was a Japanese
professional shogi player who achieved the rank of 9-
dan
Dan or DAN may refer to:
People
* Dan (name), including a list of people with the name
** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark
* Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa
**Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...
. He is a former
Meijin
is one of the eight titles in Japanese professional shogi, and is the most prestigious title, along with Ryūō. The word ''meijin'' (名 ''mei'' "excellent, artful", 人 ''jin'' "person") refers to a highly skilled master of a certain field ( ...
who was known for playing very creative shogi. For instance, top player
Yoshiharu Habu
is a professional shogi player and a chess FIDE Master. His master is Tatsuya Futakami. He is the only person to simultaneously hold seven major professional shogi titles at the same time and is also the only person to qualify as a lifetime tit ...
considered Masuda's playing style to be 30 years ahead of its time and the origin of the modern way to play shogi.
Kōzō Masuda Award
Each year since 1995 the
Japan Shogi Association
The , or JSA, is the primary organizing body for professional shogi in Japan. The JSA sets the professional calendar, negotiates sponsorship and media promotion deals, helps organize tournaments and title matches, publishes shogi-related materia ...
has awarded the
Kōzō Masuda Award (升田幸三賞 ''Masuda Kōzō Shō'') to the player or players whose innovative new ideas in shogi theory or tactics, or whose new or excellent moves have attracted significant attention among other shogi players and fans during the year.
A second award is the Masuda Special Prize (升田幸三賞特別賞), which is given out infrequently.
Promotion history
The promotion history of Masuda is as follows:
*1947: 8-dan
*1959: 9-dan
Major titles and other championships
Masuda won the
Meijin title in 1957 and 1958, and was the loser in the title match another eight times. He also won the
Osho title three times (1951 and 1955–56) and the now defunct twice (1957–58). Overall, Masuda won a major title seven times and appeared in a major title match twenty-three times during his career.
In addition to major titles, Masuda won the
NHK Shogi Cup three times (1952, 1957 and 1963) and other shogi tournaments four times.
Awards and honors
Masuda was awarded the Japanese government's
Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbons in November 1973.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Masuda, Kozo
Japanese shogi players
Deceased professional shogi players
Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon
Professional shogi players from Hiroshima Prefecture
Meijin (shogi)
Ōshō
1918 births
1991 deaths
Ninth Dan