Hon'inbō Sansa

Lore & Background

Nikkai was born in Kyōto and became a monk at age nine. The name 'Hon'inbō' comes from a sub-temple of the Jakkōji temple complex in Kyōto where Nikkai resided. Among his students were the daimyōs Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Nikkai considered the three generals to be 'fifth-degree' players (五子, comparable to amateur 4 or 5 dan), but 'diplomacy' was likely a factor in Nikkai's even-handed assessment.

Nobunaga recognized twenty-year-old Nikkai as the first Meijin of Go in 1578. In 1582, Nikkai played a notorious game at Honnōji Temple against rival priest Kashio Rigen, which is said to have ended in a triple ko and is traditionally linked to the Incident at Honnōji, though the evidence for this is unclear. In 1587, Hideyoshi gave Nikkai an official position, granting his temple four koku of rice annually. In 1592, Nikkai was given the rank of Gon-no-Daisoku by the Go-Yōzei Emperor.

In 1603, at Ieyasu's direction, Nikkai became the first go-dokoro, provided fifty koku of rice and five servants, and took the name Hon'inbō Sansa. Sansa was also a strong shogi player. In 1612, eight go and shogi players were given individual state support. Sansa died in Edo at age 65.

Reader's Guide

Sansa was succeeded by a youth named Sugimura, who later became Hon'inbō San'etsu. The title of Meijin was regained by the third head of Hon'inbō, and seven of the ten historic Meijin were Hon'inbō. All three traditional Kisei were Hon'inbō masters. The school lasted into the 20th century; in 1936, the last Hon'inbō master, Hon'inbō Shūsai, turned selection of the Hon'inbō title over to the Nihon Ki-in.

Did You Know?

• The name 'Hon'inbō' originally was pronounced 'Honninbō'.
• Sansa turned down an official residence in Edo's early Nihonbashi district.
• Sansa has been featured in the manga Hikaru no Go.