In the history of go in Japan, the Four go houses were the four academies of Go instituted, supported, and controlled by the state, at the beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate. At roughly the same time shogi was organised into three houses. Here "house" implies institution run on the recognised lines of the iemoto system common in all Japanese traditional arts. In particular the house head had, in three of the four cases, a name handed down: Inoue Inseki, Yasui Senkaku, Hayashi Monnyu. References to these names therefore mean to the contemporary head of house.
The four academies were the Honinbo go house, Hayashi go house, Inoue go house and Yasui house. Theoretically these were on a par, and competed in the official castle games called oshirogo.
Read more about Four Go Houses: History, Buddhist Connections, Official Status, Teaching, Later History
Famous quotes containing the word houses:
“A feeble man can see the farms that are fenced and tilled, the houses that are built. The strong man sees the possible houses and farms. His eye makes estates, as fast as the sun breeds clouds.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)