Meijin (shogi)

Meijin is one of the eight titles in Japanese professional shogi, and is the most prestigious title, along with Ryūō. The word meijin refers to a highly skilled master of a certain field.

History

The Meijin institution started in the 17th century, and for around 300 years was a hereditary title that was passed from the reigning Meijin upon his retirement or death to another selected from three families, as deemed to be worthy. This is known as the Lifetime Meijin system. In 1935, however, the Japan Shogi Association, or JSA, announced that it was abolishing the existing system of succession in favor of something more short-term and reflective of actual playing strength, known as the Real Strength Meijin system. In 1937, the reigning 13th Meijin, who had received his title under the old system and was 70 years old at the time, voluntarily gave up his title so that a new Meijin could be decided through actual tournament play. Later that year Yoshio Kimura, who was a student of Sekine, became the first Meijin to gain the title based upon actual performance by winning a tournament which included eight other top players. From 1937 to 1947, the challenger for the Meijin title was determined through tournaments involving a select number of players. Finally, in 1947, the JSA officially established the preliminary round of ranking tournaments that it currently uses.

Qualifying

The Meijin title is only open to professional shogi players that are members of the Meijin tournament system. This means that unlike some other tournaments amateur players, women's professional players, and regular professionals outside of the Meijin tournament system are not allowed to compete in the tournament.
The Meijin ranking tournaments are divided into five classes and players compete against others within their class in a round-robin tournament throughout the year. Players who perform well during their class tournament may be promoted to the next highest class while those who perform poorly may be relegated to the next lowest one. New professionals are placed at the bottom of Class C2, and the top three players of Class C2 are promoted to Class C1 for the next year. Similarly, the top two players of Classes C1, B2, B1 are promoted to the B2, B1, and A, respectively, for the next year. A new professional, therefore, needs at least five years experience after their debut before they can qualify to challenge for the title of Meijin.

Lifetime Meijin

The first thirteen Lifetime Meijins were determined through succession. The Lifetime Meijin as a competitive title, 2=永世名人, was established by the JSA in 1952. Players who capture the Meijin title five times qualify to receive this title, but are only officially awarded it upon their retirement or death.

1st:
2nd:
3rd:
4th:
5th:
6th:
7th:
8th:
9th:
10th:
11th:
12th:
13th:
14th Lifetime Meijin: Yoshio Kimura
15th Lifetime Meijin: Yasuharu Ōyama
16th Lifetime Meijin: Makoto Nakahara
17th Lifetime Meijin: Koji Tanigawa
18th Lifetime Meijin: Toshiyuki Moriuchi
19th Lifetime Meijin: Yoshiharu Habu
Honorary Meijin

The is another Mejin-related title. Only two have received this title, Kensosuke Kosuke in 1936 and Ichitarō Doi in 1954.

Posthumous Meijin

A special title was given to Sankichi Sakata in 1955 by the Japan Shogi Association after his death in 1945. Sakata, a folk hero for the Osaka area, was known during his heyday for his brilliant, inventive playing but was prevented from becoming a normal Meijin by circumstances. Sakata is the only person to receive this title.

Past winners

Below is a list of past Meijin title holders from 1937 when the new tournament method for determining the title holder was established. The number in parenthesis represents the cumulative times the player had won the title to date.

