# Kisei (shogi)

Kisei (棋聖) is one of the eight major titles in Japanese professional shogi. The word Kisei means an excellent player of shogi or go and has been translated as "shogi saint" (棋 ki 'shogi player' + 聖 sei 'excellent person').
The Kisei tournament started in 1962. With the creation of the Kisei, there were five major title tournaments along with the Meijin, Tenth Dan (Ryūō), Ōshō, and Ōi titles. It was held twice a year until the year 1994. The challenger for Kisei title holder is determined by first, second, and final preliminary rounds. The player that wins three games out of five first in the championship will become the new Kisei title holder.

## Lifetime Kisei

The Lifetime Kisei (永世棋聖, eisei kisei) title is awarded to a player who has won Kisei Championship five times. Active players may qualify for this title, but it is only officially awarded upon their retirement or death.
The following professionals have qualified for this title:
* Yasuharu Ōyama (deceased)
* Makoto Nakahara (retired)
* Kunio Yonenaga (deceased)
* Yoshiharu Habu (active)
* Yasumitsu Satō (active)
* Sōta Fujii (active)

## Winners

| No. | Year | Winner | Score | Opponent |
| 1 | 1962 | Yasuharu Ōyama | 3-1 | Masao Tsukada |
| 2 | 1963 first | Yasuharu Ōyama (2) | 3-0 | Tatsuya Futakami |
| 3 | 1963 second | Yasuharu Ōyama (3) | 3-1 | Kozō Masuda |
| 4 | 1964 first | Yasuharu Ōyama (4) | 3-2 | Shigeru Sekine |
| 5 | 1964 second | Yasuharu Ōyama (5) | 3-0 | So-etsu Homma |
| 6 | 1965 first | Yasuharu Ōyama (6) | 3-2 | Kozō Masuda |
| 7 | 1965 second | Yasuharu Ōyama (7) | 3-2 | Tatsuya Futakami |
| 8 | 1966 first | Tatsuya Futakami | 3-1 | Yasuharu Ōyama |
| 9 | 1966 second | Yasuharu Ōyama (8) | 3-0 | Tatsuya Futakami |
| 10 | 1967 first | Michiyoshi Yamada | 3-1 | Yasuharu Ōyama |
| 11 | 1967 second | Michiyoshi Yamada (2) | 3-2 | Makoto Nakahara |
| 12 | 1968 first | Makoto Nakahara | 3-1 | Michiyoshi Yamada |
| 13 | 1968 second | Makoto Nakahara (2) | 3-1 | Yasuharu Ōyama |
| 14 | 1969 first | Makoto Nakahara (3) | 3-0 | Michiyoshi Yamada |
| 15 | 1969 second | Kunio Naitō | 3-1 | Makoto Nakahara |
| 16 | 1970 first | Yasuharu Ōyama (9) | 3-1 | Kunio Naitō |
| 17 | 1970 second | Makoto Nakahara (4) | 3-0 | Yasuharu Ōyama |
| 18 | 1971 first | Makoto Nakahara (5) | 3-1 | Yasuharu Ōyama |
| 19 | 1971 second | Makoto Nakahara (6) | 3-1 | Tatsuya Futakami |
| 20 | 1972 first | Makoto Nakahara (7) | 3-1 | Kunio Naitō |
| 21 | 1972 second | Michio Ariyoshi | 3-2 | Makoto Nakahara |
| 22 | 1973 first | Kunio Yonenaga | 3-1 | Michio Ariyoshi |
| 23 | 1973 second | Kunio Naitō (2) | 3-2 | Kunio Yonenaga |
| 24 | 1974 first | Yasuharu Ōyama (10) | 3-1 | Kunio Naitō |
| 25 | 1974 second | Yasuharu Ōyama (11) | 3-0 | Kunio Yonenaga |
| 26 | 1975 first | Yasuharu Ōyama (12) | 3-1 | Tatsuya Futakami |
| 27 | 1975 second | Yasuharu Ōyama (13) | 3-0 | Tatsuya Futakami |
| 28 | 1976 first | Yasuharu Ōyama (14) | 3-1 | Kiyozumi Kiriyama |
| 29 | 1976 second | Yasuharu Ōyama (15) | 3-2 | Kunio Yonenaga |
| 30 | 1977 first | Yasuharu Ōyama (16) | 3-1 | Keiji Mori |
| 31 | 1977 second | Makoto Nakahara (8) | 3-2 | Yasuharu Ōyama |
| 32 | 1978 first | Makoto Nakahara (9) | 3-0 | Michio Ariyoshi |
| 33 | 1978 second | Makoto Nakahara (10) | 3-1 | Tatsuya Futakami |
| 34 | 1979 first | Makoto Nakahara (11) | 3-1 | Hifumi Katō |
| 35 | 1979 second | Makoto Nakahara (12) | 3-0 | Hitoshige Awaji |
| 36 | 1980 first | Kunio Yonenaga (2) | 3-1 | Makoto Nakahara |
| 37 | 1980 second | Tatsuya Futakami (2) | 3-1 | Kunio Yonenaga |
| 38 | 1981 first | Tatsuya Futakami (3) | 3-0 | Makoto Nakahara |
| 39 | 1981 second | Tatsuya Futakami (4) | 3-0 | Hifumi Katō |
