Meijin (名人) is one of the eight titles in Japaneseprofessionalshogi, and is the most prestigious title, along withRyūō. The wordmeijin (名mei "excellent, artful",人jin "person") refers to a highly skilled master of a certain field (the various arts found in traditional Japaneseculture, such as theJapanese tea ceremony,go,competitive karuta,rakugo,budō).[1]
The Meijin institution started in the 17th century (Edo period), and for around 300 years (1612–1937) was ahereditary title that was passed from the reigning Meijin upon his retirement or death to another selected fromthree families (the Ohashi Main family, the Ohashi Branch family, and the Ito family), as deemed to be worthy.[2][3] This is known as the Lifetime Meijin system (終生名人制). In 1935, however, theJapan 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 (実力名人制). In 1937, the reigning 13th MeijinKinjirō Sekine [ja], 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 yearYoshio 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 (順位戦,jun'isen) that it currently uses.[4]
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.[5]
The Meijin ranking tournaments are divided into five classes (A, B1, B2, C1, C2) and players compete against others within their class in around-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,[6] except in the case of Class C2 where players are relegated to "Free class" status.[7] 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.[6] A new professional, therefore, needs at least five years experience (five successive promotions) after their debut before they can qualify to challenge for the title of Meijin.[8]
The first thirteen Lifetime Meijins (終生名人,shūsei meijin) were determined through succession.[9] The Lifetime Meijin as a competitive title,eisei meijin (永世名人), was established by the JSA in 1952. Players who capture the Meijin title five times (does not have to be consecutive) qualify to receive this title, but are only officially awarded it upon their retirement or death (with exceptions).[10][11]
The Honorary Meijin (名誉名人,meiyo meijin) is another Mejin-related title. Only two have received this title,Kensosuke Kosuke in 1936 andIchitarō Doi in 1954.[17]
A special Posthumous Meijin (追贈名人,Tsuizō Meijin) title was given toSankichi Sakata in 1955 by theJapan Shogi Association after his death in 1945.[17] 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.[18] Sakata is the only person to receive this title.
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 parentheses represents the cumulative times the player had won the title to date.[19]
| 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.[20] The others in the league wereIchitarō Doi,Kumao Ōsaki,Yasujirō Kon,Kinjirō Kimi,Kingorō Kaneko,Tatsunosuke Kanda,Kiyoshi Hagiwara.[21] | |
| 2 | 1940 | Yoshio Kimura (2) | 4-1 | Ichitarō Doi | |
| 3 | 1942 | Yoshio Kimura (3) | 4-0 | Tatsunosuke Kanda | |
| 4 | 1943 | Yoshio Kimura (4) | No match held. Kimura retained title by default.[b] | ||
| 5 | 1944 | Yoshio Kimura (5) | No match held. Kimura retained title by default.[c] | ||
| 6 | 1947 | Masao Tsukada | 4-2 | Yoshio Kimura | |
| 7 | 1948 | Masao Tsukada (2) | 4-2 | Yasuharu Ōyama | |
| 8 | 1949 | Yoshio Kimura (6) | 3-2 | Masao Tsukada | |
| 9 | 1950 | Yoshio Kimura (7) | 4-2 | Yasuharu Ōyama | |
| 10 | 1951 | Yoshio Kimura (8) | 4-2 | Kōzō Masuda | |
| 11 | 1952 | Yasuharu Ōyama | 4-1 | Yoshio Kimura | |
| 12 | 1953 | Yasuharu Ōyama (2) | 4-1 | Kōzō Masuda | |
| 13 | 1954 | Yasuharu Ōyama (3) | 4-1 | Kōzō Masuda | |
| 14 | 1955 | Yasuharu Ōyama (4) | 4-2 | Kazukiyo Takashima | |
| 15 | 1956 | Yasuharu Ōyama (5) | 4-0 | Motoji Hanamura | |
| 16 | 1957 | Kōzō Masuda | 4-2 | Yasuharu Ōyama | |
| 17 | 1958 | Kōzō Masuda (2) | 4-2 | Yasuharu Ōyama | |
| 18 | 1959 | Yasuharu Ōyama (6) | 4-1 | Kōzō Masuda | |
| 19 | 1960 | Yasuharu Ōyama (7) | 4-1 | Hifumi Katoh | |
| 20 | 1961 | Yasuharu Ōyama (8) | 4-1 | Yuzoh Maruta | |
| 21 | 1962 | Yasuharu Ōyama (9) | 4-0 | Tatsuya Futakami | |
| 22 | 1963 | Yasuharu Ōyama (10) | 4-1 | Kōzō Masuda | |
| 23 | 1964 | Yasuharu Ōyama (11) | 4-2 | Tatsuya Futakami | |
| 24 | 1965 | Yasuharu Ōyama (12) | 4-1 | Michiyoshi Yamada | |
