Women's Meijin (shogi)

For the women's professional go Meijin tournament, see Women's Meijin.

Women's Meijin
Native name	女流名人戦
Type	Women's title
Sponsor(s)	Sports Hochi Universal Entertainment
Winner's title	Women's Meijin
Reigning champion	Tomoka Nishiyama
Number of times held	49
First held	1974
Last held	2022
Website(s)
JSA tournament website (in Japanese)
Sponsor's tournament website (in Japanese)

The Women's Meijin (女流名人 (Joryū Meijin)) is one of the eight major titles of women's professional shogi. The title is awarded yearly to the winner of the a best-of-five match between the defending Women's Meijin and a challenger determined through league play. The current Women's Meijin titleholder is Tomoka Nishiyama.

Founded in 1974, the Women's Meijin is the oldest of the women's major titles. The title match and league play is currently cosponsored by the Japanese daily sports newspaper Sports Hochi with additional support being provided by the Japanese company Universal Entertainment. The tournament is officially known as the Okada Museum of Art Women's Meijin Tournament (岡田美術館杯女流名人戦 (Okada Bijutsukanhai Joryū Meijinsen)) after the Okada Museum of Art, which is affiliated with Universal Entertainment.

History

Up until 1974, there had no been system specifically for women players within the Japan Shogi Association (JSA) and they were expected to meet the same promotion and ranking rules as men if they wanted to obtain full professional status (正棋士 (Seikishi)) as a shogi player. In 1974, Yasuharu Ōyama, the then-president of the JSA, expressed his desire to try and increase the popularity of shogi among women, and began to discuss the establishment of a separate system within the JSA for women shogi players. At the same, time the establishment of a new tournament solely for such women was also being discussed and the Hochi Shimbun Corporation was approached in September 1974 over the possibility of becoming this new tournament's sponsor. The Hochi Shimbun agreed to sponsor the tournament and it was officially established in October 1974 as the Women's Professional Meijin Tournament (女流プロ名人位戦 (Joryū Puro Meijin-i-sen)).^[1]: 23

The first tournament consisted of the original six women to be awarded women's professional status by the JSA in 1974: Akiko Takojima, Yoshiko Tada [ja], Taeko Moriyasu [ja], Kazuko Yamashita [ja], Kiyoko Sekine [ja] and Yukiko Murayama [ja]. Takojima was seeded into the final match in consideration of her previous accomplishments as an apprentice professional with the remaining five women playing a tournament to determine which one would advance to the final match. Terashita won the tournament, but lost to Takojima 2 games to none in the best-of-three final match; thus Takojima was the first person to be award the title of Women's Meijin.^[1]: 23

Starting with the 2nd Women's Professional Meijin Tournament, the defending Women's Meijin was automatically seeded into the title match, and the challenger was determined through league play. The title match remained a best-of-three series until 1980 when it changed to a best-of-five series.

From the 29th Meijin (2002–3) until the 35th Meijin (2008–9), the tournament was officially known as the Aruze Women's Meijin Tournament (アルゼ杯女流名人位戦 (Aruze Hai Joryū Meijin-i-sen)) after the former name of the Universal Entertainment Corporation. The tournament's name changed to the Universal Women's Meijin Tournament (ユニバーサル杯女流名人位戦 (Yunibāsaru Hai Joryū Meijin-i-sen)) from the 36th Women's Meijin Tournament (2009–10) until the 42nd Meijin Tournament (2014–15) to reflect name change of Aruze to Universal. It adopted its current name Okada Museum of Art Women's Meijin Tournament (岡田美術館杯女流名人戦 (Okada Bijutsukanhai Joryū Meijinsen)) after the Okada Museum of Art, which is affiliated with Universal Entertainment, in March 2015.^[2]

The kanji character 位 (i (Japanese pronunciation: [i]), which means "rank", but which also can mean "about" in some contexts) was originally part of the tournament's official Japanese name when it was established in 1974. This was done primarily out of deference to the regular professional shogi players who competed for the Meijin title so as to acknowledge its higher status. In March 2014, however, the Japan Shogi Association announced that character was being officially dropped from the tournaments name to not only commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the women's professional system and the Women's Meijin tournament, but also to recognize the strides women's professional shogi made since 1974.^[3]

Format

The tournament consists of three parts: a preliminary round, a challengers league and a title match. Tournament play begins in April to coincide with the beginning of the new shogi season^[a] with the title match taking place in January and February of the following calendar year.

