Game That Was Never Supposed to End
The Honinbo house had reason to object. Sanchi had never even faced Doetsu in official competition. For a decade, their paths never crossed. Was it politics, chance, or something more intentional?
Now they were finally matched.
Doetsu sharpened his resolve. He would show, in full view of the court, who deserved the Meijin title.
But the night before the match, a senior official summoned him.
This wasn’t a friendly visit.
“Tomorrow’s match,” the official said, “must end in a draw.”
Doetsu blinked. “Why?”
“You're going to play Black. If you win, it makes the court look foolish. It will imply that we endorsed the wrong man. Sanchi cannot lose. And you, frankly, cannot win.”
The words came heavy, but with unmistakable clarity.
“We’ve already spoken to Sanchi. He will avoid victory. You will avoid victory. It ends in balance.”
Doetsu sat there, silent, humiliated—but not surprised.
Sanchi had not only claimed the title, but he had sealed it with politics. To question that decision, even on the board, was to question the court. And that, the elders would not allow.
The Illusion Breaks
The next day, Doetsu entered the castle, robe pressed, face composed.
The match began. Stone by stone, the board filled. Both players avoided decisive moves. Every cut was blunted. Every threat, restrained.
But harmony is hard to fake.
Somewhere in the endgame, a misread. An overreach. A line crossed.
When the counting ended, Black had won by one point.
Doetsu had won.
A tense silence.
Then one official cleared his throat and declared:
“The game is a draw.”No one argued. Not even the Emperor questioned it.
Everyone left the room smiling. But Doetsu’s hands were trembling.
The Breaking Point
Seven days passed.
Doetsu had replayed every moment of that game in his mind hundreds of times. And then he did something no one expected:
He knelt before a court elder and wept.
“I beg you,” he said, “grant me a proper challenge. Twenty games against Sanchi. No restrictions. No charades. Let the board speak.”
The elder looked down on him coldly.
“Do you understand the risk? You’re not his equal in title. If you challenge and lose, you’ll be punished for insubordination. You’ll be exiled—sent to a remote island for life.”
Doetsu didn’t flinch.
“I understand.”
“Even if it means exile?”
“Even if I die.”
The Twenty-Game Reckoning
The court relented.
Twenty games. One year. Whoever came out ahead would claim the honor. No more scripts. No more politics.
The games began.
Doetsu started strong. After ten rounds, he had five wins, three draws, and one loss.
But just as the momentum tilted in his favor, the pressure closed in. He lost two crucial matches—games 11 and 12—and his path to victory suddenly blurred.
He studied the board night after night. Something felt wrong. He couldn’t find the mistake. He doubted his own hands.
And then came a voice:
“You played those games wrong.”
A Quiet Genius Appears
It was his disciple.
A young man. Sharp eyes. Calm demeanor. His name was Dosaku.
At first, Doetsu dismissed him. But Dosaku stepped forward—not with arrogance, but with precision. He pointed out key decisions. Silent flaws.
He read the board like a seasoned general. And Doetsu, stunned by his clarity, listened.
From that point on, Dosaku helped prepare every move.
The Balance Shifts
With renewed clarity, Doetsu stepped back into the ring.
The next few games were hard-fought, but he won again and again. His confidence returned. His footing stabilized.
And in the most crucial of the matches, he secured a narrow but complete victory.
There was no political rescue this time.
By the end of the twenty-game series, the score was clear:
Doetsu: 13 wins. Sanchi: 3. Draws: 4.
The court bowed.
Sanchi, ashamed and beaten, resigned from his position and faded from public play.
The Student Surpasses the Master
It was a triumphant return for the Honinbo house—but history had more in store.
Years later, Dosaku, the quiet student, ascended to Meijin.
In a formal match against his old teacher Doetsu, he won decisively. Not through politics or pressure, but with the sheer brilliance of Go.
His new ideas—light, modern, deeply strategic—would go on to shape Go theory for generations.
That game became known as “The Secret of the Blue Beyond.”
The student had surpassed the master.
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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》)
