The Godokoro (碁所) was an office in the shogunate government created in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu. The first one was Nikkai (Honinbo Sansa). A similar office was created for shogi. It was hardly a figurehead position. The godokoro (who had to be a Meijin according to a decree of Sansa) was responsible for the regulation and smooth functioning of the go world. This included approving rank promotions, adjudicating disputes between the go houses, and approving terms of challenge matches (sogo). The stipends paid by the government to the leading houses of go players came through the godokoro.
Abolished in 1868, during the Meiji restoration.