# Ōza (shogi)

Ōza (王座) is one of the eight titles in Japanese professional shogi.
The word literally means "king's seat", i.e., "throne". The tournament started in 1953 as a knockout tournament with three games in the final match and was a non-title tournament up until 1982. The challenger for the title is determined through three preliminary rounds. The player that wins three games out of five in the championship match becomes the new Ōza title holder.
The tournament is sponsored by Nikkei, Inc. (日本経済新聞社 nihon keizai shinbunsha), a newspaper conglomerate that publishes The Nikkei and the Nikkei 225 stock market index. The current Ōza title holder is Sōta Fujii.

## Lifetime Ōza

"Lifetime Ōza" (名誉王座) is the title given to a player who won the championship five times in a row or ten times in total. Active players may qualify for this title, but it is only officially awarded upon their reaching the age of 60 years, retirement or death.

### Lifetime Ōza title holders

* Makoto Nakahara (won championship ten times when it was a non-title tournament)
* Yoshiharu Habu

## Winners

From 1953 until 1982, the tournament was just regular tournament and not a major title match. From 1953 to 1969, two finalists would play a 3-game match to determine the overall winner; the 1st Oza match (1953), however, was only a single game. From 1970 to 1982, the winner of the previous year's tournament would play the winner of a qualifying tournament in a 3-game match.
| No. | Year | Winner | Score | Opponent |
| 1 | 1953 | Yasuharu Ōyama | 1–0 | Yūzō Maruta |
| 2 | 1954 | Yasuharu Ōyama | 2–1 | Kōzō Masuda |
| 3 | 1955 | Yasuharu Ōyama | 2–1 | Renshō Nada |
| 4 | 1956 | Seiichi Kobori | 2–1 | Kazukiyo Takashima |
| 5 | 1957 | Shigeyuki Matsuda | 2–1 | Seiichi Kobori |
| 6 | 1958 | Masao Tsukada | 2–1 | Tatsuya Futakami |
| 7 | 1959 | Yasuharu Ōyama | 2–0 | Michiyoshi Yamada |
| 8 | 1960 | Yūzō Maruta | 2–1 | Yasuharu Ōyama |
| 9 | 1961 | Sōetsu Honma | 2–0 | Hifumi Katō |
| 10 | 1962 | Hifumi Katō | 2–0 | Michihito Kumagai |
| 11 | 1963 | Renshō Nada | 2–1 | Hirobumi Sekizawa |
| 12 | 1964 | Yasuharu Ōyama | 2–0 | Hifumi Katō |
| 13 | 1965 | Yūzō Maruta | 2–0 | Kunio Naitō |
| 14 | 1966 | Yasuharu Ōyama | 2–0 | Yūzō Maruta |
| 15 | 1967 | Michiyoshi Yamada | 2–0 | Kunio Naitō |
| 16 | 1968 | Yasuharu Ōyama | 2–0 | Hifumi Katō |
| 17 | 1969 | Makoto Nakahara | 2–1 | Michio Ariyoshi |
| 18 | 1970 | Makoto Nakahara | 2–0 | Tatsuya Futakami |
| 19 | 1971 | Makoto Nakahara | 2–0 | Hifumi Katō |
| 20 | 1972 | Makoto Nakahara | 2–0 | Kunio Naitō |
| 21 | 1973 | Makoto Nakahara | 2–0 | Genichi Ōno |
| 22 | 1974 | Makoto Nakahara | 2–1 | Yasuharu Ōyama |
| 23 | 1975 | Kiyozumi Kiriyama | 2–0 | Makoto Nakahara |
| 24 | 1976 | Makoto Nakahara | 2–0 | Kiyozumi Kiriyama |
| 25 | 1977 | Makoto Nakahara | 2–0 | Nobuyuki Ōuchi |
| 26 | 1978 | Makoto Nakahara | 2–0 | Nobuyuki Ōuchi |
| 27 | 1979 | Makoto Nakahara | 2–0 | Nobuyuki Ōuchi |