No.	Year	Winner	Score	Opponent	Note
1	1937–1938	Yoshio Kimura		league	The first Meijin was decided by tournament of nine players. Kimura placed first in the league. Chōtarō Hanada was second place. The others in the league were Ichitarō Doi, Kumao Ōsaki, Yasujirō Kon, Kinjirō Kimi, Kingorō Kaneko, Tatsunosuke Kanda, Kiyoshi Hagiwara.
2	1940	Yoshio Kimura	4-1	Ichitarō Doi
3	1942	Yoshio Kimura	4-0	Tatsunosuke Kanda
4	1943	Yoshio Kimura			No match held. Kimura retained title by default.
5	1944	Yoshio Kimura			No match held. Kimura retained title by default.
6	1947	Masao Tsukada	4-2	Yoshio Kimura
7	1948	Masao Tsukada	4-2	Yasuharu Ōyama
8	1949	Yoshio Kimura	3-2	Masao Tsukada
9	1950	Yoshio Kimura	4-2	Yasuharu Ōyama
10	1951	Yoshio Kimura	4-2	Kōzō Masuda
11	1952	Yasuharu Ōyama	4-1	Yoshio Kimura
12	1953	Yasuharu Ōyama	4-1	Kōzō Masuda
13	1954	Yasuharu Ōyama	4-1	Kōzō Masuda
14	1955	Yasuharu Ōyama	4-2	Kazukiyo Takashima
15	1956	Yasuharu Ōyama	4-0	Motoji Hanamura
16	1957	Kōzō Masuda	4-2	Yasuharu Ōyama
17	1958	Kōzō Masuda	4-2	Yasuharu Ōyama
18	1959	Yasuharu Ōyama	4-1	Kōzō Masuda
19	1960	Yasuharu Ōyama	4-1	Hifumi Katoh
20	1961	Yasuharu Ōyama	4-1	Yuzoh Maruta
21	1962	Yasuharu Ōyama	4-0	Tatsuya Futakami
22	1963	Yasuharu Ōyama	4-1	Kōzō Masuda
23	1964	Yasuharu Ōyama	4-2	Tatsuya Futakami
24	1965	Yasuharu Ōyama	4-1	Michiyoshi Yamada
25	1966	Yasuharu Ōyama	4-2	Kōzō Masuda
26	1967	Yasuharu Ōyama	4-1	Tatsuya Futakami
27	1968	Yasuharu Ōyama	4-0	Kōzō Masuda
28	1969	Yasuharu Ōyama	4-3	Michio Ariyoshi
29	1970	Yasuharu Ōyama	4-1	Rensho Nada
30	1971	Yasuharu Ōyama	4-3	Kōzō Masuda
31	1972	Makoto Nakahara	4-3	Yasuharu Ōyama
32	1973	Makoto Nakahara	4-0	Hifumi Katoh
33	1974	Makoto Nakahara	4-3	Yasuharu Ōyama
34	1975	Makoto Nakahara	4-3	Nobuyuki Ōuchi
35	1976	Makoto Nakahara	4-3	Kunio Yonenaga
35	1977	Makoto Nakahara			No match held. Nakahara retained title by default.
36	1978	Makoto Nakahara	4-2	Keiji Mori
37	1979	Makoto Nakahara	4-2	Kunio Yonenaga
38	1980	Makoto Nakahara	4-1	Kunio Yonenaga
39	1981	Makoto Nakahara	4-1	Kiyozumi Kiriyama
40	1982	Hifumi Katoh	4-3	Makoto Nakahara
41	1983	Koji Tanigawa	4-2	Hifumi Katoh
42	1984	Koji Tanigawa	4-1	Hidemitsu Moriyasu
43	1985	Makoto Nakahara	4-2	Koji Tanigawa
44	1986	Makoto Nakahara	4-1	Yasuharu Ōyama
45	1987	Makoto Nakahara	4-2	Kunio Yonenaga
46	1988	Koji Tanigawa	4-2	Makoto Nakahara
47	1989	Koji Tanigawa	4-0	Kunio Yonenaga
48	1990	Makoto Nakahara	4-2	Koji Tanigawa
49	1991	Makoto Nakahara	4-1	Kunio Yonenaga
50	1992	Makoto Nakahara	4-3	Michio Takahashi
51	1993	Kunio Yonenaga	4-0	Makoto Nakahara
52	1994	Yoshiharu Habu	4-2	Kunio Yonenaga
53	1995	Yoshiharu Habu	4-1	Taku Morishita
54	1996	Yoshiharu Habu	4-1	Toshiyuki Moriuchi
55	1997	Koji Tanigawa	4-2	Yoshiharu Habu
56	1998	Yasumitsu Satō	4-3	Koji Tanigawa
57	1999	Yasumitsu Satō	4-3	Koji Tanigawa
58	2000	Tadahisa Maruyama	4-3	Yasumitsu Satō
59	2001		4-3	Koji Tanigawa
60	2002	Toshiyuki Moriuchi	4-0	Tadahisa Maruyama
61	2003	Yoshiharu Habu	4-0	Toshiyuki Moriuchi
62	2004	Toshiyuki Moriuchi	4-2	Yoshiharu Habu
63	2005	Toshiyuki Moriuchi	4-3	Yoshiharu Habu
64	2006	Toshiyuki Moriuchi	4-2	Koji Tanigawa
65	2007	Toshiyuki Moriuchi	4-3	Masataka Gōda
66	2008	Yoshiharu Habu	4-2	Toshiyuki Moriuchi
67	2009	Yoshiharu Habu	4-3	Masataka Gōda
68	2010	Yoshiharu Habu	4-0	Hiroyuki Miura
69	2011	Toshiyuki Moriuchi	4-3	Yoshiharu Habu
70	2012	Toshiyuki Moriuchi	4-2	Yoshiharu Habu
71	2013		4-1	Yoshiharu Habu
72	2014	Yoshiharu Habu	4-0	Toshiyuki Moriuchi
73	2015	Yoshiharu Habu	4-1	Hisashi Namekata
74	2016	Amahiko Satō		Yoshiharu Habu
75	2017	Amahiko Satō	4-2	Akira Inaba
76	2018	Amahiko Satō	4-2	Yoshiharu Habu
77	2019	Masayuki Toyoshima	4-0	Amahiko Satō

