Honinbō

Honinbō (本因坊, Hon'inbō) was the name of one of the four major schools of Go in Japan. Easily the strongest school of Go for most of its existence, it was established in 1612 and survived until 1940.

Upon the closure of the school, the title Hon'inbō came to be used for the winner of the Honinbo Tournament, which is now an annual professional go event in Japan. It is run under the titleholder system, meaning that at any given time there is a player who can use the title Hon'inbō. It is customary for Japanese players to take a special personal name as Hon'inbō, a unique feature of this title; for example Takagawa Kaku held the title for nine years, and during this time was referred to as Honinbō Shukaku. Players of other nationalities by custom do not adopt a special name, but do use the Hon'inbō title.