| 40 | 1982 first | Keiji Mori | 3-0 | Tatsuya Futakami |
| 41 | 1982 second | Makoto Nakahara (13) | 3-1 | Keiji Mori |
| 42 | 1983 first | Hidemitsu Moriyasu | 3-2 | Makoto Nakahara |
| 43 | 1983 second | Kunio Yonenaga (3) | 3-1 | Hidemitsu Moriyasu |
| 44 | 1984 first | Kunio Yonenaga (4) | 3-0 | Koji Tanigawa |
| 45 | 1984 second | Kunio Yonenaga (5) | 3-2 | Osamu Nakamura |
| 46 | 1985 first | Kunio Yonenaga (6) | 3-1 | Osamu Katsuura |
| 47 | 1985 second | Kunio Yonenaga (7) | 3-0 | Osamu Nakamura |
| 48 | 1986 first | Kiyozumi Kiriyama | 3-1 | Kunio Yonenaga |
| 49 | 1986 second | Kiyozumi Kiriyama (2) | 3-1 | Yoshikazu Minami |
| 50 | 1987 first | Kiyozumi Kiriyama (3) | 3-0 | Kazuyoshi Nishimura |
| 51 | 1987 second | Yoshikazu Minami | 3-0 | Kiyozumi Kiriyama |
| 52 | 1988 first | Torahiko Tanaka | 3-2 | Yoshikazu Minami |
| 53 | 1988 second | Makoto Nakahara (14) | 3-2 | Torahiko Tanaka |
| 54 | 1989 first | Makoto Nakahara (15) | 3-1 | Yoshikazu Minami |
| 55 | 1989 second | Makoto Nakahara (16) | 3-2 | Nobuyuki Yashiki |
| 56 | 1990 first | Nobuyuki Yashiki | 3-2 | Makoto Nakahara |
| 57 | 1990 second | Nobuyuki Yashiki (2) | 3-1 | Taku Morishita |
| 58 | 1991 first | Yoshikazu Minami (2) | 3-2 | Nobuyuki Yashiki |
| 59 | 1991 second | Koji Tanigawa | 3-0 | Yoshikazu Minami |
| 60 | 1992 first | Koji Tanigawa (2) | 3-1 | Masataka Gōda |
| 61 | 1992 second | Koji Tanigawa (3) | 3-0 | Masataka Gōda |
| 62 | 1993 first | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-1 | Koji Tanigawa |
| 63 | 1993 second | Yoshiharu Habu (2) | 3-2 | Koji Tanigawa |
| 64 | 1994 first | Yoshiharu Habu (3) | 3-1 | Koji Tanigawa |
| 65 | 1994 second | Yoshiharu Habu (4) | 3-0 | Akira Shima |
| 66 | 1995 | Yoshiharu Habu (5) | 3-0 | Hiroyuki Miura |
| 67 | 1996 | Hiroyuki Miura | 3-2 | Yoshiharu Habu |
| 68 | 1997 | Nobuyuki Yashiki (3) | 3-1 | Hiroyuki Miura |
| 69 | 1998 | Masataka Gōda | 3-0 | Nobuyuki Yashiki |
| 70 | 1999 | Koji Tanigawa (4) | 3-0 | Masataka Gōda |
| 71 | 2000 | Yoshiharu Habu (6) | 3-2 | Koji Tanigawa |
| 72 | 2001 | Masataka Gōda (2) | 3-2 | Yoshiharu Habu |
| 73 | 2002 | Yasumitsu Satō | 3-2 | Masataka Gōda |
| 74 | 2003 | Yasumitsu Satō (2) | 3-0 | Tadahisa Maruyama |
| 75 | 2004 | Yasumitsu Satō (3) | 3-0 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi |
| 76 | 2005 | Yasumitsu Satō (4) | 3-2 | Yoshiharu Habu |
| 77 | 2006 | Yasumitsu Satō (5) | 3-0 | Daisuke Suzuki |
| 78 | 2007 | Yasumitsu Satō (6) | 3-1 | Akira Watanabe |
| 79 | 2008 | Yoshiharu Habu (7) | 3-2 | Yasumitsu Satō |
| 80 | 2009 | Yoshiharu Habu (8) | 3-2 | Kazuki Kimura |
| 81 | 2010 | Yoshiharu Habu (9) | 3-0 | Koichi Fukaura |
| 82 | 2011 | Yoshiharu Habu (10) | 3-0 | Koichi Fukaura |
| 83 | 2012 | Yoshiharu Habu (11) | 3-0 | Taichi Nakamura |
| 84 | 2013 | Yoshiharu Habu (12) | 3-1 | Akira Watanabe |
| 85 | 2014 | Yoshiharu Habu (13) | 3-0 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi |
| 86 | 2015 | Yoshiharu Habu (14) | 3-1 | Masayuki Toyoshima |
| 87 | 2016 | Yoshiharu Habu (15) | 3-2 | Takuya Nagase |
| 88 | 2017 | Yoshiharu Habu (16) | 3-1 | Shintaro Saito |
| 89 | 2018 | Masayuki Toyoshima | 3-2 | Yoshiharu Habu |
| 90 | 2019 | Akira Watanabe | 3-1 | Masayuki Toyoshima |
| 91 | 2020 | Sōta Fujii | 3-1 | Akira Watanabe |
| 92 | 2021 | Sōta Fujii (2) | 3-0 | Akira Watanabe |
| 93 | 2022 | Sōta Fujii (3) | 3-1 | Takuya Nagase |
| 94 | 2023 | Sōta Fujii (4) | 3-1 | Daichi Sasaki |
| 95 | 2024 | Sōta Fujii (5) | 3-0 | Takayuki Yamasaki |

## Records

* Most titles overall: Yasuharu Ōyama, Makoto Nakahara and Yoshiharu Habu, 16
* Most consecutive titles: Yoshiharu Habu, 10 in a row (2008-2017)