All active women's professional shogi players (including LPSA and unaffiliated women's professionals) are eligible to participate in the preliminary round, which consists of four single-elimination tournaments in which the winner of each tournament advances to the challengers league. The time control for preliminary round games is two hours per player.

The challengers league consists of ten players who are seeded based upon their performance in the previous years' tournament. It is a round-robin tournament with a time control of two hours per game with the winner advancing to the title match against the defending Women's Meijin. If two of more players tie for first place, a playoff is held with the format depending upon the number of players involved.^[b] Players finishing second through fifth place remain in the league and are re-seeded for the following year, while the bottom four finishers are relegated from the league and need to re-qualify via the preliminary tournaments. In cases where relegation is unclear due to ties, a playoff is held to determine which player remains in the challengers league.^[c]

The title match is a best-of-five format between the defending Women's Meijin and the winner of the challengers league with the time control for each game being three hours per player. The winner is awarded the title of "Women's Meijin", while the loser becomes the first seed in the challenger league for the next tournament cycle.

Queen Meijin

The lifetime title of "Queen Meijin" is awarded to those players who have won the title five times or more. The title is officially awarded once the player has retired from active play. As of November 2020,^[update] three players have qualified for the title: Hiroe Nakai (1992), Ichiyo Shimizu (1996) and Kana Satomi (2013).^[6]

Past winners

Below is a list of past Women Meijin title holders. From 1974 until 1980, the title match was a best-of-three series. The number in parentheses represents the total times a player has won the title.^[7][8]

No.	Year	Winner	Score	Opponent
1	1974	Akiko Takojima	2–0[8]	Noriko Terashita [ja]
2	1975	Akiko Takojima (2)	2–0[8]	Yoshiko Tada [ja]
3	1976	Akiko Takojima (3)	2–0[8]	Taeko Moriyasu [ja]
4	1977	Kazuko Yamashita [ja]	2–0[8]	Akiko Takojima
5	1978	Kazuko Yamashita (2)	2–0[8]	Kiyoko Sekine [ja]
6	1979	Kazuko Yamashita (3)	2–0[8]	Kiyoko Sekine
7	1980	Kazuko Yamashita (4)	2–0[8]	Akiko Takojima
8	1981	Akiko Takojima (4)	3–1[8]	Kazuko Yamashita
9	1982	Naoko Hayashiba	3–1[8]	Akiko Takojima
10	1983	Naoko Hayashiba (2)	3–0[8]	Kiyoko Sekine
11	1984	Naoko Hayashiba (3)	3–1[8]	Chikako Nagasawa
12	1985	Hiroe Nakai	3–1[8]	Naoko Hayashiba
13	1986	Hiroe Nakai (2)	3–2[8]	Naoko Hayashiba
14	1987	Ichiyo Shimizu	3–0[8]	Hiroe Nakai
15	1988	Hiroe Nakai (3)	3–2[8]	Ichiyo Shimizu
16	1989	Ichiyo Shimizu (2)	3–0[8]	Hiroe Nakai
17	1990	Naoko Hayashiba (4)	3–0[8]	Ichiyo Shimizu
18	1991	Hiroe Nakai (4)	3–2[8]	Naoko Hayashiba
19	1992	Hiroe Nakai (5)	3–0[8]	Ichiyo Shimizu
20	1993	Hiroe Nakai (6)	3–2[8]	Haruko Saida
21	1994	Ichiyo Shimizu (3)	3–0[8]	Hiroe Nakai
22	1995	Ichiyo Shimizu (4)	3–0[8]	Hiroe Nakai
23	1996	Ichiyo Shimizu (5)	3–2[8]	Hiroe Nakai
24	1997	Ichiyo Shimizu (6)	3–0[8]	Hiroe Nakai
25	1998	Ichiyo Shimizu (7)	3–1[8]	Ryōko Usui
26	1999	Hiroe Nakai (7)	3–0[8]	Ichiyo Shimizu
27	2000	Haruko Saida	3–2[8]	Hiroe Nakai
28	2001	Hiroe Nakai (8)	3–0[8]	Haruko Saida
29	2002	Hiroe Nakai (9)	3–2[8]	Ryōko Usui
30	2003	Ichiyo Shimizu (8)	3–1[9]	Hiroe Nakai
31	2004	Ichiyo Shimizu (9)	3–1[10]	Ryōko Chiba
32	2005	Rieko Yauchi	3–0[11]	Ichiyo Shimizu
33	2006	Rieko Yauchi (2)	3–2[12]	Hiroe Nakai
34	2007	Rieko Yauchi (3)	3–0[13]	Haruko Saida
35	2008	Ichiyo Shimizu (10)	3–2[14]	Reiko Yauchi
36	2009	Kana Satomi	3–0[15]	Ichiyo Shimizu
37	2010	Kana Satomi (2)	3–0[16]	Ichiyo Shimizu
38	2011	Kana Satomi (3)	3–1[17]	Ichiyo Shimizu
39	2012	Kana Satomi (4)	3–2[18]	Hatsumi Ueda
40	2013	Kana Satomi (5)	3–0[8]	Marika Nakamura
41	2014	Kana Satomi (6)	3–0[19]	Ichiyo Shimizu
42	2015	Kana Satomi (7)	3–2[20]	Ichiyo Shimizu
43	2016	Kana Satomi (8)	3–2[21]	Hatsumi Ueda
44	2017	Kana Satomi (9)	3–0[22]	Sae Itō
45	2018	Kana Satomi (10)	3–1[23]	Sae Itō
46	2019	Kana Satomi (11)	3–0[24]	Yuki Taniguchi
47	2020	Kana Satomi (12)	3–0[25]	Momoko Katō
48	2021	Sae Itō	3–1[26]	Kana Satomi
49	2022	Tomoka Nishiyama	3–1[27]	Sae Itō
50	2023	Kana Fukuma (née Sakuma) (13)[d]	3–1[28]	Tomoka Nishiyama

