Chapter Text
Today, we have the privilege of sitting down and speaking with Shindou Honinbou. Going pro at age fifteen, Shindou advanced alongside the famous Touya Meijin the younger, and their rivalry is nothing short of legendary. Just having turned thirty this year, they’ve graciously granted us the opportunity to ask them about their lifelong rivalry.
Monthly Go: So, Shindou-sensei, tell us how it began. Your famous rivalry with Touya-sensei.
Shindou Honinbou: I was twelve. I had never played go before. I was not a very good kid, and I’d been in my grandfather’s attic looking for something to pawn. I found a go board, and I’m not sure how one thing led to another, but my interest must have been piqued, because I tried going to a go class. Ashiwara-sensei was running it, but I didn’t know who he was at the time, of course. Anyway, I caused trouble there and got kicked out, and that’s when I was told about things called go salons. That’s how I stumbled into the Touya salon.
MG: And that’s when you first met Touya-sensei.
SH: Yeah. I came in and said, “Hey! There’s a kid just like me, I’ll play him!”
MG: You had no idea he was already pro-level, though.
SH: No way. I didn’t really know what a pro was, and I certainly didn’t realize a twelve year old could be a professional at anything.
MG: So, what happened next? Who won the match?
SH: Who won is not important, but what is is that I totally insulted him. And everyone who’d ever played go ever. Did I mention what a terrible child I was? (laughs) And that’s when he demanded a second game, to defend his honor or whatever. That’s when I got hooked, I think. He was so intense in that second game. I’d never seen such intensity. And from a kid my age? I think I was attracted to that intensity. I wanted to care about something that much too. And I wanted to see him look at me like that again.
Somehow, it made sense at the time, but the next thing I did was completely avoid him. I wanted the next time I faced him to be as an equal. As someone worthy enough to face that intensity. It goes without saying I was not up to his level.
MG: Legend has it that Touya Koyo, then Touya Mejin and your rival’s father, challenged you after that second game to asses your abilities.
SH: Almost. I got so intimidated by him that I ran away after the first few moves.
MG: So you decided not to play Touya-sensei for a while. When was your next match?
SH: Actually, in a middle school tournament. Akira didn’t understand why I wouldn’t play him, so he kind of stalked me. He joined his middle school club and demanded to be third board so he could face me.
MG: What was the result?
SH: Oh, I lost miserably. Akira was so angry, I was sure he’d never want to play me again.
MG: So what next?
SH: He didn't want to play me again. (laughs) But then a lot happened, because I wanted to earn his rivalry back. I became an insei, then I became a pro.
MG: You advanced very quickly. There’s no evidence that you studied under anyone, so how did you grow and become a pro so fast? Who was your teacher?
SH: Well, what I tell people is that I studied under Shushaku. I’d heard that he was the best go player ever, so I studied him. I played and studied his games so much, it was like I was playing against him every day. He was my teacher.
MG: Yes, your affinity for Shusaku-style play is well documented. It’s fitting that you’ve earned his name.
SH: Thank you.
MG: Briefly after you became a pro, you forfeited a lot of matches. Did Touya-sensei approach you about it?
SH: Did he ever, the little stalker. He came to my middle school! He seriously hunted me down and demanded I come back. I guess I’ve just always been good at pissing him off. (laughs again)
MG: When was your next game with Touya-sensei?
SH: First round of the Honinbou preliminaries the year I went pro. It had been years since we faced one another. If I remember correctly, Akira actually mentioned how many years and days it had been since we last played. It didn’t even seem obsessive to me at the time, because I’d been anticipating it so badly. We were both a little obsessed.
MG: Shortly after that match where you were reunited after years of not playing, preparations began for the Hokuto Cup. Many people were upset that you took the first seat in the tournament against Korea. Was Touya-sensei upset as well?
HS: Surprisingly, not very. In retrospect, I think it may have been because he understood the need to reject tournament assignments in order to play someone you needed to play.
MG: And you needed to play Ko Yongha, correct? It was a shock when he used his opportunity to greet the audience to berate Shusaku.
HS: I did. Remember, I was sixteen. I mean, he was being pretty childish too. But I wanted to fight him, and luckily, Kurata-sensei and Akira were nice enough to give me the chance to do so. Akira wasn’t even that mad at me when I lost.
MG: The following year, Japan won the Hokuto Cup, and Touya-sensei challenged Ogata sensei for the Ouza title.
HS: Yeah, and lost every game, the jerk. It took two more years before he won a title.
MG: And seven for you.
HS: Those seven years were brutal.
MG: Why was that?
HS: By then, Akira and I had moved in together. And when he repeatedly thwarted my attempts at a challenging seat. For years. It was really hard to fight for a chance at a title, fail, and then face the man who bested you over dinner.
MG: You two have lived together for eleven years, correct? Has that helped you in your go career?
HS: That was the idea. Instead of meeting places to play one another, we could just play before bed. We could study and discuss games, and hold study sessions together. It worked out well, very beneficial.
MG: When you were 24, you won the Tengen title.
HS: And then Akira took it away the next year.
MG: He had three titles, then.
HS: And I had none, again. Seriously. Could you imagine living with this guy?
MG: At 27, you took the Honinbou title, and have held on to it ever since.
HS: And I will for the rest of my life.
MG: Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to ask the questions that our readers have been most curious about, though they delve into more personal territory.
HS: That’s to be expected. I knew what I was signing up for.
MG: It’s been speculated that you and Touya-sensei are in a relationship. Can you speak to that?
HS: As much as I’d like to parse words, because clearly, we are in a relationship in that our lives are highly related to one another, I do know what everyone’s been getting at. And they’ve been getting at it since we were sixteen. I’ve found it easiest and least incriminating to say this: Akira and I have dedicated our lives to go, and I think we’ve found unparalleled partners in one another for that journey. If I were to take a girlfriend or a wife, I’m sure she would be dishonored by my inability to pay as much attention to her as I do Akira. That’s all I can say about that.
MG: Thank you for sharing that much with us, Shindou-sensei. We appreciate your honesty and your time today.
In just a few weeks, Touya Meijin will be challenging Shindou Honinbou for the Honinbou title for the fifth time. We will all be anticipating that match.