Former Japanese Shogi Master Hifumi Kato Dies at 86

Tokyo, Jan. 22 (Jiji Press)–Former Japanese shogi master Hifumi Kato died of pneumonia at a hospital in Tokyo on Thursday. He was 86. The native of Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, was the first junior high school student to become a professional shogi player in August 1954, attaining the rank of fourth-dan at the youngest age of 14 years and seven months. In 1958, Kato became the youngest player to break into the top A class of shogi ranking leagues, or preliminaries for the major title of Meijin, at 18 years and three months, a title he still holds. He was called an unprecedented genius. He earned Meijin at the age of 42 in 1982. Kato lost to then 14-year-old Sota Fujii in the teenage sensation’s debut match as a pro in December 2016. Kato was 76 at the time. He retired at the age of 77 in June 2017, at which point he was the oldest active professional player. Kato won or defended major titles a total of eight times. He racked up 1,324 wins over his career, the fourth most ever, and amassed 2,505 games played and 1,180 losses, both all-time highs. He was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon, a Japanese medal of honor given to people with great achievements in academia and sports, in 2000, and chosen as a Person of Cultural Merit in 2022. In 2024, he was inscribed in the Guinness World Records for having the “longest career as a board game puzzle writer for the same magazine,” after publishing “tsume shogi” puzzles in a monthly magazine for 65 years. He frequently made media appearances thanks to his unique, lovable character, and was affectionately known as “Hifumin.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]