Records

• Most Women's Meijin titles: Satomi Kana (12)
• Most consecutive Women's Meijin titles: Satomi Kana (12)
• Most appearances in Women's Meijin title match: Ichiyo Shimizu (20)

Meijin League

The challenger for the Meijin title is determined through a 10-player league system in which the winner of the league advances to the title match against the reigning Meijin. Players are seeded based upon their results in the previous year's league, with the top seed being the loser of the previous year's title match. The four lowest finishers in league play each year are demoted from the league and must requalify through single-elimination preliminary tournaments. The remaining five players are re-seeded from two to six based upon their results from the previous year, and the four winners of the preliminary tournaments are seeded as a joint number seven seed. Ties between players to determine the league's winner and which players are demoted are resolved through playoff games.

The players of the 51st Women's Meijin League (April – December 2024) are as follows.^[29]

51st Meijin League

Seed	Name [e]	Dan[f]
1	Tomoka Nishiyama	5
2	Aya Uchiyama	1
3	Sakura Ishimoto	3
4	Mana Watanabe*	3
4	Kotomi Yamane	3
6	Kanna Suzuki	3
7	Momoko Katō	4
7	Ayaka Ōshima	2
7	Miran Nohara	1
7	Aya Imai	1

Notes

1. The professional shogi season is from April 1 until March 31 and coincides with the fiscal and administrative year of the Japan Shogi Association and most other Japanese organizations.
2. An example of this occurred in the 41st Women's Meijin in 2014–2015 when Ichiyo Shimizu and Manao Kagawa each finished league play with a record of 6 wins and 3 losses. A one-game-playoff was held to determine who would advance to the title match, and this playoff was won by Shimizu.^[4]
3. An example of this occurred in the 42nd Women's Meijin in 2015–2016 when Manaka Inagawa and Yuki Muroya each finished league play with a record of 4 wins and 5 losses. A one-game-playoff was held to determine who would be relegated from league play. Muraya won the playoff to remain in the league.^[5]
4. This was the thirteeth Women's Meijin title overall for Fukuma but the first since getting married.
5. Players marked with an asterisk (*) are members of the Ladies Professional Shogi-players' Association of Japan and players marked with a cross (†) are unaffiliated women's professional players. All others are member of the Japan Shogi Association.
6. All dan ranks are women's professional ranks.

