is a deceased 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 won the first

Kiō is one of the eight major title tournaments in professional shogi. The word means the 'king of shogi' (棋 ''ki'' 'shogi' + 王 ''ō'' 'king'). Overview The tournament started in 1974 as a continuation of the Saikyōshakettei tournament (最強� ...

title in 1976, and also served as senior managing director 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 ...

from 1993 to 1999. He was awarded the Japanese government's Order of the Rising Sun in 2015.

Early life and education

Ōuchi was born on October 2, 1941, in

Minato, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is also called Minato City in English. It was formed in 1947 as a merger of Akasaka, Azabu and Shiba wards following Tokyo City's transformation into Tokyo Metropolis. The modern Minato ward exhibits ...

. In 1954, he entered the

'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 Chi ...

under guidance of shogi professional

Ichitarō Doi was a Japanese professional shogi player who achieved the rank of 8-dan (the highest rank at the time), and was the first president of the Japan Shogi Association. Doi was a student of , the thirteenth Lifetime Meijin, along with contemporary ...

. He was promoted to the rank of apprentice professional 1-dan in 1958, and obtained professional status and the rank of 4-dan in April 1963. Ōuchi was the first graduate of

Chuo University , commonly referred to as or , is a private flagship research university in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1885 as Igirisu Hōritsu Gakkō (the English Law School), Chuo is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions in the country. The univer ...

to become a professional shogi player.

Professional shogi

Ōuchi was the challenger for the

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 ( ...

title in 1975 against

Makoto Nakahara is a retired Japanese professional shogi player who achieved the rank of 9-dan. He is one of the strongest shogi players of the Shōwa period (1926–1989) and holds the titles of Lifetime Kisei, Lifetime Meijin, , Lifetime Ōi, and Lifetime ...

. He retired from professional shogi in April 2010.

Promotion history

The promotion history for Ōuchi is as follows: *1954: 6-

*1958: 1-dan *1963, April 1: 4-dan *1964, April 1: 5-Dan *1965, April 1: 6-dan *1970, April 1: 7-dan *1972, April 1: 8-dan *1984, April 1: 9-dan *2010, April 20: Retired

Titles and other championships

Ōuchi appeared in major title matches a total of four times and won one major title. He won the

title in 1976 for his only major title. In addition to his one major title, Ōuchi won eight other shogi championships during his career.

Non-title championships

Note: Tournaments marked with an asterisk (*) are no longer held.

Awards and honors

Ōuchi received a number of awards and honors throughout his career for his accomplishments both on an off the shogi board. These include awards given out annually by the for performance in official games as well as other awards for career accomplishments, and awards received from governmental organizations, etc. for contributions made to Japanese society. In November 2015, Ōuchi became the 25th professional shogi player to be awarded the Order of the Rising Sun for his contributions to the promotion of Japanese culture.

Annual Shogi Awards

*2nd Annual Awards (April 1974March 1975): Most Consecutive Games Won, Distinguished Service Award *3rd Annual Awards (April 1975March 1976): Fighting-spirit Award *5th Annual Awards (April 1977March 1978): Most Consecutive Games Won *14th Annual Awards (April 1986March 1987): Special Award *36th Annual Awards (April 2008March 2009): Tokyo Shogi Press Club Award *45th Annual Awards (April 2017March 2018): Masuda Special Prize (for numerous contributions made to the Bear-in-the-hole castle in

Ranging Rook Ranging Rook or Swinging Rook (振り飛車 ''furibisha'') openings in shogi position the rook to the center or left of the player's board to support an attack there. Ranging Rook strategies used in Ranging Rook vs Static Rook are among the old ...

openings)

Other awards

*1982:

Sankei Children's Book Award , literally " Sankei Children's Publishing Culture Award", is a major and the oldest children's literary awards in Japan. The Sankei Children's Book Award annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished Japanese Children's litera ...

() *1987: Shogi Honor Award (Awarded by the JSA in recognition of winning 600 official games as a professional) *1987: 25 Years Service Award (Awarded by the JSA in recognition of being an active professional for twenty-five years) *2000: Shogi Honor Fighting-spirit Award (Awarded by JSA in recognition of winning 800 official games as a professional) *2002: 40 Years Service Award (Awarded by the JSA in recognition of being an active professional for forty years) *2015: Order of the Rising Sun

Death

Ōuchi died on June 23, 2017, at age 75. The cause of death was not made public. A memorial service for Ōuchi was held on July 17, 2017, at the headquarters of the in Tokyo. The service was attended by roughly 500 people, including relatives, friends and fans.

References

External links

*ShogiHub
Professional Player Info · Ouchi, Nobuyuki
Japanese shogi players Deceased professional shogi players Professional shogi players from Tokyo Chuo University alumni Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Kiō 1941 births 2017 deaths People from Minato {{Shogi-stub