| 28 | 1980 | Yasuharu Ōyama | 2–0 | Makoto Nakahara |
| 29 | 1981 | Yasuharu Ōyama | 2–1 | Osamu Katsuura |
| 30 | 1982 | Kunio Naitō | 2–0 | Yasuharu Ōyama |
For the 31st Oza Match (1983), the tournament was officially elevated to major title match status and starting with the 32nd Oza Match, the format switched to a best-of-five.
| No. | Year | Winner | Score | Opponent |
| 31 | 1983 | Makoto Nakahara | 2–1 | Kunio Naitō |
| 32 | 1984 | Makoto Nakahara (2) | 3–2 | Hidemitsu Moriyasu |
| 33 | 1985 | Makoto Nakahara (3) | 3–1 | Kōji Tanigawa |
| 34 | 1986 | Makoto Nakahara (4) | 3–0 | Kiyozumi Kiriyama |
| 35 | 1987 | Yasuaki Tsukada | 3–2 | Makoto Nakahara |
| 36 | 1988 | Makoto Nakahara (5) | 3–0 | Yasuaki Tsukada |
| 37 | 1989 | Makoto Nakahara (6) | 3–2 | Teruichi Aono |
| 38 | 1990 | Kōji Tanigawa | 3–1 | Makoto Nakahara |
| 39 | 1991 | Bungo Fukusaki | 3–2 | Kōji Tanigawa |
| 40 | 1992 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3–0 | Bungo Fukusaki |
| 41 | 1993 | Yoshiharu Habu (2) | 3–1 | Koji Tanigawa |
| 42 | 1994 | Yoshiharu Habu (3) | 3–0 | Kōji Tanigawa |
| 43 | 1995 | Yoshiharu Habu (4) | 3–0 | Keiji Mori |
| 44 | 1996 | Yoshiharu Habu (5) | 3–0 | Akira Shima |
| 45 | 1997 | Yoshiharu Habu (6) | 3–0 | Akira Shima |
| 46 | 1998 | Yoshiharu Habu (7) | 3–2 | Kōji Tanigawa |
| 47 | 1999 | Yoshiharu Habu (8) | 3–1 | Tadahisa Maruyama |
| 48 | 2000 | Yoshiharu Habu (9) | 3–2 | Takeshi Fujii |
| 49 | 2001 | Yoshiharu Habu (10) | 3–1 | Toshiaki Kubo |
| 50 | 2002 | Yoshiharu Habu (11) | 3–0 | Yasumitsu Satō |
| 51 | 2003 | Yoshiharu Habu (12) | 3–2 | Akira Watanabe |
| 52 | 2004 | Yoshiharu Habu (13) | 3–1 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi |
| 53 | 2005 | Yoshiharu Habu (14) | 3–0 | Yasumitsu Satō |
| 54 | 2006 | Yoshiharu Habu (15) | 3–0 | Yasumitsu Satō |
| 55 | 2007 | Yoshiharu Habu (16) | 3–0 | Toshiaki Kubo |
| 56 | 2008 | Yoshiharu Habu (17) | 3–0 | Kazuki Kimura |
| 57 | 2009 | Yoshiharu Habu (18) | 3–0 | Takayuki Yamasaki |
| 58 | 2010 | Yoshiharu Habu (19) | 3–0 | Takeshi Fujii |
| 59 | 2011 | Akira Watanabe | 3–0 | Yoshiharu Habu |
| 60 | 2012 | Yoshiharu Habu (20) | 3–1 | Akira Watanabe |
| 61 | 2013 | Yoshiharu Habu (21) | 3–2 | Taichi Nakamura |
| 62 | 2014 | Yoshiharu Habu (22) | 3–2 | Masayuki Toyoshima |
| 63 | 2015 | Yoshiharu Habu (23) | 3–2 | Amahiko Satō |
| 64 | 2016 | Yoshiharu Habu (24) | 3–0 | Tetsuro Itodani |
| 65 | 2017 | Taichi Nakamura | 3–1 | Yoshiharu Habu |
| 66 | 2018 | Shintarō Saitō | 3–2 | Taichi Nakamura |
| 67 | 2019 | Takuya Nagase | 3–0 | Shintarō Saitō |
| 68 | 2020 | Takuya Nagase (2) | 3–2 | Toshiaki Kubo |
| 69 | 2021 | Takuya Nagase (3) | 3–1 | Kazuki Kimura |
| 70 | 2022 | Takuya Nagase (4) | 3–1 | Masayuki Toyoshima |
| 71 | 2023 | Sōta Fujii | 3–1 | Takuya Nagase |
| 72 | 2024 | Sōta Fujii (2) | 3–0 | Takuya Nagase |

## Records

* Most titles overall: Yoshiharu Habu, 24
* Most consecutive titles: Yoshiharu Habu, 19 in a row (1992-2010)