References

1. Furukawa, Tetsuo, ed. (September 2014). "Joryū Kikai no Yonjū Shūnen" 女流棋界の40周年 [40 years of Women's Professional Shogi]. Shogi World (in Japanese). MyNabi Publishing/Japan Shogi Association. pp. 22–29. Retrieved November 17, 2021 – via Google Books.
2. "Joryū Meijinsen, Kanmei Henkō no Oshirase Shinmeishō ｢Okada Bijutsukanhai Joryū Meijinsen｣" 女流名人戦, 冠名変更のお知らせ 新名称「岡田美術館杯女流名人戦」へ [Name change for Women's Meijin Tournament announced; the new name is the Okada Museum of Art Women's Meijin Tournament] (in Japanese). Japan Shogi Association. March 19, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
3. "Joryū Kisenme Henkō no Oshirse Shinmeishō ｢Yunibāsaru Hai Joryū Meijinsen｣" 女流棋戦名称変更のお知らせ 新名称 ｢ユニバーサル杯女流名人戦｣ [Women's major title name change announced; the new name will be the "Universal Cup Women's Meijin Tournament"] (in Japanese). Japan Shogi Association. March 17, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
4. "Dai Yonjūikki Yunibāsaruhai Joryū Meijinsen: Chōsensha Ketteisen Purēofu" 第41期ユニバーサル杯女流名人戦: 挑戦者決定戦 プレーオフ [41st Universal Women's Meijin Tournament: Challenger Determination Playoff] (in Japanese). Japan Shogi Association. 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
5. "Dai Yonjūniki Okada Bijutsukanuhai Joryū Meijinsen: Zanryū Kettei" 第42期岡田美術館杯女流名人戦: 残留決定戦 [41st Universal Women's Meijin Tournament: Relegation Determination] (in Japanese). Japan Shogi Association. 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
6. "Joryū Meijin, Satomi Kana ga Gorenpa / Sanninme no Kuīn wo Kakutoku" 女流名人, 里見香奈が5連覇 / 3人目のクイーンを獲得 [Kana Satomi wins Women's Meijin for the fifth consecutive time to become the third player to qualify for the Queen Meijin title]. Shikoku Shimbun (in Japanese). February 9, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
7. "Joryū Meijinsen: Kako no Kekka" 女流名人戦: 過去の結果 [Women's Meijin past results] (in Japanese). Japan Shogi Association. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
8. "Joryū Meijin Kako no Goban Shōbusenseki" 女流名人 過去の五番勝負戦績 [Women's Meijin: Past results]. Hochi Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved November 17, 2021.
9. "Shimizu Joryū Gokiburi Joryū Meijin'i Dasshu" 清水女流5期ぶり女流名人位奪還 [Shimizu captures Women's Meijin after a five year draught] (in Japanese). Igo & Shogi Channel. February 20, 2004. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
10. "Dai Sanjūikki Joryū Meijin'isen...Shimizu Joryū Bōei" 第31期女流名人位戦...清水女流名人防衛 [31st Women's Meijin...Shimizu defends title] (in Japanese). Igo & Shogi Channel. February 15, 2005. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
11. "Dai Sanjūniki Joryū Meijin'isen Goban Shōbu ... Yauchi Joryū ga Dasshu" 第32期女流名人位戦五番勝負...矢内女流が奪取 [32rd Women's Meijin ...Yauchi captures title] (in Japanese). Igo & Shogi Channel. February 9, 2006. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
12. "Dai Sanjūsanki Joryū Meijin'isen...Yauchi Joryū Meijin no Bōei" 第33期女流名人位戦...矢内女流名人の防衛 [33rd Women's Meijin...Yauchi Women's Meijin defends title.] (in Japanese). Igo & Shogi Channel. March 27, 2007. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
13. "Dai Sanjūyonki Joryū Meijin'isen...Yauchi Joryū Meijin, Bōei (Sanrenpa)" 第34期女流名人位戦...矢内女流名人, 防衛 (3連覇) [34th Women's Meijin...Yauchi Women's Meijin defends title to threepeat] (in Japanese). Igo & Shogi Channel. February 21, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
14. "Dai Sanjūgoki Joryū Meijin'isen...Shimizu Joryū Ōshō, Dasshu" 第35期女流名人位戦...清水女流王将, 奪取 [35th Women's Meijin...Shimizu Women's Ōshō captures title] (in Japanese). Igo & Shogi Channel. March 6, 2009. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
15. "Dai Sanjūrokki Joryū Meijin'isen ... Satomi Kurashiki Tōka, Dasshu" 第36期女流名人位戦...里見倉敷藤花, 奪取 [36th Women's Meijin ... Satomi Kurashiki Tōka captures title] (in Japanese). Igo & Shogi Channel. February 11, 2010. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
16. Satō, Keiji (February 15, 2011). "Satomi Joryū Meijin, Nirenpa Tassei, Joryū Meijin'isen Goban Shōbu" 里見女流名人, 2連覇達成 将棋女流名人位戦五番勝負 [Women's Meijin best-of-five title match: Satomi Women's Meijin wins for the second year in a row]. Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved November 17, 2021.