| 25 | 1966 | Yasuharu Ōyama (13) | 4-2 | Kōzō Masuda | |
| 26 | 1967 | Yasuharu Ōyama (14) | 4-1 | Tatsuya Futakami | |
| 27 | 1968 | Yasuharu Ōyama (15) | 4-0 | Kōzō Masuda | |
| 28 | 1969 | Yasuharu Ōyama (16) | 4-3 | Michio Ariyoshi | |
| 29 | 1970 | Yasuharu Ōyama (17) | 4-1 | Rensho Nada | |
| 30 | 1971 | Yasuharu Ōyama (18) | 4-3 | Kōzō Masuda | |
| 31 | 1972 | Makoto Nakahara | 4-3 | Yasuharu Ōyama | |
| 32 | 1973 | Makoto Nakahara (2) | 4-0 | Hifumi Katoh | |
| 33 | 1974 | Makoto Nakahara (3) | 4-3 | Yasuharu Ōyama | |
| 34 | 1975 | Makoto Nakahara (4) | 4-3 | Nobuyuki Ōuchi | |
| 35 | 1976 | Makoto Nakahara (5) | 4-3 | Kunio Yonenaga | |
| 1977 | Makoto Nakahara | No match held. Nakahara retained title by default.[d] | |||
| 36 | 1978 | Makoto Nakahara (6) | 4-2 | Keiji Mori | |
| 37 | 1979 | Makoto Nakahara (7) | 4-2 | Kunio Yonenaga | |
| 38 | 1980 | Makoto Nakahara (8) | 4-1 | Kunio Yonenaga | |
| 39 | 1981 | Makoto Nakahara (9) | 4-1 | Kiyozumi Kiriyama | |
| 40 | 1982 | Hifumi Katoh | 4-3 | Makoto Nakahara | |
| 41 | 1983 | Koji Tanigawa (1) | 4-2 | Hifumi Katoh | |
| 42 | 1984 | Koji Tanigawa (2) | 4-1 | Hidemitsu Moriyasu | |
| 43 | 1985 | Makoto Nakahara (10) | 4-2 | Koji Tanigawa | |
| 44 | 1986 | Makoto Nakahara (11) | 4-1 | Yasuharu Ōyama | |
| 45 | 1987 | Makoto Nakahara (12) | 4-2 | Kunio Yonenaga | |
| 46 | 1988 | Koji Tanigawa (3) | 4-2 | Makoto Nakahara | |
| 47 | 1989 | Koji Tanigawa (4) | 4-0 | Kunio Yonenaga | |
| 48 | 1990 | Makoto Nakahara (13) | 4-2 | Koji Tanigawa | |
| 49 | 1991 | Makoto Nakahara (14) | 4-1 | Kunio Yonenaga | |
| 50 | 1992 | Makoto Nakahara (15) | 4-3 | Michio Takahashi | |
| 51 | 1993 | Kunio Yonenaga | 4-0 | Makoto Nakahara | |
| 52 | 1994 | Yoshiharu Habu | 4-2 | Kunio Yonenaga | |
| 53 | 1995 | Yoshiharu Habu (2) | 4-1 | Taku Morishita | |
| 54 | 1996 | Yoshiharu Habu (3) | 4-1 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi | |
| 55 | 1997 | Koji Tanigawa (5) | 4-2 | Yoshiharu Habu | |
| 56 | 1998 | Yasumitsu Satō | 4-3 | Koji Tanigawa | |
| 57 | 1999 | Yasumitsu Satō (2) | 4-3 | Koji Tanigawa | |
| 58 | 2000 | Tadahisa Maruyama | 4-3 | Yasumitsu Satō | |
| 59 | 2001 | Tadahisa Maruyama (2) | 4-3 | Koji Tanigawa | |
| 60 | 2002 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi | 4-0 | Tadahisa Maruyama | |
| 61 | 2003 | Yoshiharu Habu (4) | 4-0 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi | |
| 62 | 2004 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi (2) | 4-2 | Yoshiharu Habu | |
| 63 | 2005 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi (3) | 4-3 | Yoshiharu Habu | |
| 64 | 2006 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi (4) | 4-2 | Koji Tanigawa | |
| 65 | 2007 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi (5) | 4-3 | Masataka Gōda | |
| 66 | 2008 | Yoshiharu Habu (5) | 4-2 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi | |
| 67 | 2009 | Yoshiharu Habu (6) | 4-3 | Masataka Gōda | |
| 68 | 2010 | Yoshiharu Habu (7) | 4-0 | Hiroyuki Miura | |
| 69 | 2011 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi (6) | 4-3[22] | Yoshiharu Habu | |
| 70 | 2012 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi (7) | 4-2[23] | Yoshiharu Habu | |
| 71 | 2013 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi (8) | 4-1[24] | Yoshiharu Habu | |
| 72 | 2014 | Yoshiharu Habu (8) | 4-0[25] | Toshiyuki Moriuchi | |
| 73 | 2015 | Yoshiharu Habu (9) | 4-1[26] | Hisashi Namekata | |
| 74 | 2016 | Amahiko Satō | 4-1[27][28] | Yoshiharu Habu | |
| 75 | 2017 | Amahiko Satō (2) | 4-2[29] | Akira Inaba | |
| 76 | 2018 | Amahiko Satō (3) | 4-2[30] | Yoshiharu Habu | |
| 77 | 2019 | Masayuki Toyoshima | 4-0[31] | Amahiko Satō | |
| 78 | 2020 | Akira Watanabe | 4-2[32] | Masayuki Toyoshima | |
| 79 | 2021 | Akira Watanabe (2) | 4-1[33] | Shintarō Saitō | |
| 80 | 2022 | Akira Watanabe (3) | 4-1[34] | Shintarō Saitō | |
| 81 | 2023 | Sōta Fujii | 4-1[35] | Akira Watanabe | |
| 82 | 2024 | Sōta Fujii (2) | 4-1[36] | Masayuki Toyoshima |
Below is a list of professional players grouped by their class for the 83rd Meijin league (April 2024 – March 2025) including theirdan ranking as of 6 March 2025[update].[39] The 82nd Meijin title holder isSōta Fujii.
