Go Titles:

Honinbo is the third-most prestigious (as it has the third largest prize money) tournament title in the Japanese [Go professional|professional GO] world, with a winners prize of 32 million [Yen]. Sponsored by the [Mainichi Shimbun] newspaper, this title must be won in a best-out-of-seven match against the current title holder, after emerging as best player in the preceding Honinbo-league. Even membership in this eight-member [league] open to members of the [Nihon Kiin] and [Kansai Kiin], is an achievement in itself, with only four openings due to demotions each year/round, which are filled (how else) by a preliminary elimination tournament. The final matches' games are two-day events with an 8-hour time limit on each side.

Female Go professionals compete in the [women's honinbo] legue, which is organized parallel to the male system, with a title holder waiting for the winner of the preceeding [league tournament].

There is also an annual [amateur] honinbo [elimination tournament], in which selected amateur players compete for the [Amateur Honinbo] title, which is awarded to the winner of the tournament.

Historically, the Honinbo title is the oldest and most prestigious Go title in [Japan]. The buddhist monk [Nikkai], who became know as [Honinbo Sansa], took up the name of the pavillion [Hon'inbo] in the [Jakkoji] temple in [Kyoto], in which he had lived, when he was given a stipend by the [Shogun]. The Shogun gave Sansa the name Meijin (literally "famous person"), meaning the best player in Japan, considered virtually unbeatable.

Honinbo Sansa founded the [Honinbo school] in 1612, making it the most prestigious and successful of the four traditionally schools of Go in the [Edo period]. The successive heads of the school took the title and name of Honinbo until the last hereditary holder, Honinbo Shusai, surrendered it to the Nihon Kiin to turn it into the tournament title described above. Incidentally, [Honinbo Shusai]'s last game of professional Go was chronicled by [Yasunari Kawabata] in his famous book [The Master of Go] ([Meijin]).

In the modern tournament title, a vestige of these traditions is retained in the custom of a new Honinbo taking a new name upon his accession (see below).However, this tradition is only honored by Japanese title holders.

Historic (hereditary) Honinbo Title Holders:

[Honinbo Sansa] 1612-1623
[Honinbo Sanetsu] 1630-1658
[Honinbo Doetsu] 1658-1677
[Honinbo Dosaku] 1677-1702
[Honinbo Doteki] (1684-1690)
[Honinbo Sakugen] (1692-1699)
[Honinbo Dochi] 1702-1727
[Honinbo Chihaku] 1727-1733
[Honinbo Shuhaku] 1733-1741
[Honinbo Hakugen] 1741-1754
[Honinbo Satsugen] 1754-1788
[Honinbo Retsugen] 1788-1808
[Honinbo Genjo] 1808-1827
[Honinbo Jowa] 1827-1839
[Honinbo Josaku] 1839-1847
[Honinbo Shuwa] 1847-1873
[Shusaku] (1848-1862) Designated as successor of Shuwa, but died before succeeding him
[Honinbo Shuetsu] 1873-1879
[Honinbo Shugen] 1879-1884
[Honinbo Shuei] 1884-1886
[Honinbo Shuho] 1886
[Honinbo Shuei] 1887-1907
[Honinbo Shugen] 1907-1914
[Honinbo Shusai] 1914-1940

Modern Professional Honinbo Title Holders:

1941 - [Sekiyama Riichi] (defeating [Kato Shin] 3-3)
1943 - [Hashimoto Utaro] (defeating Sekiyama Risen 1-0)
1945 - [Iwamoto Kaoru] (defeating Hashimoto Shou 5-3 in a match interrupted by the dropping of the [atomic bomb] on [Hiroshima], near where the game was played)
1947 - [Iwamoto Kunwa] (defeating [Kitani Minoru] 3-2)
1950 - [Hashimoto Utaro] (defeating Iwamoto Kunwa 4-0)
1951 - [Hashimoto Shou] (defeating [Sakata Eio] 4-3)
1952 - [Takagawa Kaku] (defeating Hashimoto Shou 4-1)
1953 - [Takagawa Shukaku] (defeating Kitani Minoru 4-2)
1954 - Takagawa Shukaku (defeating [Sugiuchi Masao] 4-2)
1955 - Takagawa Shukaku (defeating [Shimamura Toshihiro] 4-0)
1956 - Takagawa Shukaku (defeating Shimamura Toshihiro 4-2)
1957 - Takagawa Shukaku (defeating [Fujisawa Hosai] 4-2)
1958 - Takagawa Shukaku (defeating Sugiuchi Masao 4-2)
1959 - Takagawa Shukaku (defeating Kitani Minoru 4-2)
1960 - Takagawa Shukaku (defeating [Fujisawa Syuko] 4-2)
1961 - Sakata Eio (defeating Takagawa Shukaku 4-1)
1962 - [Sakata Eiju] (defeating [Handa Dogen] 4-1)
1963 - Sakata Eiju (defeating Takagawa Shukaku 4-2)
1964 - Sakata Eiju (defeating Takagawa Shukaku 4-0)
1965 - Sakata Eiju (defeating [Yamabe Toshiro] 4-0)
1966 - Sakata Eiju (defeating Fujisawa Syuko 4-0)
1967 - Sakata Eiju (defeating [Rin Kaiho] 4-1)
1968 - Rin Kaiho (defeating Sakata Eiju 4-3)
1969 - Rin Kaiho (defeating Kato Masao 4-2)
1970 - Rin Kaiho (defeating Sakata Eio 4-0)
1971 - [Ishida Yoshio] (defeating Rin Kaiho 4-2)
1972 - [Ishida Shuho] (defeating Rin Kaiho 4-3)
1973 - Ishida Shuho (defeating Rin Kaiho 4-0)
1974 - Ishida Shuho (defeating [Takemiya Masaki] 4-3)
1975 - Ishida Shuho (defeating Sakata Eio 4-3)
1976 - Takemiya Masaki (defeating Ishida Shuho 4-1)
1977 - [Kato Masao] (defeating Takemiya Masaki 4-1)
1978 - [Kato Kensei] (defeating Ishida Yoshio 4-3)
1979 - Kato Kensei (defeating Rin Kaiho 4-1)
1980 - Takemiya Masaki (defeating Kato Kensei 4-1)
1981 - [Cho Chikun] (defeating Takemiya Masaki 4-2)
1982 - Cho Chikun (defeating [Kobayashi Koichi] 4-2)
1983 - [Rin Kaiho] (defeating Cho Chikun 4-3)
1984 - Rin Kaiho (defeating Awaji Syuzo 4-1)
1985 - [Takemiya Masaki] (defeating Rin Kaiho 4-1)
1986 - Takemiya Masaki (defeating [Yamashiro Hiroshi] 4-1)
1987 - Takemiya Masaki (defeating Yamashiro Hiroshi 4-0)
1988 - Takemiya Masaki (defeating Otake Hideo 4-3)
1989 - Cho Chikun (defeating Takemiya Masaki 4-0)
1990 - Cho Chikun (defeating Kobayashi Koichi 4-3)
1991 - Cho Chikun (defeating Kobayashi Koichi 4-2)
1992 - Cho Chikun (defeating Kobayashi Koichi 4-3)
1993 - Cho Chikun (defeating Yamashiro Hiroshi 4-1)
1994 - Cho Chikun (defeating [Kataoka Satoshi] 4-3)
1995 - Cho Chikun (defeating Kato Masao 4-1)
1996 - Cho Chikun (defeating [Ryu Shikun] 4-2)
1997 - Cho Chikun (defeating Kato Masao 4-0)
1998 - [Cho Chikun] (defeating [O Rissei] 4-2)
1999 - [Cho Sonjin] (defeating Cho Chikun 4-2)
2000 - [O Meien] (defeating Cho Sonjin 4-2)
2001 - O Meien (defeating [Cho U] 4-3)
2002 - [Kato Masao] (defeating O Meien 4-2)

Honorary Honinbo Title Holders: (for winning the professional title five times in a row)

[Takagawa Kaku]
[Sakata Eio]
[Ishida Yoshio]
[Cho Chikun]

Professional Women's Honinbo Title Holders:

1982 - [Honda Sachiko] (defeating [Kobayashi Chizu] 2-1)
1983 - [Kusunoki Teruko] (defeating Honda Sachiko 2-1)
1984 - Honda Sachiko (defeating Kusunoki Teruko 2-0)
1985 - Kusunoki Teruko (defeating Honda Sachiko 2-1)
1986 - [Ogawa Tomoko] (defeating Kusunoki Teruko 2-0)
1987 - Kusunoki Teruko (defeating Ogawa Tomoko 2-0)
1988 - Kusunoki Teruko (defeating Ogawa Tomoko 2-0)
1989 - Kusunoki Teruko (defeating Ogawa Tomoko 2-0)
1990 - [Nakazawa Ayako] (defeating Kusunoki Teruko 2-1)
1991 - Nakazawa Ayako (defeating [Kobyashi Chizu] 2-1)
1992 - [Kato Tomoko] (defeating Nakazawa Ayako 2-0)
1993 - [Yoshida Mika] (defeating Kato Tomoko 2-1)
1994 - Yoshida Mika (defeating [Tsukuda Akiko] 2-0)
1995 - Yoshida Mika (defeating [Chinen Kaori] 3-1)
1996 - Yoshida Mika (defeating Nakazawa Ayako 3-0)
1997 - Chinen Kaori (defeating Yoshida Mika 3-1)
1998 - Chinen Kaori (defeating Kato Tomoko 3-0)
1999 - Chinen Kaori (defeating [Kobayashi Izumi] 3-0)
2000 - [Inori Yoko] (defeating Chinen Kaori 3-2)

A history of the title: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/igo_e/142.htm/p>

A collection of Honinbo Title matches in [.sgf] format can be found here:
http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~mmueller/go/honinbo.html

Honinbo (person)