Records

Most titles overall: Yasuharu Ōyama, 18
Most consecutive titles: Yasuharu Ōyama, 13 in a row.
Oldest player to win title: Kunio Yonenaga, 49 years 11 months
Youngest player to win title: Koji Tanigawa, 21 years old
Oldest player to challenge for title: Yasuharu Ōyama, 63 years old
Youngest player to challenge for title: Hifumi Katoh, 20 years old
Most times recapturing title: Yoshiharu Habu, 3
Longest period between titles: Yoshiharu Habu, 6 years
Players by Meijin class

Below is a list of professional players grouped by their class for the 78th Meijin league including their rank in dan as of 2019. The current Meijin title holder is Masayuki Toyoshima.
Other professional players not listed here do not participate in the Meijin league and are known as Free Class players. There were 28 such players as of 2018.

Name	Dan	Other current titles
Masayuki Toyoshima	9	Ryūō

Seed	Name	Dan	Current titles
1	Akira Watanabe	9	Kiō, Ōshō
2	Akihito Hirose	8
3	Yasumitsu Satō	8
4	Amahiko Satō	9
5	Yoshiharu Habu	9
6	Tetsurō Itodani	9
7	Hiroyuki Miura	9
8	Akira Inaba	8
9	Tatsuya Sugai	8
10	Shintarō Saitō	8

Seed	Name	Dan	Current titles
1	Kazuki Kimura	9	Ōi
2	Toshiaki Kubo	9
3	Hisashi Namekata	9
4	Kōichi Fukaura	9
5	Takuya Nagase	7	Eiō, Ōza
6	Shōta Chida	7
7	Masataka Gōda	9
8	Nobuyuki Yashiki	9
9	Ayumu Matsuo	8
10	Chikara Akutsu	8
11	Takayuki Yamasaki	8
12	Tadahisa Maruyama	9
13	Seiya Kondō	7

