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Kuwabara Hon'inbo (桑原本因坊 Kuwabara Hon'inbō) - The current holder of the Hon'inbo title in Hikaru no Go.
Appearance[]
He is a bald elderly man.
Personality[]
He enjoys psychologically intimidating his opponents into defeat, as shown during his games with Mashiba, Ogata, and Isumi. The best-known characteristic of Kuwabara is his 'sixth sense'. He picked up on Hikaru's' remarkable ability.
History[]
Plot[]
His first appearance in the manga is Game 24. He first talks Koyo and asks about Akira who isn't an insei. He was surprised when Koyo told him that Akira had joined a middle school go club, and his final is in Game 170.
In his title defense, he defeats Seiji Ogata. Kuwabara resorts to a tactic of deliberately having Ogata make the first move of the second day, therefore having to seal the move. Once the move is sealed, Kuwabara asks Ogata if he was sure that he (Ogata) has marked the move correctly. The moves are made to make Ogata nervous. The second (unseen) successful defense is against Atsushi Kurata. In the third (unseen) match, the readers learn his opponent is again to be Ogata.
In the Shinshodan game, Kuwabara actually suspects that Hikaru was playing as though he had a handicap against him instead of for him, which explained his overplays.
Go[]
He is one of the best Go players of his time, having defended the Honinbo title repeatedly.
Relationships[]
Trivia[]
- Kuwabara shares his family name with Hon'inbo Shusaku; Shusaku's birth name was "Kuwahara Torajiro." Kuwabara's name means "mulberry field". According to Japanese legend, lightning avoids mulberry fields. "Kuwabara Kuwabara" is often stated by superstitious people who wish to avoid lightning bolts, since saying "Kuwabara" twice is supposed to ward off lightning.