Honinbo

The Honinbo is a historic Japanese Go house and institution. Historically, the name referred to a hereditary Go house and its successive heads, preserving a lineage within Japan’s professional Go tradition.

In modern Go, Honinbo is also the name of a major professional title awarded through a championship competition. Professional players contest the title through a title-match or championship format. Thus, Honinbo may mean either the historical institution and lineage or the modern professional title. It is not a playing rank or a technique used on the Go board. The title represents one of Japan’s most prestigious professional Go championships while carrying forward the legacy of the Honinbo house.