is a Japanese

professional shogi player A professional shogi player (将棋棋士 ''shōgi kishi'' or プロ棋士 ''puro kishi'' "professional player") is a shogi player who is usually a member of a professional guild of shogi players. There are two categories of professional player ...

, ranked 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'Ivoir ...

. He is a former holder of the

Ryūō Ryūō (also Ryu-O, Ryu-oh, Ryuuou; in Japanese 龍王, 竜王, lit. "Dragon King") is an annual Japanese professional shogi tournament and the title of its winner. The current Ryūō title holder is Sōta Fujii. The Ryūō Tournament (''Ryūō-s ...

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 (t ...

, Ōi, Kisei and

Eiō The is one of the eight major titles of professional shogi cosponsored by Fujiya Co. and the Japan Shogi Association (JSA). The tournament initially started out as a non-title tournament in 2015, but was upgraded to major title status in May 20 ...

titles. Toyoshima, together with

Akira Inaba is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 8-dan. Inaba, together with Tetsurō Itodani, Masayuki Toyoshima and Akihiro Murata, is one of four Kansai-based young shogi professionals who are collectively referred to as the "Young Kansai Big ...

Tetsurō Itodani is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 8-dan and former Ryūō title holder. Itodani, together with Akira Inaba, Masayuki Toyoshima and Akihiro Murata, is one of four Kansai-based young shogi professionals who are collectively refe ...

and

Akihiro Murata is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 6-dan. Early life Murata was born on July 14, 1986, in Uozu, Toyama. He learned how to play shogi when he was about five years old from his father. In 1998, Murata took the entrance exam for the J ...

, is one of four Kansai-based young shogi professionals who are collectively referred to as the .

Early life

Toyoshima was born in

Ichinomiya, Aichi is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The city is sometimes called Owarichinomiya to avoid confusion with other municipalities of the same name, including Ichinomiya (now part of the city of Toyokawa), Ichinomiya in Chiba Prefecture. , t ...

on April 30, 1990. He entered 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 ...

's apprentice school at the rank of 6-

kyū is a Japanese term used in modern martial arts as well as in tea ceremony, flower arranging, Go, shogi, academic tests and other similar activities to designate various grades, levels or degrees of proficiency or experience. In Mandarin Chin ...

under the guidance of shogi professional

Kiyozumi Kiriyama is a retired Japanese professional shogi player ranked 9-dan. He is a former Kisei and Kiō major title holder as well as a former director of the Japan Shogi Association. Early life Kiriyama was born on October 17, 1947, in Shimoichi, Nara. ...

in 1999. He obtained professional status and the rank of 4-dan on April 1, 2007, after finishing tied for first with

Kōta Kanai is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 6-dan. Early life Kanai was born on May 25, 1986, in Ageo, Saitama. He learned how to play shogi from his grandfather when he was about six years old. In August 1999, he was accepted into the Japan ...

in the 40th 3-dan League (October 2006March 2007) with a record of 14 wins and 4 losses.

Shogi professional

Toyoshima's first appearance in a major title match came in 2010 when he defeated

Yasumitsu Satō is a Japanese professional shogi player from Yawata City in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. He is currently the president of the Japan Shogi Association. He became a professional in 1987 and is ranked 9-dan. He has won 13 major titles, is a former M ...

to win the 60th Ōshō league with a record of 5 wins and 1 loss, Although Toyoshima lost his first game in league play, he proceeded to win his next five to earn the right to challenge defending Ōshō

Toshiaki Kubo is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 9-dan. He is a former Ōshō and Kiō title holder.　 Early life Kubo was born in Kakogawa, Hyōgo on August 27, 1975. He learned shogi when he was about four years old, and at the encouragement o ...

for his title. The match against Kubo was tied at one win apiece after two games, but Kubo won three out of the next four games to defend his title 42. Toyoshima was 20-years-old at the time which made him the youngest challenger in the tournament's history, breaking the record set by

Hifumi Katō is a retired Japanese professional shogi player who achieved the rank of 9-dan. He is a former Meijin, Tenth Dan, Ōi, Kiō and Ōshō major title holder. He has the nicknames ''123'', is composed of the characters ja, 一, translit=hi, la ...

who was 22-years-old when he challenged for the title in 1961. In July 2014, Toyoshima defeated

Tadahisa Maruyama is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 9-dan. He is a former Meijin and Kiō title holder. Early life, amateur shogi and apprenticeship Maruyama was born in Kisarazu, Chiba on September 5, 1970. He won the 9th in 1984, and the followi ...

to win the right to challenge

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 ...

