original title：趙治勲 私の履歴書（14）名人本因坊
Original article: The Nikkei
Author: Cho Chikun, Honorary Meijin
In 1980, when I claimed the Meijin title, the landscape of the Go world was as follows: among the seven major titles, Hideyuki Fujisawa, at the age of 55, was fighting to defend the Kisei title (the top title with the most prize reward), but the remaining titles were all held by disciples of Kitani Minoru. Hideyuki Otake held both the Tengen and Gosei titles, Masao Kato had the Tengen and Oza titles, Masaki Takemiya was the Honinbo, and I was the Meijin.
Although this was an era of fierce competition, including players like Rin Kaiho, who was often mentioned alongside Hideyuki Otake as part of the "Bamboo Forest," and my senior Koichi Kobayashi, as the youngest player at 24, I was undeniably a key figure. Just a month after winning the Meijin title, I entered the Honinbo league and, with a perfect 7-0 record against strong players like Eio Sakata, Rin Kaiho, and Masao Kato, earned the right to challenge Masaki Takemiya for the Honinbo title.
Masaki Takemiya, who was close in age to Yoshio Ishida and Masao Kato, was known as one of the "Three Crows"*1 of the Kitani school, but he had originally studied under a different teacher. It was only after his initial training that he joined the Kitani Dojo as a commuting student. Unlike me, who often lacked confidence, Takemiya had a strong self-assurance, almost like a grown-up version of the mythical Tengu. I admired his confident playing style. He was known for his "cosmic style" (宇宙流), a strategy full of romantic flair, which naturally garnered him many fans.
What I found particularly fascinating was Takemiya’s approach when playing as White. In Go, Black, as the first player, typically has more control over the opening strategy. While Takemiya’s strategy with Black focused on claiming large territories, I personally appreciated the smaller "cosmos" he created when playing as White; those smaller, more refined "cosmos" had a special charm (Takemiya's style playing as white was known as the natural style, indeed, today we have AI, it obviously more approved the natural style than the cosmic style).
Regardless, I enjoyed playing in my opponent's framework, which made Takemiya a relatively easier opponent for me. In the best-of-seven series that began in the spring of 1981, I ultimately defeated him with a 4-2 victory.
If becoming Meijin was a childhood dream of mine, then the Honinbo title, organized by the Mainichi Shimbun, was the most revered title for disciples of Kitani Minoru. This was because Kitani-sensei had challenged for the Honinbo title three times but never won it. Although my senior, Yoshio Ishida, fulfilled our teacher’s long-held wish by winning the title and even earning the Honorary Honinbo title, the Honinbo title had always held special significance for me, as The Complete Honinbo had been my Go "Bible." Thus, this title held a particularly important place in my heart.
Before the Kisei tournament was established, the Meijin and Honinbo tournaments were considered the two premier Go competitions. I held both titles simultaneously, becoming the fourth player after Eio Sakata, Rin Kaiho, and Yoshio Ishida to achieve the "Meijin-Honinbo" distinction, and I was the youngest to do so.
In the autumn of that year, in the Meijin title defense, I defeated challenger Masao Kato with a 4-0 victory, successfully defending my title. Although it is often said that defending a title is more challenging than winning it, at that time, I was in such strong form that I almost forgot this saying.
The following year, I also won the Tsurugaoka tournament, sponsored by Japan Airlines. In the spring’s Judan tournament, I challenged Hideyuki Otake and took the title with a 3-1 victory. Then, in the Honinbo title defense that followed, I faced a challenge from Koichi Kobayashi and successfully defended the title with a 4-2 victory.
In the summer’s Gosei tournament, I lost as the challenger to Hideyuki Otake, but in the autumn’s Meijin title defense, I defeated challenger Hideyuki Otake with a 4-1 victory, achieving a three-peat in the Meijin title.
Looking back at these records, even I am surprised by how much I won. But in reality, my memories of that period are rather vague. My second child (my eldest son) was born at our home in Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture, and both work and family life were going smoothly. Perhaps because I was too happy, I didn’t retain many deep memories from that time.
*1: Sanbagarasu (Three Crows) refers to three outstanding individuals.
Below is a list of people who have been referred to as "Sanbagarasu" in the go fields:
Post-war Sanbagarasu: Hideyuki Fujisawa, Takeo Kajiwara, Toshirou Yamabe
Kitani Dojo Sanbagarasu: Masao Kato, Masaki Takemiya, Yoshio Ishida
Reiwa Sanbagarasu: Toramaru Shibano, Jiao Yuan (Xu Jiayuan), Ryo Ichiriki
Commentaires