Life In 19x19

Honorary Honinbo
- Dakagawa Gaku 22nd Honinbo Gaku; 9 consecutive honinbo title
- Sakada Eio 23rd Honinbo Eishu; 7 consecutive honinbo title
- Cho Chihoon(Chikun) 25th Honinbo Chikun;10 consecutive honinbo title, total 12 titles
- Ishida Yoshio 24th Honinbo Shuho; 5 consecutive honinbo title
- Iyama Yuuta Iyama Yuuta 26th Honinbo; 5 consecutive honinbo title when Iyama reaches 60 years old, it will be official.

Honorary Meijin
- Cho Chihoon honorary meijin; 5 consecutive Meijin title, total 9 title
- Kobayashi Koichi honorary meijin; 7 consecutive Meijin title, total 8 title

Honorary Kisei
- Fujisawa Shuko 6 consecutive title
- Kobayashi Koichi 8 consecutive title

Honorary Gosei
- Odake Hideo 6 consecutive title, total 7 title
- Kobayashi Koichi 6 consecutive title, total 9 title

Honorary Oza
- Gato Masao 8 consecutive title, total 11 title

Honorary Tengen
- Rin Kaiho(Haifung) 5 consecutive title

Honorary Nihon Kiin title
- Sakada Eio 5 consecutive title, total 12 titles

Honorary NHK title
- Sakada Eio Total 11 title


Honorary Women's Honinbo
- Xie Yimin 6 consecutive title

Honorary Women's Meijin
- Xie Yimin 5 consecutive title

Most of the names on that list were active and pre-eminent when I was a neophyte player. Logically I know that they must be over 60 years old, but it came as a minor shock to me to see that only Iyama was listed as "when 60 years old".

All honorary title may not have requirement of reaching 60 years old.

Regulations may have changed recently and I haven't tried to keep up to date, but originally at least the concept was simply that the recipient of an honorary title received a supplementary pension at age 60.

The honorary titles began to be used in daily practice only in 2000 when Cho Chikun (who just turned 60 a few days ago, incidentally) was suddenly bereft of titles but was considered too eminent to be called a mere 9-dan and so his honorary Honinbo title was tacked on.

We'll have to wait and see what happens with Iyama, but he cannot strictly use his new title anyway until the accession ceremony, which I expect will be in the autumn. As to what style he will choose for himself (if any), even if he knows already he has to show gravitas about it and at least pretend he is giving long, hard thought.

Honorary Keith Arnold - Keith Arnold - 5 consecutive Keith Arnold titles.

...hka for short.

Cho Chikun got honorary Honinbo immediately after wining 10 straight. He got honorary Meijin after turning 60 since only 5 straight.