Honinbo Shuho

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Honinbo Shuho

Full name	Murase Shuho
Kanji	本因坊秀甫
Date of birth	1838
Place of birth	, Japan
Date of death	1886
Place of death	, Japan
Teacher	Josaku and Shuwa
Rank	8 dan

Honinbo Shuho (本因坊秀甫, 1838-1886), known also as Murase Shuho (村瀬秀甫, Murase Shūho), was the first Japanese professional go player to have a reputation in the Western world.

[edit] Biography

A disciple in the Honinbo house, he founded the Hoensha institution and taught the game of Go to a German visitor by the name of Oskar Korschelt. Korschelt later was the first person to spread and popularize Go to any effect, in a non-Asian country. Shuho became the 18th Honinbo in 1886.

Shuho became a student in the Honinbo house at the age of seven and was awarded a 1-dan rank in 1848, reaching 6-dan in 1861. He was the strongest Honinbo disciple after Shusaku, and Shuwa wanted to make him his heir when Shusaku died, but Jowa's widow blocked this plan. He became head of the Hoensha in 1879. After a rapprochement between the Hoensha and the Honinbo house in 1886, Shuei promoted Shuho to 8-dan and stepped aside to allow him to become head of the Honinbo house. Shuho unfortunately died only three months after becoming Honinbo. In the last few years of his life he was the strongest player in Japan.