is a Japanese women's professional shogi player ranked 1-

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 ...

Early life and becoming a women's professional shogi player

Iwasa was born in

Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku ...

, Japan on August 15, 2005. She learned how to play shogi as a fourth-grade student due the influence of her older brothers. She subsequently began attending a local shogi school and had become good enough to enter the

Tōkai Tōkai ( 東海, literally ''East Sea'') in Japanese may refer to: * Tōkai region, a subregion of Chūbu * Tōkai, Ibaraki, a village, also known as "Tokaimura" (Tokai-village) * Tōkai, Aichi, a city * Tōkai University, a private university in T ...

branch of 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 training group system as a fifth-grade elementary school student. Iwasa qualified for women's professional status after being promoted to training group B2 in December 2021. Needing a sponsor to become a women's professional, her first choice was shogi professional

Masayuki Toyoshima is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 9-dan. He is a former holder of the Ryūō, Meijin, Ōi, Kisei and Eiō titles. Toyoshima, together with Akira Inaba, Tetsurō Itodani and Akihiro Murata, is one of four Kansai-based young shog ...

. A meeting between the two was arranged by a mutal acquaintance and Toyoshima agreed to take her on as his first

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

. She applied for women's professional status and her application was accepted by the Japan Shogi Association; she was granted women's professional status on February 1, 2022. she is a senior high school student and

Uguisudani Junior and Senior High School is the private, college-preparatory school located in Gifu, Gifu, Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. History *1903 - Ryoichi Suzuki established "Sasaki girls' school for sewing" in Nishino-machi, Gifu city. *1908 - It was transferred to Sakuma-cho ...

in Gifu.

Promotion history

Iwasa's promotion history is as follows. * 2-

: February 1, 2022 * 1-kyū: April 1, 2023 Note: All ranks are women's professional ranks.

References

External links

* ShogiHub
Iwasa, Mihoko
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iwasa, Mihoko 2005 births Living people Japanese shogi players Women's professional shogi players Professional shogi players from Gifu Prefecture