17. Satō, Keiji (February 15, 2012). "Satomi Kana Joryū Meijin ga Sanrenpa Shōgi･Joryū Meijin'isen Goban Shōbu" 里見香奈名人が3連覇 将棋/･女流名人位戦五番勝負 [Shogi Women's Meijin best-of-five title match: Satomi Women's Meijin wins for the third consecutive year]. Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved November 17, 2021.
18. Satō, Keiji (February 27, 2013). "Satomi Joryū Meijin ga Yonrenpa Shōgi Shijō Sanninme" 里見女流名人が4連覇 将棋史上3人目 [Satomi wins Women's Meijin wins for the fourth consecutive year to become the third women's professional to do so]. Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved November 17, 2021.
19. "Shōgi, Satomi ga Joryū Meijin Rokurenpa/Taichō Furyō Kara Fukki" 将棋、里見が女流名人6連覇／体調不良から復帰 [Satomi regains form after illness; wins Women's Meijin for sixth consecutive time]. Shikoku Shimbun (in Japanese). February 8, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
20. "Satomi Joryū Meijin, Nanarenpa wo Tassei, Shōgi" 里見女流名人, 7連覇を達成, 将棋 [Satomi Women's Meijin wins Meijin crown for seventh consecutive time]. Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). February 25, 2016. Archived from the original on February 25, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
21. "Shōgi, Satomi Kana ga Hachirenpa Joryū Meijinsen Dai Gokyoku" 将棋, 里見香奈が8連覇 女流名人戦第5局 [Women's Meijin title match Game 5: Kana Satomi wins title for the eighth consecutive time]. Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). February 22, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
22. "Shōgi no Satomi Joryū Meijin, Sanrenshō de Bōei" 将棋の里見女流名人, 3連勝で防衛 [Women's Meijin Satomi wins three straight games to defend title.]. The Nikkei (in Japanese). February 13, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
23. "Satomi, Joryū Saitatai Jūrenpa" 里見, 女流最多タイ10連覇 [Satomi ties women's professional shogi record of winning same title ten consecutive times.]. The Nikkei (in Japanese). Kyodo News. February 18, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
24. "｢Izumo Inazuma｣ Satomi Joryū Yonkan Joryū Meijinsen Bōei Saita no Jūichi Renpa" 「出雲のイナズマ」里見女流四冠 女流名人戦防衛 最多の11連覇 [Satomi 4-crown, the "Izumo Lightning", defends Women's Meijin title for 11th consecutive time to set a new record for most consecutive wins of a women's major title.]. NHK News Web (in Japanese). February 11, 2020. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
25. "Satomi Joryū Yonkan, Joryū Taitoru Saita Tai no Yonjūsanki ni ... Joryu Meijin wo Bōei" 里見女流四冠, 女流タイトル最多タイの43期に...女流名人を防衛 [Satomi 4-crown defends Women's Meijin title... ties for the most overall women's major titles with 43.]. Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). November 17, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
26. Niidoi, Hiroaki (February 24, 2022). "Itō Sae ga Joryū Meijin Dasshu, Hatsu Taitoru; Satomi Kana wa Jūsan Renpa Narazu" 伊藤沙恵が女流名人奪取, 初タイトル 里見香奈は13連覇ならず [Sae Itō captures Women's Meijin for first major title, Kana Satomi unable to win the title for the 13th consecutive time]. Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved February 25, 2022.
27. "[Shōgi] Nishiyama Tomoka Jo-Ō ga Hatsuchōsen de Joryū Meijin Kakutoku Itō Sae Joryū Meijin Bōei Narazu Joryū Meijinsen" [将棋] 西山朋佳女王が初挑戦で女流名人獲得　伊藤沙恵女流名人は初防衛ならず 女流名人戦 [[Shogi] Women's Meijin Tournament: Sae Itō loses Meijin title to first-time challenger Tomoka Nishiyama Jo-Ō]. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). February 24, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
28. "｢Fukuma Kana｣ de Joryū Meijin ni Fukui! Nihiyama Tomoka Joryū Meijin wo Yabutte Sankiburi Dasshu" ｢福間香奈｣で女流名人に復位! 西山朋佳女流名人を破って3期ぶり奪還 ["Kana Fukuma" recaptures Women's Meijin title! Defeats reigning Women's Meijin Tomoka Nishiyama 3 games to 1 to regain the title after losing it three years ago.]. Sports Hochi (in Japanese). February 25, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
29. "Dai Gojūikkai Joryū Meijin Rīgu" 第51期女流名人リーグ [51st Women's Meijin League] (in Japanese). Japan Shogi Association. Retrieved April 8, 2024.

External links

• Official Japan Shogi Association's Women's Meijin page (in Japanese)
• Official Sports Hochi Women's Meijin page (in Japanese)
• Official Universal Entertainment Women's Meijin page (in Japanese)