Yoshikazu Minami (shogi)
Early life. Minami was born in Kishiwada, Osaka on June 8, 1963. He entered the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school at the rank of 5-kyū in 1975 as a protegee of shogi professional . He obtained full professional status and the rank of 4-dan in January 1981. Shogi professional. Minami is a member of the so-called "Shōwa 55" group (55年組), a group of eight strong players that become professional in 1980–1981 (year 55 of the Shōwa period) and won numerous shogi tournaments. Others in the group include Osamu Nakamura, Michio Takahashi, Akira Shima, Yasuaki  Tsukada, Hiroshi Kamiya, Masaki Izumi, and . In January 2018, Minami became the 20th shogi professional to win 800 official games and be awarded Shogi Honor Fighting-spirit Award by the JSA. Playing style. Minami is known for his steady style of starting games slowly as for his quiet manner and strict seiza posture during games. For these reasons, his style is often referred to as the after the Jizō statues common to Japanese Buddhism. Promotion history. The promotion history for Minami is as follows: Titles and other championships. Minami has appeared in major title matches a total of sixteen times , and has won seven major titles. In addition to major titles, Minami has won six non-title championships during his career. Other championships. Note: Tournaments marked with an asterisk (*) are no longer held. Awards and honors. Minami has 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 JSA for performance in official games as well as other JSA awards for career accomplishments, and awards received from governmental organizations, etc. for contributions made to Japanese society.