When Shusaku died in 1862, most people thought that Shuho would succeed him because he was the best among the Hoinbo disciples, but the widow of Honinbo Jowa, Seiko, strongly objected it and 14-year-old Honinbo Shuetsu, Shuwa's first son, became the heir in 1863.
文久2年に秀策が死去し、門下実力第一の秀甫が後継と見られていたが、文久3年に本因坊丈和未亡人・勢子の抗議により秀和の長男で14歳の本因坊秀悦が跡目とされる。