for the 62nd Ōza title. Although Toyoshima lost the first two games of his match against Habu, he won the next two to tie the match before losing the deciding Game 5. In April 2015, Toyoshima defeated

title holder

Amahiko Satō is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 9-dan. He is a former Meijin title holder. Early life Satō was born in Fukuoka on January 18, 1988. He attended elementary school and junior high school in Fukuoka, but moved to Chiba Prefecture to ...

to advance to the 86th Kisei title match, but lost to Habu 3 games to 1. Toyoshima defeated Amahiko Satō to win the on October 23, 2016, for his first tournament victory as a professional. He reached the finals of the tournament once again in 2017, but lost to

Takayuki Yamasaki is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 8-dan. Early life Yamasaki was born in Hiroshima, Japan on February 14, 1981. He entered the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school in 1992 at the rank 6-kyū as a student of shogi profession ...

. Two days after his loss to Yamazaki, Toyoshima defeated

Kōichi Fukaura is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 9-dan. He is a three-time winner of the Ōi tournament, and also a former member of the Japan Shogi Association's board of directors. Early life Fukaura was born in Sasebo, Nagasaki on February 14 ...

on November 21, 2017, to win the 67th Ōshō league with a record of 5 wins and 1 loss and earn the right to challenge Kubo once again for the Ōshō title. Like their first meeting back in 2010, the players were tied at one win each after two games, but Kubo went on to win the match once again 4 games to 2. On July 17, 2018, Toyoshima defeated Habu in Game 5 of the 89th Kisei match to capture his first major title. His victory meant that for the first time since 1987 (when there were only seven major titles) no player held more than one major title. The period of "no multiple titleholders", however, was ended by Toyoshima himself in September 2018 when he defeated

Tatsuya Sugai is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 8-dan. He is a former holder of the Ōi title. Promotion history The promotion history for Sugai is as follows: * 6-kyū: September 29, 2004 * 4-dan: April 1, 2010 * 5-dan: August 21, 2011 * 6-dan: ...

4 games to 3 to capture the 59th Ōi title and become a 2-crown title holder. In March 2019, Toyoshima won the 77th Meijin Class A ranking league with a record of 8 wins and 1 loss to earn the right to challenge reigning Meijin Amahiko Satō for the 77th Meijin title. It was the first time Toyoshima earned the right to challenge for the Meijin title. In the AprilMay title match, Toyoshima defeated Satō 4 games to none. Toyoshima's victory made him a 3-crown title holder, and also made him the first shogi professional born in the :Heisei Era to win the Meijin title. Capturing the Meijin title also meant the Toyoshima met the criteria for promotion to the rank of 9-dan and he was awarded the rank by the JSA later the same day. Toyoshima's first title defense came in JuneJuly 2019 when he faced challenger Akira Watanabe in the 90th Kisei title match. Toyoshima won the first game of the match, but Watanabe won the next three games to capture the title. With the loss, Toyoshima returned to being a 2-crown title holder. Toyoshima defended his Ōi title against

Kazuki Kimura is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 9- dan. He is a former Ōi title holder. He is also the oldest player to win a major title for the first time. Early life Kimura was born in Yotsukaidō, Chiba Prefecture on June 23, 1973. He lea ...

in the 60th Ōi title match (July 7September 26, 2019). Toyoshima won the first two games, but proceeded to lose the next two. Toyoshima won Game 5 and needed just one more win to defend his title, but Kimura won the last two games to win the match 4 games to 3. In September 2019, Toyoshima and Kimura met again the 32nd Ryūō Challenger Playoff Match to earn the right to challenge defending

Akihito Hirose is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 8-dan. He is a former :Ryūō and Ōi title holder, and is also the first shogi professional to win a major title while attending university. Early life and education Hirose was born in Kōtō, ...

for the 32nd Ryūō title. Toyoshima won the match 2 games to 1 and became a challenger for the Ryūō title for the first time. In the OctoberDecember title match against Hirose, Toyoshima won the first three games and ended up winning the match 4 games to 1. The victory not only returned Toyoshima to 2-crown title holder status and gave him his first Ryūō title, but it also made him only the fourth professional shogi player to hold the Ryūō and Meijin titles at the same time. Toyoshima defeated Watanabe in the championship game of the 27th on September 24, 2019, to win the tournament for the first time. In JuneAugust 2020, Toyoshima was unable to defend his Meijin title, losing the 78th Meijin title match to Watanabe 4 games to 2. Toyoshima captured the 5th

title on September 21, 2020, when he defeated the defending Eiō title holder

Takuya Nagase is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 9-dan. He is the current holder of the Ōza title and a former holder of the Eiō title. Early life Nagase was born in Yokohama on September 5, 1992. He learned how to play shogi at age six from ...

