Japan has a long tradition of professional Go competitions. Pictured here is a scene from the fourth Meijin Tournament in 1965, at which the then 23-year-old Lin Hai-feng (at left, in white shirt) defeated the previous year's champion Sagata Eio to become the youngest meijin in the history of professional Go in Japan. (courtesy of Huang Tien-tsai, former head of Central News Agency)

The game of Go was first introduced to Japan from China early in the seventh century, and quickly became popular there among members of the imperial house and the nobility. During Japan's Warring States period (late 15th to late 16th centuries), Japan's most famous warlords fell in love with the game. Notable among them was Oda Nobunaga, who conferred the title meijin ("master of Go") on the young Sansa, who would later go on to found the Honinbo school. Oda's successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, established the post of Godokoro ("Minister of Go"), and the game's popularity rose to unprecedented heights under the ensuing Tokugawa shogunate. Leading players competed before the emperor or the warlord, and it was during this period that the renowned "four Go houses" were established.

Meritocracy at Honinbo

The best player among all the competitors at the four Go houses was granted the lifetime title of meijin. The four houses were evenly matched in the early years of the shogunate, but as time went by Honinbo came to account for almost all the meijin. Unlike the other houses, where leadership was passed down to a son or relative, the head position at Honinbo always went to the top player. This meritocracy ensured the continuing emergence of brilliant competitors, including such memorable names as Dosaku, Jowa, Shuwa, Shusaku, and Shuei.

After the Meiji Restoration brought an end to Japanese feudalism in the closing decades of the 19th century, leading Go players could no longer rely on a stipend from the shogunate, and the title of meijin no longer brought the financial perks of years past. Support for the game had to come from other quarters. Newspaper publishers took up the baton by sponsoring matches, and a system was developed to rank players by awarding dan ranks. The Japan Go Association (Nihon Kiin) was established in 1923 to promote the development of professional Go players.