Seed	Name	Dan	Current titles
1	Kōji Tanigawa	9
2	Mamoru Hatakeyama	8
3	Hiroaki Yokoyama	7
4	Shingo Sawada	6
5	Takanori Hashimoto	8
6	Yasuaki Murayama	7
7	Makoto Tobe	7
8	Hiroki Nakata	8
9	Daisuke Suzuki	9
10	Makoto Sasaki	7
11	Tadashi Ōishi	7
12	Hiroki Iizuka	7
13	Takeshi Fujii	9
14	Keita Inoue	9
15	Masataka Sugimoto	8
16	Taichi Nakamura	7
17	Daisuke Nakagawa	8
18	Kensuke Kitahama	8
19	Takashi Abe	8
20	Osamu Nakamura	8
21	Sōta Fujii	7	Kisei
22	Yūki Sasaki	7
23	Yoshiyuki Kubota	7
24	Naruyuki Hatakeyama	8
25	Hirotaka Nozuki	8

Seed	Name	Dan
1	Eiji Iijima	7
2	Kōsuke Tamura	7
3	Takuma Oikawa	6
4	Kentarō Ishii	5
5	Ryūma Tonari	6
6	Kenjirō Abe	7
7	Sakio Chiba	7
8	Hideyuki Takano	6
9	Mirai Aoshima	5
10	Daisuke Katagami	7
11	Yasuhiro Masuda	6
12	Kazutoshi Satō	7
13	Kōhei Funae	6
14	Atsushi Miyata	7
15	Akira Nishio	7
16	Tadao Kitajima	7
17	Satoru Sakaguchi	6
18	Akira Shima	9
19	Takanori An'yōji	6
20	Shingo Hirafuji	7
21	Akihiro Murata	6
22	Manabu Senzaki	9
23	Issei Takazaki	6
24	Hiroshi Miyamoto	5
25	Michio Takahashi	9
26	Kōta Kanai	6
27	Shūji Satō	6
28	Ichirō Hiura	8
29	Keiichi Sanada	8
30	Taichi Takami	7
31	Tatsuya Sanmaidō	7
32	Yūta Komori	5
33	Taku Morishita	9
34	Takahiro Toyokawa	7
35	Teruichi Aono	9
36	Hiroshi Kobayashi	7
37	Keita Kadokura	5

Seed	Name	Dan
1	Yasuaki Tsukada	9
2	Kazushiza Horiguchi	7
3	Daichi Sasaki	5
4	Takuya Nishida	9
5	Takahiro Ōhashi	6
6	Shin'ya Satō	7
7	Mitsunori Makino	5
8	Kazuo Sugimoto	4
9	Takashi Ikenaga	4
10	Yoshitaka Hoshino	4
11	Asuto Saitō	4
12	Junpei Ide	4
13	Takayuki Kuroda	5
14	Kōru Abe	6
15	Yūsuke Tōyama	6
16	Shūji Muranaka	7
17	Yūgo Takeuchi	5
18	Satoshi Takano	6
19	Wataru Yashiro	7
20	Hirotaka Kajiura	5
21	Kenji Imaizumi	5
22	Kei Honda	5
23	Kazuhiro Nishikawa	6
24	Kōhei Hasebe	4
25	Shōji Segawa	6
26	Yoshikazu Minami	9
27	Shin'ichi Satō	5
28	Tomohiro Murata	7
29	Hiroshi Yamamoto	4
30	Reo Kurosawa	5
31	Naohiro Ishida	5
32	Ryōsuke Nakamura	6
33	Yūichi Tanaka	5
34	Wataru Kamimura	5
35	Tetsuya Fujimori	5
36	Hiroshi Naganuma	7
37	Isao Nakata	8
38	Yūya Nagaoka	5
39	Masakazu Kondō	6
40	Eisaku Tomioka	8
41	Hiromu Watanabe	5
42	Shingo Itō	5
43	Wakamu Deguchi	8
44	Torahiko Tanaka	9
45	Norihiro Yagura	7
46	Makoto Chūza	7
47	Takehiro Ōhira	6
48	Bungo Fukusaki	9
49	Kazushi Watanabe	4
50	Yūta Ishikawa	4
51	Shinichirō Hattori	4
52	Hiroki Taniai	4

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