4 games to 3. The two players actually needed nine games to determine the best-of-seven match because two of the games ended in

impasse A bargaining impasse occurs when the two sides negotiating an agreement are unable to reach an agreement and become deadlocked. An impasse is almost invariably mutually harmful, either as a result of direct action which may be taken such as a st ...

. Toyoshima and Nagase faced each other again in the finals of the 41st Nihon Series JT Professional Tournament in November 2020; Toyoshima defeated Nagase to win the tournament for the second time. Toyoshima successfully defended his Ryūō title in December 2020 by winning the 33rd Ryūō title match (OctoberDecember 2020) against 4 games to 1. In 2021, Toyoshima faced

Sōta Fujii is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 9-dan. He is the current holder of the Eiō, Kisei, Ōi, Ōshō and Ryūō titles. He is the youngest person to be awarded professional status by the Japan Shogi Association and one of only five ...

in three major title matches and in the final of one non-major title tournament. Toyoshima challenged Fujii for the latter's Ōi title in JuneAugust 2021, but lost the 62nd Ōi title match 4 games to 1. At roughly the same time, Toyoshima and Fujii also met in the 6th Eiō title match (JulySeptember 2021), with the challenger Fujii winning 3 games to 2. The pair met again in the when Fujii challenged Toyoshima for the

title in 34th Ryūō title match held in OctoberNovember 2021. Fujii won the match 4 games to none to drop Toyoshima from the ranks of current major title holders. Toyoshima and Fujii met about a week after the conclusion of the 34th Ryūō in the championship game of the 42nd Nihon Series JT Professional Tournament: Toyoshima defeated Fujii to repeat as champion and win the tournament for the third time overall. Toyoshima defeated

Ayumu Matsuo is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 8-dan. Early life Matsuo was born on March 29, 1980, in Nisshin, Aichi. His father, a professor at Nagoya University, taught him how to play shogi when he was a third-grade elementary school studen ...

in March 2022 to win the 71st NHK Cup. It was the first time Toyoshima won the tournament. In JuneSeptember 2022, Toyoshima challenged once again for the Ōi title, but lost the 63rd Ōi title match 4 games to 1. Toyoshima also challenged for for the latter's Ōza title in 2022, but lost the 70th Ōza title match (AugustOctober 2022) 3 games to 1.

Promotion history

Toyoshima's promotion history is as follows: * 6-

: September 1999 * 4-dan: April 1, 2007 * 5-dan: May 8, 2009 * 6-dan: November 29, 2010 * 7-dan: April 19, 2012 * 8-dan: March 9, 2017 * 9-dan: May 17, 2019

Titles and other championships

Toyoshima has appeared in a major title match eighteen times, and has won six major titles. In addition to major titles, he has won five other shogi championship.

Major titles

Other championships

Awards and honors

Toyoshima has received a number awards given out annually by the JSA for performance in official games.

Annual Shogi Awards

*37th Annual Shogi Awards (April 2009March 2010): Best Winning Percentage, Most Games Won *38th Annual Shogi Awards (April 2010March 2011): Best New Player *39th Annual Shogi Awards (April 2011March 2012): Most Games Won *42nd Annual Shogi Awards (April 2014March 2015): Most Games Played, Game of the Year *44th Annual Shogi Awards (April 2016March 2017): Most Consecutive Games Won *46th Annual Shogi Awards (April 2018March 2019): Player of the Year * 47th Annual Shogi Awards (April 2019March 2020): Excellent Player, Game of the Year *48th Annual Shogi Awards (April 2020March 2021): Fighting-spirit *49th Annual Shogi Awards (April 2021March 2022): Game of the Year

Other awards

* 2019:

Osaka Culture Prize The is an annual award presented by the Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wa ...

Year-end prize money and game fee ranking

Toyoshima has finished in the "Top 10" of the JSA's eight times since turning professional: fifth in 2014 with JPY 21,600,000 in earnings; eighth in 2015 with JPY 24,590,000 in earnings; seventh in 2016 with JPY 24,920,000 in earnings; fourth in 2018 with JPY 47,220,000 in earnings; first in 2019 with JPY 71,570,000 in earnings; first in 2020 with JPY 106,450,000 in earnings; second in 2021 with JPY 81,450,000 in earnings; and 3rd in 2022 with JPY 50,710,000 in earnings.

References

External links

* ShogiHub
Professional Player Info · Toyoshima, Masayuki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toyoshima, Masayuki Japanese shogi players Living people Professional shogi players Kansai University alumni Professional shogi players from Aichi Prefecture 1990 births Kisei (shogi) Ōi (shogi) Meijin (shogi) Ryūō Eiō People from Ichinomiya, Aichi Ginga