Following the death of Meijin Itou Soukan III, nobody took the position of Meijin. The one with arguably the most claim to the title was now the head of the Oohashi main house, but circumstances had never favoured him.
Oohashi Soukei VIII (大橋宗桂・八代目, 1714-1774) was born as Itou Souju (伊藤宗寿) as the third son of fifth Meijin Itou Soukan II. In 1724 he made his first appearance in a Castle Shogi game at the incredible age of 10. Shortly after, he took over as the head of the Oohashi family as Oohashi Soukei VIII when the previous head Oohashi Soukei VII retired at 37. Although the circumstances indicate perhaps some degree of desperation on the part of the house to have such a young head, it is clear that Soukei VIII was a genius deserving of the role.
Yet talented as he was, he had the blessing and misfortune of having equally brilliant brothers. Elder brother Itou Soukan III had held the title of Meijin during his lifetime with authority; and youngest brother Itou Kanju been a once-in-centuries talent in tsumeshogi composition, and had leapfrogged Soukei VIII in playing skill, beating him in what must have been two painful back-to-back even Castle games in 1753 and 1754 to get promoted to 8-dan first.
While they were alive Soukei VIII had been in their shadow, but even in the void left when they departed, Soukei VIII still found himself second to Oohashi Souyo IV (大橋宗与・四代目), 4th head of the Oohashi branch house and his father’s rival for Meijin. In 1764, Souyo IV passed away too, and Soukei VIII could finally be promoted to 8-dan, presenting his tsumeshogi collection the Shogi Taikou (将棋大綱) to the shogunate in 1766.
However, he was ultimately unable to make the final step towards his dream of becoming Meijin. He played in the most main Castle games of any player in the Edo period (39 games), but in his later years his score was unimpressive, and could never show the decisive dominance over his opponents that he needed. Soukei VIII passed away in 1774, the last of the five Itou brothers of the golden generation. He left the Oohashi main house to his son, Oohashi Inju (now Oohashi Soukei IX), and left a shogi world still in search of a Meijin.
Soukei VIII’s legacy has been unfortunately eclipsed by his even more brilliant family members. In tsumeshogi composition too, Taisho era (1912-1926) player Takahama Tadashi 5-dan ranked him just after his brothers Soukan III and Inju, and his son Soukei IX, speaking to his and his contemporaries’ formidable talent. It should not be overlooked that Soukei VIII was a brilliant genius, whose misfortune was being surrounded by even more brilliant personages.