Other professional players not listed here do not participate in the Meijin league and are known asFree Class (フリークラスfurī kurasu) players. There were 38 such players as of 1 April 2024[update].[40]
| Name | Dan | Other titles |
|---|---|---|
| Sōta Fujii | 9 | Kiō,Kisei,Ōi,Ōshō,Ōza,Ryūō |
| Seed | Name | Dan |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Masayuki Toyoshima[h] | 9 |
| 2 | Takuya Nagase | 9 |
| 3 | Akira Watanabe | 9 |
| 4 | Tatsuya Sugai | 8 |
| 5 | Akira Inaba | 8 |
| 6 | Amahiko Satō | 9 |
| 7 | Yūki Sasaki | 8 |
| 8 | Taichi Nakamura | 8 |
| 9 | Shōta Chida | 8 |
| 10 | Yasuhiro Masuda | 8 |
| Seed | Name | Dan |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akihito Hirose | 9 |
| 2 | Shintarō Saitō | 8 |
| 3 | Seiya Kondō | 8 |
| 4 | Shingo Sawada | 7 |
| 5 | Yoshiharu Habu | 9 |
| 6 | Takahiro Ōhashi | 7 |
| 7 | Tetsurō Itodani | 8 |
| 8 | Yasumitsu Satō | 9 |
| 9 | Hiroyuki Miura | 9 |
| 10 | Takayuki Yamasaki | 8 |
| 11 | Tadashi Ōishi | 7 |
| 12 | Taichi Takami | 7 |
| 13 | Kentarō Ishii | 7 |
| Seed | Name | Dan | Current titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nobuyuki Yashiki | 9 | |
| 2 | Kazuki Kimura | 9 | |
| 3 | Hiroaki Yokoyama | 7 | |
| 4 | Mirai Aoshima | 7 | |
| 5 | Kōji Tanigawa | 9 | 17thLifetime Meijin |
| 6 | Kōichi Fukaura | 9 | |
| 7 | Yasuaki Murayama | 8 | |
| 8 | Ayumu Matsuo | 8 | |
| 9 | Kensuke Kitahama | 8 | |
| 10 | Kazushi Watanabe | 7 | |
| 11 | Masataka Gōda | 9 | |
| 12 | Makoto Sasaki | 7 | |
| 13 | Hisashi Namekata | 9 | |
| 14 | Chikara Akutsu | 8 | |
| 15 | Makoto Tobe | 7 | |
| 16 | Takuma Oikawa | 7 | |
| 17 | Toshiaki Kubo | 9 | |
| 18 | Tadahisa Maruyama | 9 | |
| 19 | Takeshi Fujii | 9 | |
| 20 | Daisuke Nakagawa | 8 | |
| 21 | Daisuke Suzuki | 9 | |
| 22 | Shin'ichirō Hattori | 7 | |
| 23 | Yūsei Koga | 6 | |
| 24 | Takumi Itō | 7 | Eiō |
| 25 | Issei Takazaki | 7 | |
| 26 | Masataka Sugimoto | 8 |
| Seed | Name | Dan |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Takashi Abe | 9 |
| 2 | Osamu Nakamura | 9 |
| 3 | Mamoru Hatakeyama | 8 |
| 4 | Eiji Iijima | 8 |
| 5 | Keita Inoue | 9 |
| 6 | Ryūma Tonari | 7 |
| 7 | Wakamu Deguchi | 6 |
| 8 | Asuto Saitō | 6 |
| 9 | Takayuki Kuroda | 5 |
| 10 | Tatsuya Sanmaidō | 7 |
| 11 | Yūta Komori | 5 |
| 12 | Manabu Senzaki | 9 |
| 13 | Takuya Nishida | 5 |
| 14 | Atsushi Miyata | 7 |
| 15 | Akira Nishio | 7 |
| 16 | Daisuke Katagami | 7 |
| 17 | Keita Kadokura | 5 |
| 18 | Kazutoshi Satō | 7 |
