The Honinbo house was a school of Go players officially founded in 1612 and discontinued in 1940.
The founder was the Buddhist priest Nikkai, and 1612 is the year when Oda Nobunaga started sponsoring the school.
The name Honinbo was that of the pavilion on the grounds of the Jakkoji temple in Kyoto where Nikkai lived.
The last Honinbo, Shusai, gave (or sold [2]) his title in 1938 to the Nihon Ki-in, to be awarded in a yearly tournament.
Preliminary tournaments were held in 1939 and 1940, and the final title match, between Sekiyama Riichi and Kato Shin, in 1941.