Meijin (shogi)

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Meijin (名人) is one of the seven titles in Japanese professional shogi, and is the most prestigious title, along with Ryu-oh. This should not be confused with the "Amateur Meijin" title that is awarded each year to the winner of the Amateur Meijin Tournament.

The word "meijin" means "an excellent person" in a certain field. ("mei"(名) = excellent, artful) ("jin"(人) = person)

The Meijin institution started in the 17th century (Edo period), but the person who assumed the Meijin position was selected by succession.

In the 1930s, Kinjiro Sekine (13th Meijin) made a courageous decision. He abandoned his Meijin position and proposed the institution of a tournament. Since 1937, the Meijin title has been given to the person who wins the Meijin Championship each year.

The preliminary round of the Meijin tournament is called "Rank Tournament" (Jun-i Sen 順位戦) and involves five league classes (A, B1, B2, C1, C2). The top three players of the C2 league are promoted to next year's C1 league. The top two of the C1, B2, B1 leagues are promoted to next year's B2, B1, and A leagues, respectively. Only the winner of the A-Class league can challenge the Meijin title holder. Therefore, at least five years experience of Rank-Tournament-league is needed for challenging for the title of Meijin after one's professional debut.

The player that wins four games out of seven first in the championship will become the new Meijin title holder.

Lifetime Meijin

The Lifetime Meijin (Lifetime Meijin, Eiseimeijin 永世名人) title is awarded to a player who has won the Meijin Championship five times. Active players may qualify for this title, but it is only officially awarded upon their retirement or death.

  • (1st - 13th : in succession)
  • 14th Lifetime Meijin : Yoshio Kimura
  • 15th Lifetime Meijin : Yasuharu Oyama
  • 16th Lifetime Meijin : Makoto Nakahara
  • 17th Lifetime Meijin : Koji Tanigawa
  • 18th Lifetime Meijin : Toshiyuki Moriuchi
  • 19th Lifetime Meijin : Yoshiharu Habu

Winners

Year Winner Score Opponent
1935
-1937
Yoshio Kimura
1940 Yoshio Kimura 4-1 Doi Ichitaroh
1942 Yoshio Kimura 4-0 Kanda Tatsunosuke
Yoshio Kimura no match
Yoshio Kimura no match
1947 Masao Tsukada 4-2 Yoshio Kimura
1948 Masao Tsukada 4-2 Yasuharu Oyama
1949 Yoshio Kimura 3-2 Masao Tsukada
1950 Yoshio Kimura 4-2 Yasuharu Oyama
1951 Yoshio Kimura 4-2 Kozoh Masuda
1952 Yasuharu Oyama 4-1 Yoshio Kimura
1953 Yasuharu Oyama 4-1 Kozoh Masuda
1954 Yasuharu Oyama 4-1 Kozoh Masuda
1955 Yasuharu Oyama 4-2 Takashima Kazukiyo
1956 Yasuharu Oyama 4-0 Hanamura Motoji
1957 Kozoh Masuda 4-2 Yasuharu Oyama
1958 Kozoh Masuda 4-2 Yasuharu Oyama
1959 Yasuharu Oyama 4-1 Kozoh Masuda
1960 Yasuharu Oyama 4-1 Hifumi Katoh
1961 Yasuharu Oyama 4-1 Maruta Yuzoh
1962 Yasuharu Oyama 4-0 Tatsuya Futakami
1963 Yasuharu Oyama 4-1 Kozoh Masuda
1964 Yasuharu Oyama 4-2 Tatsuya Futakami
1965 Yasuharu Oyama 4-1 Michiyoshi Yamada
1966 Yasuharu Oyama 4-2 Kozoh Masuda
1967 Yasuharu Oyama 4-1 Tatsuya Futakami
1968 Yasuharu Oyama 4-0 Kozoh Masuda
1969 Yasuharu Oyama 4-3 Michio Ariyoshi
1970 Yasuharu Oyama 4-1 Rensho Nada
1971 Yasuharu Oyama 4-3 Kozoh Masuda
1972 Makoto Nakahara 4-3 Yasuharu Oyama
1973 Makoto Nakahara 4-0 Hifumi Katoh
1974 Makoto Nakahara 4-3 Yasuharu Oyama
1975 Makoto Nakahara 4-3 Nobuyuki Ouchi
1976 Makoto Nakahara 4-3 Kunio Yonenaga
1977 blank
1978 Makoto Nakahara 4-2 Keiji Mori
1979 Makoto Nakahara 4-2 Kunio Yonenaga
1980 Makoto Nakahara 4-1 Kunio Yonenaga
1981 Makoto Nakahara 4-1 Kiyozumi Kiriyama
1982 Hifumi Katoh 4-3 Makoto Nakahara
1983 Koji Tanigawa 4-2 Hifumi Katoh
1984 Koji Tanigawa 4-1 Hidemitsu Moriyasu
1985 Makoto Nakahara 4-2 Koji Tanigawa
1986 Makoto Nakahara 4-1 Yasuharu Oyama
1987 Makoto Nakahara 4-2 Kunio Yonenaga
1988 Koji Tanigawa 4-2 Makoto Nakahara
1989 Koji Tanigawa 4-0 Kunio Yonenaga
1990 Makoto Nakahara 4-2 Koji Tanigawa
1991 Makoto Nakahara 4-1 Kunio Yonenaga
1992 Makoto Nakahara 4-3 Michio Takahashi
1993 Kunio Yonenaga 4-0 Makoto Nakahara
1994 Yoshiharu Habu 4-2 Kunio Yonenaga
1995 Yoshiharu Habu 4-1 Taku Morishita
1996 Yoshiharu Habu 4-1 Toshiyuki Moriuchi
1997 Koji Tanigawa 4-2 Yoshiharu Habu
1998 Yasumitsu Satoh 4-3 Koji Tanigawa
1999 Yasumitsu Satoh 4-3 Koji Tanigawa
2000 Tadahisa Maruyama 4-3 Yasumitsu Satoh
2001 Tadahisa Maruyama 4-3 Koji Tanigawa
2002 Toshiyuki Moriuchi 4-0 Tadahisa Maruyama
2003 Yoshiharu Habu 4-0 Toshiyuki Moriuchi
2004 Toshiyuki Moriuchi 4-2 Yoshiharu Habu
2005 Toshiyuki Moriuchi 4-3 Yoshiharu Habu
2006 Toshiyuki Moriuchi 4-2 Koji Tanigawa
2007 Toshiyuki Moriuchi 4-3 Masataka Goda
2008 Yoshiharu Habu 4-2 Toshiyuki Moriuchi
2009 Yoshiharu Habu 4-3 Masataka Goda
2010 Yoshiharu Habu 4-0 Hiroyuki Miura
2011 Toshiyuki Moriuchi 4-3 Yoshiharu Habu
2012 Toshiyuki Moriuchi 4-2 Yoshiharu Habu
2013 Toshiyuki Moriuchi 4-1 Yoshiharu Habu

See also

References

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