| 19 | Hiroshi Miyamoto | 6 |
| 20 | Akihiro Murata | 6 |
| 21 | Sakio Chiba | 7 |
| 22 | Hirotaka Nozuki | 8 |
| 23 | Kōta Kanai | 6 |
| 24 | Hiroki Iizuka | 8 |
| 25 | Kōhei Funae | 7 |
| 26 | Naruyuki Hatakeyama | 5 |
| 27 | Kenjirō Abe | 7 |
| 28 | Seiya Tomita | 5 |
| 29 | Akihiro Takada | 5 |
| 30 | Nagisa Fujimoto | 6 |
| 31 | Keiichi Sanada | 8 |
| 32 | Satoru Sakaguchi | 6 |
| 33 | Yoshiyuki Kubota | 7 |
| 34 | Tadao Kitajima | 7 |
| Seed | Name | Dan |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michio Takahashi | 9 |
| 2 | Ichiro Hiura | 8 |
| 3 | Hirotaka Kajiura | 7 |
| 4 | Wataru Yashiro | 7 |
| 5 | Reo Okabe | 5 |
| 6 | Naohiro Ishida | 5 |
| 7 | Shūji Muranaka | 7 |
| 8 | Takashi Ikenaga | 6 |
| 9 | Yūta Ishikawa | 5 |
| 10 | Yoshitaka Hoshino | 5 |
| 11 | Hiroki Taniai | 4 |
| 12 | Satoshi Takano | 6 |
| 13 | Shin'ya Satō | 7 |
| 14 | Daichi Sasaki | 7 |
| 15 | Kenshi Tokuda | 4 |
| 16 | Mikio Kariyama | 5 |
| 17 | Reo Kurosawa | 6 |
| 18 | Ryōsuke Nakamura | 6 |
| 19 | Junpei Ide | 5 |
| 20 | Shin'ichi Satō | 5 |
| 21 | Kei Honda | 6 |
| 22 | Hiroshi Yamamoto | 5 |
| 23 | Taku Morishita | 9 |
| 24 | Shingo Itō | 6 |
| 25 | Kazuhiro Nishikawa | 6 |
| 26 | Hiromu Watanabe | 6 |
| 27 | Akihiro Ida | 5 |
| 28 | Mitsunori Makino | 6 |
| 29 | Tomoki Yokoyama | 4 |
| 30 | Naoki Koyama [ja] | 4 |
| 31 | Saito Morimoto [ja] | 4 |
| 32 | Kazuo Sugimoto | 5 |
| 33 | Yūsuke Tōyama | 6 |
| 34 | Shūji Satō | 8 |
| 35 | Kōsuke Tamura | 7 |
| 36 | Tetsuya Fujimori | 5 |
| 37 | Kōru Abe | 7 |
| 38 | Akira Shima | 9 |
| 39 | Yūya Nagaoka | 6 |
| 40 | Yūya Saitō | 7 |
| 41 | Kenji Imaizumi | 7 |
| 42 | Kōhei Hasebe | 5 |
| 43 | Wataru Kamimura | 5 |
| 44 | Hiroshi Kobayashi | 8 |
| 45 | Yūichi Tanaka | 6 |
| 46 | Hideyuki Takano | 6 |
| 47 | Shingo Hirafuji | 7 |
| 48 | Takanori An'yōji | 7 |
| 49 | Shōji Segawa | 6 |
| 50 | Shōgo Orita | 5 |
| 51 | Kenta Miyajima [ja] | 4 |
| 52 | Hirotoshi Ueno | 5 |
| 53 | Taiki Yamakawa [ja] | 4 |
| 54 | Yūjirō Takahashi [ja] | 4 |
順位戦は全部で5つのクラスがあります。その中で一番上がA級です。そしてA級優勝者が名人に挑戦します。そして, 順位戦は各クラスとも一年間のリーグ戦です...成績上位者は上のクラスに行くことができるんですが, 成績が悪いと降級してしまういうわけなんです。[There are a total of 5 ranking classes. Class A is the top class and the winner earns the right to challenge the current Meijin. Each of the ranking classes lasts one year. Those who finish at the top of their respective class may be promoted to the next highest class, and those who finish at the bottom may be relegated to the next lowest class.